Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna says that the green pasture of sense-objects has been spread before him. What appears attractive is placed directly in his path.
He then asks what a beast knows except to graze where it sees green. The problem is not only the presence of sense-objects, but the instinctive movement toward them.
Basavanna therefore asks Kudalasangama Deva to make him free from sense-objects, feed him with the taste of devotion, water him with right understanding, and protect him.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is the green pasture of sense-objects. It appears fresh, inviting, and ready for enjoyment.
The second image is the beast. The beast does not question the pasture. It moves toward what is green and grazes.
The third image is grazing. It shows repeated contact with what has been spread before the seeker.
The fourth image is freedom from sense-objects. Basavanna asks not to remain in the same field of attraction, but to be released from its hold.
The fifth image is the taste of devotion. In place of grazing on sense-objects, he asks to be nourished by devotion.
The sixth image is right understanding as water. Water sustains life and growth; right understanding must be poured into the seeker.
The final image is protection. Basavanna asks Kudalasangama Deva to watch over him because instinct alone cannot guide him safely.
Together, these images show redirection. The beast-like movement toward sense-objects must be freed, nourished by devotion, watered by right understanding, and protected by Kudalasangama Deva.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana shows that the seeker must be moved from instinctive attraction to guided nourishment.
The pasture of sense-objects represents what draws the unguarded mind outward. The beast-image shows the danger of moving only by appetite.
The practice here is not mere rejection of the senses. Basavanna asks for another nourishment: devotion, right understanding, and protection under Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should be read as a prayer for redirection. Basavanna does not trust the beast-like movement that grazes wherever sense-objects appear attractive. He asks to be fed differently, understood rightly, and protected by Kudalasangama Deva.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 34 — The Restless Monkey and the Plea for Grace
Bhakta Sthala Vachana 34 supports this vachana by showing the mind returning to sense-objects even after being lifted toward devotion. Vachana 51 carries that same danger into the image of the beast grazing in the green pasture of sense-objects. Both ask for grace so that the seeker may turn from instinctive attraction toward Kudalasangama Deva.
Advancing Vachana
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 18 — The Triad of Attachment
Prasadi Sthala Vachana 18 advances this movement by showing the specific attractions through which Māyā draws the seeker outward: gold, form, and earth. Vachana 51 shows the pasture of sense-objects spread before the beast-like movement within. Vachana 18 carries this into Prasadi Sthala, where the outward pull is named more directly as attraction toward what appears valuable, desirable, and possessable.
