Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna asks a series of direct questions. Why should desire remain in one who is called a lover of the Linga? Why should anger remain in one who is to be known as a Sharana? Why should greed remain in one who seeks the gain of devotion? Why should delusion remain in one who is to know Prasada?
The questioning then becomes sharper. If pride and jealousy remain, where can purity of heart be found? Basavanna does not treat these inner movements as harmless. They reveal that the heart has not yet become clear.
The teaching is direct: Kudalasangama Deva abides where there is settled contentment, not where desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy continue to rule. The seeker cannot claim Linga-love, Sharana-state, Bhakti, or Prasada while still preserving the movements that contradict them.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first movement is desire. Basavanna asks why desire should remain in one who is called a lover of the Linga, the personal and living symbol of Shiva worn and worshipped by the devotee. Linga-love should draw the heart away from restless seeking. If desire still governs, the claim of Linga-love remains incomplete.
The second movement is anger. Basavanna asks why anger should remain in one known as a Sharana. A Sharana is one who has taken refuge. Anger shows that refuge has not yet settled into the heart.
The third movement is greed. Basavanna asks why greed should remain in one who seeks the gain of devotion. The phrase is important: devotion itself is the gain. If devotion is the true wealth, greed for lesser gain becomes contradiction.
The fourth movement is delusion. Basavanna asks why delusion should remain in one who is to know Prasada—the gracious gift, blessing, or sacred offering received from the Divine. Prasada requires right reception. Delusion prevents the seeker from receiving clearly.
The final pair is pride and jealousy. These are subtler disturbances. They may remain even where outward devotion appears strong. Basavanna therefore asks where purity of heart can exist if pride and jealousy still remain.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana shows the need for inner consistency. The seeker cannot preserve desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy while claiming nearness to the Linga, Sharana-life, Bhakti, or Prasada.
For Prasadi Sthala, the relevance lies in the purification of receiving. Prasada cannot be received rightly by a heart still ruled by comparison, agitation, grasping, or self-importance. The heart must become settled enough to receive without distortion.
Editorial Commentary
The force of the vachana lies in its repeated question: “Why?” Basavanna does not argue at length. He simply places each inner disturbance beside the spiritual state it contradicts.
Desire contradicts Linga-love. Anger contradicts Sharana-life. Greed contradicts the gain of devotion. Delusion contradicts Prasada. Pride and jealousy contradict purity of heart. The closing line gathers the teaching: Kudalasangama Deva abides in the one who is content, settled, and inwardly clear.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Maheshwara Sthala Vachana 856 — Where Impurity Remains, Realization Does Not Arise
Maheshwara Vachana 856 supports this vachana by developing the same principle in a stricter form. In Vachana 118, Basavanna asks how desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy can remain in one who claims Linga-love, Sharana-life, Bhakti, and Prasada. In Maheshwara Vachana 856, he similarly states that realization and true Sharana-life cannot arise where anger, self-praise, belittling others, and the stains of desire remain. The support is direct: inner impurity and spiritual claim cannot stand together.
Advancing Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 1117 — Teach My Mind, Not Merely My Speech
Pranalingi Vachana 1117 advances this movement by carrying the question of impurity into the correction of the mind itself. In Vachana 118, Basavanna identifies the disturbances that make the heart unfit: desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy. In Vachana 1117, the concern deepens: outward instruction is not enough unless the mind itself is taught, corrected, and turned inward. Thus the Prasadi demand for purity of heart advances into Pranalingi as direct correction of the mind’s wanderings through the grace-bearing presence of Madivala Machayya.
