Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna teaches that a Bhakta must not lose inward resolve while engaged in the path.
He gives three sharp images. For the scorpion, bringing forth its young becomes its end. For the plantain, bearing fruit marks its end. For the warrior in the battlefield, turning back is already defeat.
Basavanna then applies these images to the Bhakta. If the one who is engaged in devotion becomes manahīna — without heart, without inward steadiness, without resolve — that itself is the end.
The teaching is not about ordinary death alone. It is about the collapse that comes when one abandons the living strength needed for the path. The scorpion and plantain show completion; the warrior shows failure through retreat. The Bhakta must learn from both: fulfill the work fully, and do not turn back when the field becomes difficult.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The scorpion is the first image. Its bringing forth of young is linked with its end. Basavanna uses the image to show a life reaching its decisive limit through its own process.
The plantain is the second image. Once the plantain bears fruit, its purpose is fulfilled and its end arrives. The image shows completion through fruiting.
The warrior in the battlefield gives the third image. A warrior may still be alive, but if he turns back from the field, his defeat has already begun. Retreat breaks the very purpose of the warrior.
The Bhakta is the final image. Basavanna is speaking of one who is already “doing,” already engaged in devotional practice. The danger is not lack of entry, but loss of heart after entry.
The word manahīna is important. It does not simply mean ordinary tiredness. It points to the loss of inner steadiness, courage, and living intention. When that is lost, the practice itself begins to fail.
The movement of the vachana is clear: natural completion is shown, battlefield retreat is shown, and the Bhakta is warned not to lose the inward strength required to continue before Kudalasangama Deva.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches steadiness in the work of devotion.
The seeker should not enter the path as a passing enthusiasm and then withdraw when effort, difficulty, or inner testing appears. Once devotion has been taken up, it must be lived with firmness.
For Sharana Sthala, the point is direct: the Bhakta must not become heartless toward the very practice that gives life. To lose resolve in the middle of the path is to turn back from the battlefield.
Editorial Commentary
This entry should stay close to its three images: scorpion, plantain, and warrior. The scorpion and plantain show decisive completion; the warrior shows decisive failure through retreat.
The final warning concerns the Bhakta’s inward condition. Basavanna is not giving a general theory of work or success. He is warning that devotion loses life when the one practicing it becomes without heart before Kudalasangama Deva.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 1280 — Before the Plantain Bears Fruit
Pranalingi Vachana 1280 supports this teaching through the plantain image. There, Basavanna says that before the plantain planted at the doorway bears fruit, the seeker must unite with Kudalasangama Deva. The emphasis is urgency: do not wait until growth has reached its irreversible result.
This supports Vachana 665 because both vachanas use the plantain to teach spiritual timing. Vachana 1280 says: turn before the fruit comes. Vachana 665 says: once fruiting or retreat has reached its decisive point, the end has arrived. Together, they warn the seeker not to delay or lose resolve.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 522 — Seedless Heart
Aikya Vachana 522 advances this teaching through the fulfilled plantain image. It describes the true devotee as soft within like the plantain stem, and speaks of ripened fruit consumed seed and all, leaving nothing behind to be sown again.
Vachana 665 warns that the Bhakta must not lose heart before the path is fulfilled. Aikya Vachana 522 shows the fulfilled state: inward hardness is gone, the fruit has ripened completely, and no seed of return remains.
Thus the warning of Vachana 665 advances into Aikya as completed ripening. The Bhakta who does not turn back becomes the one in whom nothing unfinished remains before Kudalasangama Deva.
