Summary
In this vachana, Basavanna makes an uncompromising declaration of spiritual belonging.
He repeats, “I do not want, I do not want.” The refusal is directed toward those who are not Kudalasangama Deva’s own. The issue is not personal dislike, but spiritual discernment: company that is not rooted in the Lord cannot become the Sharana’s chosen ground.
He repeats the refusal again: even if they are known by the whole world, he does not want them. Worldly recognition does not make a person worthy of spiritual nearness.
The third refusal is sharper still. Even if Kudalasangama Deva Himself becomes angry, Basavanna says, “Be angry.” He will not abandon his stand.
The final line seals the vow by invoking Kudalasangama Deva and His Pramathas. Basavanna binds his speech to the Lord and to the Lord’s realized company.
The teaching is direct: the Sharana seeks only those who belong to Kudalasangama Deva. Worldly recognition, public greatness, and even fear of divine anger do not turn him away from the Lord’s Sharanas.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The repeated phrase “I do not want” is the central force of the vachana. Basavanna does not argue gradually; he refuses firmly and repeatedly.
“Those who are not Yours” gives the first measure. The true distinction is not social status, learning, fame, caste, wealth, or public honor. The distinction is whether one belongs to Kudalasangama Deva.
The phrase “even if known by the whole world” gives the second measure. A person may be praised, recognized, or accepted everywhere, but such recognition does not make that person spiritually fit for the Sharana’s company.
The line “even if You become angry, be angry” gives the third and most severe measure. Basavanna does not speak from defiance against the Lord, but from total loyalty to the Lord’s own Sharanas. He would rather bear anger than turn toward those who are not the Lord’s.
The invocation of Kudalasangama Deva completes the vachana. The vow is not made before society or for public identity; it is made before the Lord.
The mention of the Pramathas is important. Basavanna invokes the Lord’s realized company as witness to his refusal. His belonging is not solitary; it is bound to the living fellowship of the Lord’s own.
The movement of the vachana is therefore from repeated refusal, to rejection of worldly recognition, to fearlessness before anger, and finally to oath-bound belonging before Kudalasangama Deva and His Pramathas.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches discernment in spiritual company.
The seeker should ask: whose company do I choose? Do I choose those praised by the world, or those who belong to Kudalasangama Deva? Do I remain with the Sharanas even when such belonging brings difficulty, misunderstanding, or loss?
For Sharana Sthala, the practice-point is clear: do not let worldly approval decide spiritual nearness. Remain with the Lord’s Sharanas, and let that belonging become firm enough to bear even anger, pressure, or rejection.
Editorial Commentary
The repetition should remain central. Basavanna’s “I do not want” is not hatred, but vow-bound discrimination. The phrase “known by the whole world” should not be inflated into unsupported claims of scriptural mastery unless the Kannada source clearly requires it. The final oath by Kudalasangama Deva and His Pramathas gives the vachana its seriousness.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 994 — The Incomprehensible State of the Sharana
Pranalingi Vachana 994 supports this teaching by showing that the state of Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas cannot be measured by the three worlds. Their greatness is undivided and unstained, and ordinary measures cannot grasp it. This supports Vachana 712 directly. Vachana 712 refuses those who are not the Lord’s own, even if they are known by the whole world; Vachana 994 gives the supporting ground: the true Sharana’s state cannot be judged by worldly recognition or ordinary measure.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 714 — The True Kinship
Aikya Vachana 714 advances this teaching by asking what worth brothers, lineage, and family ties have if they are not joined with the Linga. It declares that those not joined with the Linga are not truly one’s own, while attachment to mere blood and lineage leads downward. This is the natural advancement from Vachana 712. Vachana 712 chooses only Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas over all worldly recognition; Aikya Vachana 714 carries that choice into fulfilled kinship, where true belonging is no longer based on public fame, birth, or family, but on shared union in the Linga before Kudalasangama Deva.
