Summary
Basavanna makes a solemn vow of service to Kudalasangama Deva’s Sharanas. If he becomes anxious that provisions are being spent, he stands condemned by the Lord and by the Lord’s Pramathas. If food and necessities are not available at the proper time and his mind trembles, he says he is unworthy of the Lord’s devotees.
The measure of service is therefore not abundance, but steadiness. If wealth is exhausted, Basavanna says he will spend his body itself. If he fails to provide to the end, then with Madivala Machideva’s feet as witness, he will stand far from Kudalasangama Deva.
Imagery & Symbolic Relevance
The first image is the spending of provisions. Basavanna does not treat service as something to be offered only when resources are plentiful. The very thought that provisions are being used up becomes a test of the servant’s heart.
The second image is anxiety before Kudalasangama Deva and His Pramathas. The failure is not judged only outwardly. Fear itself reveals that service has become mixed with calculation.
The third image is food and necessary materials not being available at the proper time. Dasoha is tested when need arises and resources do not appear ready. The mind’s trembling at such a moment shows whether trust has become steady.
The fourth image is unworthiness before the Lord’s devotees. Basavanna does not measure worthiness by status or speech. The one who fears scarcity while serving the devotees has not yet become fit for that sacred responsibility.
The fifth image is wealth being exhausted. Basavanna does not say that service ends when wealth ends. Wealth is only one means. When it is spent, the offering must continue through the body.
The sixth image is spending the body itself. The body becomes labor, strength, effort, and life-energy offered in service. Nothing remains private when service to the Sharanas becomes complete.
The final image is Madivala Machideva’s feet as witness. Basavanna places his vow before a Sharana known for uncompromising service. To fail in providing to the end would not merely be practical failure; it would create distance from Kudalasangama Deva.
Lingayoga
In Lingayoga, this vachana teaches that Dasoha must pass beyond calculation. Service cannot depend only on visible resources. When provisions diminish, the seeker’s trust, body, labor, and life-energy must become the offering.
For Sharana Sthala, the practice-point is direct: do not allow fear of scarcity to interrupt service to the Sharanas. Let wealth serve while it remains; when wealth is exhausted, let the body serve. True service stands until the end before Kudalasangama Deva.
Editorial Commentary
This vachana should not be read as careless spending or practical disorder. Basavanna’s concern is the inner fear that limits service when giving begins to cost something. The vow to spend the body means that service continues through labor and life-energy when wealth is gone. Madivala Machideva’s witness gives the vow its seriousness and keeps it within the living standard of Sharana service.
Related Vachana
Supporting Vachana
Pranalingi Sthala Vachana 988 — When the Linga Returned as Living Presence
Pranalingi Vachana 988 supports this teaching by showing Basavanna remaining in Dasoha through spiritual crisis and waiting, while asking Kudalasangama Deva to turn anxiety into freedom from anxious concern. This prepares Vachana 1387 directly. In Vachana 988, Dasoha continues even while anxiety and doubt are being overcome; in Vachana 1387, Basavanna carries that steadiness into Sharana service by vowing that fear over provisions, lack of necessities, or exhaustion of wealth must not interrupt service to Kudalasangama Deva’s devotees.
Advancing Vachana
Aikya Sthala Vachana 1166 — Kriya Is the Body, Jnana the Life-Breath
Aikya Vachana 1166 advances this teaching by showing the fulfilled integration of action and realization. In Sharana Vachana 1387, Basavanna says that if wealth is exhausted, he will spend the body itself in service. In Aikya Vachana 1166, Kriya becomes the body, Jnana becomes the life-breath, the body becomes Linga, and the life-breath becomes Jangama. Thus the Sharana-stage vow to offer wealth, labor, and body advances into Aikya as the complete union of action, awareness, body, breath, Linga, and Jangama before Kudalasangama Deva.
