Mahatma Basaveshwara depicted in Vachana Literature

Introduction: Mahatma Basaveshwara was the founder of Lingayat /Virasaiva religion in Karnataka in India. He was a social- economic, religious, political, culture and literature reformer of 12th century. He was the founder of Anubhava Mantapa (First World Parliament) in Kalyana (now called as Basavakalyan). And wrote Vachanas (prose-poetry literature) in Kannada. His period also called as the Vachana Yuga. Along with him other 770 Vachanakaras (those who wrote Vachanas) and 33 women Vachanakartis wrote Vachanas and enriched the Kannada literature and culture. Most of the Vachanakaras Vachanas focuses on welfare of all human beings. While studying Vachanas we also found the those focuses on against caste system, emancipation of women, upliftment of Dalits and untouchability, mystical and spiritual knowledge, Istalinga worship, Virasaiva tenets and practices by devotees.Many Basaveshwara’s contemporaries expressed their views on Basaveshwara’s life, works and movement in their Vachanas. Basaveshwara gave a practical demonstration of a welfare State in Kalyan Nadu and showed it could be achieved. One could equally call it Socialism based on “Work according to your capacity and receive according to your needs”. This principle was very much embedded in the concepts of Kayaka’ and ‘Dasoha’ advocated by Basava and other Saranas. In this there is no element of force, exploitation on expropatiation. The principles of ‘give and take’ or ‘ live and let live’ which form the very core of social life originate and spring from within and when they get transformed into practical life, natural socialism is established which cannot be so easily undone a against one which is trust from outside or from above. We may call it socialism which is at once both economic and spiritual. Sources: The sources to know more about the Virasaivas are some of Saivagamas, Siddhanta Shikamani, and the works of Shivasharanas both in Kannada and in Sanskrit a vast body of Vachana literature in Kannada, Sunyasampadane and Virasaiva Puranas.