Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole, in its third episode Kayakave Kailasa, elucidates the poetry of the vachanakaras. Radio Azim Premji University presents a selection of eleven vachanas by Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, Ayadakki Marayya, Basavanna, Devara Dasimayya, Kalavve, Madara Chennaiah, Maritande, and Sule Sankavva. They are rendered by singer M. D. Pallavi, with musician Bruce Lee Mani accompanying on guitar. These spontaneous performances were improvised and recorded in an informal set-up as a soundtrack to the episode.

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

Poems selected by Amit Basole

Supported by: Akshay Ramuhalli, Arjun Jayadev, Bijoy Venugopal, Kripa Gowrishankar, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Produced for Radio Azim Premji University

Listen to Bhakti Republic on Radio Azim Premji University on a podcast platform of your choice. Read more: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/bhakti-republic-with-amit-basole-radio-azim-premji-university

Poet - Madara Chennaiah

Translator: H.S. Shivaprakash

Source: I Keep Vigil of Rudra, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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After erecting three pillars

The gross, the subtle, and the causal bodies

After beating the buffaloes’ rough hide

After removing the flesh

With the staff of the manifest and the hidden

After tanning the hide with the fire of dualism

After pouring the caustic juice of quintessence

Into the hide-pouch of awareness

The blemishes of soul thus destroyed

I have come to take the sandals to his feet.

Take care,

Not of the ground below,

But of the path your feet and sandals take.

Do not be enslaved

By the hand-awl, blade, or peg

But realise

Ramarama, your own true self, the joy of joys!

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Madara Chennaiah, a renowned vachana poet from the 11th century, earned recognition during the era of the Western Chalukyas in southern India. Despite working as a cobbler and being affiliated with the Madiga caste, he left a legacy through his vachanas, which he signed under the pseudonym ‘Nijaatmaraama Raamana,’ though only ten have endured over time. His poetry delved into the injustice of feeling superior due to one's caste, advocating for equality by highlighting that everyone shares the same origins and physical composition. Chennaiah asserted that an individual's value stems from their ethical conduct rather than their caste, dividing people into two categories based on their actions: those who perform good deeds and those who engage in wrongdoing. Additionally, his poems addressed a significant theological debate regarding the duality or unity of existence. His powerful and meaningful vachanas emerged from the fusion of metaphors drawn from his cobbler trade, interwoven with profound theological concepts.

Poet: Basavanna

English translation by A K Ramanujan | Speaking of Siva, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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The rich

will make temples for Siva.

What shall I,

a poor man,

do?

My legs are pillars,

the body the shrine

the head a cupola

of gold.

Listen, O Kudalsangamadeva,

things standing shall fall,

but the moving ever shall stay.

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Basava, also known as Basaveshwara and Basavanna, played a pivotal role in Vachana Sahitya during the Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuri dynasties in 12th century Karnataka. Despite his Brahmin caste background, he vehemently opposed gender and social discrimination, superstitions, and rituals. Basava introduced the Ishtalinga necklace for all, promoting devotion to Shiva regardless of birth. As finance minister under King Bijjala II, he utilized the state treasury for social and religious reform. He established Anubhava Mantapa, a ‘parliament’ for individuals from diverse backgrounds to engage in spiritual and existential discussions, emphasizing his philosophy centered on valuing the living human experience over static structures like temples. Basava's sharana philosophy emphasizes the body as a temple (Kayakave Kailasa) and as an instrument for honoring the divine.

Poet: Basavanna

Translator: A. K. Ramanujan

Source: Speaking of Siva, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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Make of my body the beam of a lute

of my head the sounding gourd

of my nerves the strings

of my fingers the plucking rods

Clutch me close

and play your thirty-two songs

KuDalasangamadeva!

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Basava, also known as Basaveshwara and Basavanna, played a pivotal role in Vachana Sahitya during the Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuri dynasties in 12th century Karnataka. Despite his Brahmin caste background, he vehemently opposed gender and social discrimination, superstitions, and rituals. Basava introduced the Ishtalinga necklace for all, promoting devotion to Shiva regardless of birth. As finance minister under King Bijjala II, he utilized the state treasury for social and religious reform. He established Anubhava Mantapa, a ‘parliament’ for individuals from diverse backgrounds to engage in spiritual and existential discussions, emphasizing his philosophy centered on valuing the living human experience over static structures like temples. Basava's sharana philosophy emphasizes the body as a temple (Kayakave Kailasa) and as an instrument for honoring the divine.

Poet: Devara Dasimayya

Translator: A. K. Ramanujan

Source: Speaking of Siva, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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To the utterly at-one with Siva

there’s no dawn,

no new moon,

no noonday,

nor equinoxes,

nor sunsets,

nor full moons;

his front yard

is the true Banaras,

O Ramanatha.

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Devara Dasimayya, also known as Jedara Dasimayya, was a prominent figure in Vachana literature, hailing from the village of Mudanuru in Karnataka. He worked as a weaver and lived during the rule of the Kalyani Chalukyan ruler Jayasimha II. Basaveshwara, among the most prominent of the Veerashaiva poets, praised Dasimayya and his wife Duggale in several of his vachanas. Composed approximately 100 to 150 years before Basaveshwara, Dasimayya's 176 vachanas are noteworthy for expressing profound philosophical ideas in a concise form. Dasimayya's vachanas touch upon themes of conjugal discipline, gender equality, and the significance of charity. Dedicated to Ramanatha (Shiva), these vachanas have earned him admiration from the Devanga community, a widespread group of weavers in southern India who consider him an avatara purusha, an incarnation of the divine.

Poet: Allama Prabhu

Translator: S.C. Nandimath, Armando Menzes, and R.C. Hiremath

Source: Sunya Sampadane Volume 1, Karnataka University, Dharwad

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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When neither Source nor Substance was,

When neither I nor mine,

When neither Form nor Formless was,

When neither Void was nor non-Void,

Nor that which moves or moves not,

Then was Guhesvara's votary born.

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Allama Prabhu, a revered poet and the patron saint of the Sharana movement in medieval Karnataka, was born in the 12th century in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. He played a pivotal role in reshaping both society and Kannada literature. Recognized as part of the "Trinity of Lingayatism" alongside Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu channeled poetry to critique rituals, challenge social norms, and promote moral values, particularly emphasizing devotional worship of Shiva. Details of his early life are a mix of historical accounts and legendary tales. Allama Prabhu, known for his mystic and cryptic style, composed over 1,300 hymns, spreading his transformative message through spontaneous vernacular songs and Sandhya Bhasha, a coded language rooted in Vedic and Upanishadic traditions. His Ankita, or the signature he used for himself in verses, was Guhesvara, and his poetic expression staunchly opposed symbolism, occult powers, temple worship, and ritualistic practices.

Poet: Akka Mahadevi

Translator: H.S. Shivaprakash

Source: I Keep Vigil of Rudra, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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To him with no death,

No decay

No form

To the Beautiful One

I have given myself, O Mother

To him with no place

No end

No space

No signs

To the Beautiful One

I have given myself, O Mother

To him with no clan

No country,

To the peerless

Handsome One

I have given myself, O Mother

For this reason

Channamallikarjuna, the Handsome One

Is the man for me.

These wasting, dying men —

Take them away

Throw them into the oven!

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Born in Udutadi near Shivamogga around 1130, Akka Mahadevi, the prominent female Vachanakara, left an indelible mark on Kannada literature with her 430 Vachana poems, alongside two short writings, Mantrogopya and Yogangatrividh. While she composed fewer poems compared to other saints of the movement, her contributions are highly regarded. Acknowledging Shiva, whom she addressed as 'Chenna Mallikarjuna,' as her husband in the 'madhura bhava' or 'madhurya' form of devotion, Akka Mahadevi asserted her identity as a woman only in name, dedicating her mind, body, and soul entirely to Shiva. Her pursuit of enlightenment is documented in simple yet intellectually rigorous poems. Her verses delve into the renunciation of mortal love in favor of an enduring love for God, and she imparts insights into the demanding methods of the path to enlightenment, advocating for practices such as overcoming the 'I,' conquering desires, and mastering the senses.

Poet: Maritande

Translator: H.S. Shivaprakash

Source: I Keep Vigil of Rudra, Penguin Classics

Performed by M. D. Pallavi and Bruce Lee Mani

For Bhakti Republic with Amit Basole

Radio Azim Premji University, 2023

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If I am a thief at night

That would be a shame

To the master who gave me the picklock

If I enter houses

When people are forgetful

That would be a shame

To my expertise.

I wake up the forgetful,

Show them their riches

Then bring out my own riches, O Father

Lord of Mara, the love god

Foe of Mara.

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Maritande, a professional burglar known for targeting the houses of the affluent, sustained his livelihood by pilfering and spending the loot until he was apprehended by Bijjala's security guards. Around 1160 AD, during the time of Basavanna, the transformative figure in Maritande's life, Basavanna advocated for leniency on his behalf. This plea led to a change in Maritande's life as he transitioned from a burglar to a devoted Sharana. Influenced by this attitudinal shift, Maritande began writing vachanas, with only a few properly attributed to him. Notably, his vachanas drew on the imagery of his former profession, freely incorporating elements of burglary into his poetic expression.