Basavannas

Basavannas refers to the followers of Basavanna, a 12th-century poet and social reformer from present-day Karnataka who founded Lingayatism. Basavanna led the Vachana movement in the Kannada-speaking region and produced a large body of vachanas—short, pithy devotional and ethical poems—intended to spread reformist ideas beyond caste and ritual boundaries. The Basavannas participated in this movement, contributing to its spread through vernacular literature and public discourse, especially in gatherings at centers such as the Anubhava Mantapa.

Beliefs associated with the Basavannas center on devotion to Shiva conceived through an Ishtalinga, a personal linga worn on the body as a symbol of worship. They advocated social equality and rejected caste-based discrimination, ritualism, and priestly mediation. The movement emphasized direct, ethical devotion, communal responsibility, and social justice, and it opened roles in spiritual and intellectual life to women and marginalized groups. Kannada language and literacy were promoted as vehicles for spiritual and social reform, with Basavanna and other vachana writers shaping a distinctive literary tradition.

Historically, the Basavannas contributed to the formation of Lingayat identity and laid groundwork for a reformist, non-Brahminical religious movement in the region. In modern usage, adherents are commonly identified as Lingayats or Veerashaivas, with Basavanna’s followers sometimes referred to as Basavannas in historical contexts. The Basavanna lore remains a central element of Karnataka’s religious and cultural history, reflecting a shift toward inclusive devotion and social equity in early medieval India.