Kaadasiddheshwara (ಕಾಡ ಸಿದ್ಧೇಶ್ವರ)

Take the guru’s name
and your elephant-sized worldliness will be axed;
take the guru’s name
and defects of many births will be removed;
take the gurus name
and your three hundred and sixty aches
and ailments will be destroyed; take the guru’s name
and obstacles like death,
lust and illusion will be shattered; take the guru’s name
and you will attain every kind of wealth;
falling at such a guru’s sacred feet
I lived bowing to him
Kaadanolagaada Shankarapriya Chennakadambalinga
Nirmaayaprabhu. [Vachana No.2243] ^[1]

Kaadasiddheshwara (c. 1725 Post Basava Age) was the head of a mutt belonging to Siddhagiri tradition in Maharashtra. Sangameshwaradeva mut have been his guru, since he says ‘I am a child born in the palm of Sangameshwara deva and I am Kadasiddha’. In Kuvalayaananda written by Jaayappa Desai there is a reference to Kaadasiddheshwara. Veershaiva Shatshala is the name of his work.

They
jeer at the sight of a jangama
but prostrate before a jogi or a sanyaasi;
disappear when they see linga
but bow before those who have intoxicating drugs;
jeer at the worship of Shiva
but are overjoyed at the worship of mortals;
do not trust the guru-given linga
but make vows and keep fast
to a wayside stone installed as linga
by people of hundred and one castes
from the Brahmin to the lowest;
if you call them sharanas
the elders will laugh.
These people ask Shiva for blessings.
How can Shiva bless
these whoresons who break their vows
Kaadanolagaada Shankarapriya Chennakadambalinga
Nirmaayaprabhu? [Vachana No.2244] ^[1]

He has compeled 500 vachanas in occordance with Shatsthala pattern. His signature phrase is Kaadanolagaada Shankarapriya Chenna Kadambalinga Nirmaaya Prabhuve. By and large all his vachanas make use of an esoteric terminology. They emphasise the importance of Shatshthla philosophy. The significance of this work is that vachanas have been composed employing the occupational terms of different devotees under their respective names. Some of the sharanas mentioned there could be traced to twelfth century and some names have not been found elsewhere. It is noteworthy that there are some Muslim names like Pinjaara Mahammada Khanayya and Valli Peeranna. It is still intriguing that some vachanas are in Urdu.

Is he who feeds ten, but denies the eleventh, a devotee?
No,no.
Is he who gives alms based on who the receiver is, a devotee?
No,no.
Is he who when feeding a group of sharanas
discriminates between those sitting inside and outside, a devotee?
No,no.
These are unenlightened devotees.
If they plead for Shiva’s mercy
how can Shiva be pleased with such unenlightened devotees
O Kaadanolagaada Shankarapriya Chennakadambalinga
Nirmaayaprabhu? [Vachana No.2255] ^[1]