Kushtagi Karibasaveshwara (ಕುಷ್ಟಗಿ ಕರಿಬಸವೇಶ್ವರ)

Like the monkey leaping over a bridge today
because Hanuma leapt across to Lanka in those days;
like the maid climbing to the top of a rubbish heap
because the princess ascended to the palace balcony;
like the monkey riding a dog
because the prince rode a horse;
like the goat in rut rampaging the hunter’s street
and getting his neck broken
because the elephant in rut rampaged the main street;
like the adulteress
ignoring the husband lying by her
and praising the paramour from another town;
shameless whores with chopped noses
who worship anything in sight
are not worth looking at
Akhanda Paripoorna Ghanalingaguru Chennabasaveshwara Shiva as witness. [Vachana No.2257] ^[1]

Kushtagi Karibasaveshwara (c. 1700 Post Basava Age) belongs to the Nidumaniididpitha tradition. He was the head of Kalmatha in Kushtagi town of Koppal district. Pattukanthe Chennabasaveshwara was his guru. Akhanda Paripuma Chanalinga Guru Chennahasaveshwarn was his signature.

One who does not know the secret of linga
one who calls the jangama motionless
one who calls the guru human
one who considers the prasaada as leftovers
cannot escape being baked in hell.
Akhanda Paripoorna Ghanalingaguru Chennabasaveshwara
Shiva be my witness. [Vachana No.2266] ^[1]

Some 99 vachanasa have been traced to him. He has called them chitta sadgatiyavachana. He has come down heavily on those who calculate the time and the moment looking into the almanac and those who are hypocrites and follow evil ways. He hails the gum and the importance ofAshtaavarana. These vachanas contain the flavour of regional language, straightforward expletives and moral teaching in a simple way.

Can a pig become king if seated in a palanquin?
Can a dog become horse if given golden reins?
Can a little maiden become an artful prostitute?
Can gold become iron?
Those who pretend devotion and err
are not worth looking at.
Akhanda Paripoorna Ghanalingaguru Chennabasaveshwara
Shiva be my witness. [Vachana No.2268] ^[1]