Raayasada Manchannagala Punyastree Raayamma (ರಾಯಸದ ಮಂಚಣ್ಣಗಳ ಪುಣ್ಯಸ್ತ್ರೀ ರಾಯಮ್ಮ)

The stick has a place in the wrestling school
does it have a place in battle?
Taking up additional vows
and reinitiating holds for a bhavi,
does it hold for a bhaktha?
For a sinner
who violates a vow
and still clings to his body,
there is no deliverance
Amugeshwaralinga! [Vachana No.1340] ^[1]

Raayasada Manchannagala Punyastree Raayamma was wife of Raayasada Manchanna who was a personal secretary of Basavanna and a Vachanakara in his own right. One vachana is traced to her name with the signature Amugeshwaralinga. It is curious that Amuge Rayamma too has the same signature.

The wife of Rāyasada Manchanna, Basavanna's personal assistant, was also called Rayamma. [Another Rayamma is Amuge Rāyamma]. It seems she grew up in the company of the Sharanas who were members of the Anubhava Mantapa. Naturally, Rāyamma, becoming a member of that spiritual academy, must have attended it regularly and taken part in the divine discourses. She was influenced by her own husband who was also a mystic and a Vachana writer. Only one Vachana of hers is available. Her signature being the same “Amuesgvaralisga” as that of Amuge Rāyamma, has led to some confusion regarding her authenticity as a Vachana writer. Leaving aside the authorship question, if we focus our attention on the contents of the Vachanas two things become clear: (i) That the initiation at the hands of the Guru sets a devotee free from the obligation of any vow, and (ii) That there is no salvation for those who, after breaking a vow, hold on to the body.