Basavanna’s ideas incorporated in Constitution, says seer

Dharwad/ Davanagere: The mood across Dharwad city was celebratory on Tuesday, with the Basava Jayanti coinciding with Akshaya Tritiya. People across Hubballi-Dharwad were flitting from temples to jewellery shops to celebrate both the festivals. Several organisations celebrated Basava Jayanti, with political leaders garlanding statues of the saint-reformer. At Kadapa Maidan, the statue of Basavanna was garlanded, and devotees distributed sweets.
Among those who participated in the event at Kadapa Maidan was Dharwad deputy commissioner Nitesh Patil, and zilla panchayat chief executive officer Suresh Itnal, while pontiff of Murugha Mutt Mallikarjun Swamy flagged off a procession at Ulavi Basaveshwara temple at the head of which devotees carried a portrait of Basavanna. The procession was marked by performances of dollu kunita, jaggalige, et al.
Mallikarjun Swamy called upon the people to cultivate in themselves the immortal values that Basavanna laid out in the 12th century. The seer pointed out that that the idea of Basavanna had also been incorporated in the Constitution.
Vice-president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, Basanagouda Patil, participating at an event at Lingayat Bhavan, pointed out that Basavanna had strived all his life to usher in equality in society.
‘Sharana philosophy is
universal’
In Davanagere, a mammoth procession with the portrait of Basavanna carried prominently at its head, passed through the thoroughfares of the town. At Virakta Mutt, the mood was particularly festive, given that this was the 110th time that the Basava Jayanti was being celebrated at the institution. Pontiff of the Virakta Mutt Basavaprabhu Swami said that the relevance of Sharana philosophy of Basavanna was not confined to Karnataka or any specific region. “It has a universal resonance. Basava Jayanti was celebrated for the first time at Virakta Mutt in 1913,” the seer said.
Bharatkumar, an entrepreneur based out of the United States of America, flagged off the procession in Davanagere.
Meanwhile, ten infants were christened on the occasion of Basava Jayanti at Virakta Mutt on Tuesday. The infants were given the following names: Basavanna, Vachana, Satyakka, Channabasavanna, Shivayogi, Bhakti and Akkamahadevi.