1840.J 



Account of the Basava Puran. 



285 



separate confessors. She was offended and replied that a penitent is 

 just as strongly bound to the confessor (guru) as a wife is to her husband. 

 She reminded him that this was stipulated at the time of their marriage : 

 and it would be better that they should separate than break that promise. 

 Assemble your Jins, said she, and let tiiem dispute with my confessor, 

 and let the termination of the dispute decide our creed. This debate 

 took place, Devara Dasaya asserted that the deity (Siva) pervaded all 

 the universe. They replied, if your god fills all space, it surely is super- 

 fluous to assemble in temples to adore him. Dasaya replied : — " The 

 king rules the whole country, but it does not hence follow that every 

 one of his subjects is king. There is no occasion to attend temples as 

 the deity is present with us all. Consider, the Chandra canta stone 

 (selenites, amber) has the lunar influence inherent, and melts at the lunar 

 ray ; so does the heart of the pious man melt at the divine influence : 

 for in him the deity is inherent. If we desire to have the milk of the 

 cow we must buy the calf too : for it alone influences the udder to flow : 

 thus none but the faithful adorer can derive any good from worship. 

 The pearl shell rejects all common rain and is impregnated with pearls 

 only by the genial showers of (Swati) the asterism Arcturus. In like 

 manner the faithful Vira Saiva's heart expands to the influence of Siva 

 alone." 



They then asked whether Siva was the body or the soul of the world. 

 He replied " Life and its properties do not appertain to the divine being. 

 The living soul is in bondage to works but the deity acts from will alone. 

 The deity is in our bodies, latent, as fire is in wood or oil in seeds : co- 

 existent and hidden." 



They replied saying, you say that Siva fills all space, and add that the 

 divine influence is immortal : while the vital spark is mortal. This 

 should be proved. Besides there must be one common principle of life 

 extending from brutes up to deity. Explain this. 



He replied, oil exists in linseed though it is imperceptible.* The 

 deity shall be attained by the wise, no fool can attain to him for he per- 

 vades all nature. Of this I will convince you by destroying this Jaina 

 town (a town named Potla Cheruva) and as a mark of my power, said 

 he, tell me what is in this jar — verily the deity is therein. So saying 

 he produed a jar containing a snake : and on opening it the snake was 

 found metamorphosed into a crystal (lingam) image. This convinced 



* I omit some farther argumentation, which is tedious, und just as inconclusive as the 

 above. 



