Context (DDN): PM Modi paid tribute to Jagadguru Basaveshwara on Basava Jayanti.

• Jagadguru Basaveshwaraà called Basavanna, was a 12th-century Kannada poet, philosopher, statesman, and social reformer.
• Born into a Brahmin family in Karnatakaàserved as the Prime Minister in the court of the Kalachuri king Bijjala II.
• Founded the Lingayat movement, rooted in devotion to Lord Shiva and social equality.
• Introduced wearing the Ishtalinga—a small lingam in a necklace—to symbolise a direct link with Lord Shiva, bypassing priestly mediation.

philosophy

• Emphasised ‘Kayaka’ and ‘Dasoha’, urging sincere work and equitable sharing of surplus wealth with the underprivileged.
• Opposed caste hierarchy and gender discrimination, spreading equality, justice, and devotion through his poetic compositions called Vachanas.
• Established Anubhava Mantapa, an egalitarian forum for spiritual and social discussion.
• His life and teachings are recorded in the Basava Purana, a Telugu work by Palkuriki Somanatha from the 13th century.