Bhakti SaintsAn atlas of devotion

Verses  ·  Basavanna  ·  Vachana 21

ಕಾಯಕವೇ ಕೈಲಾಸ

The hands engaged in honest labor are holier than lips repeating prayers without sincerity.

Basavanna  ·  Vachana

Translator’s note

on the language of the verse

Dignity of labor sits at the heart of Basavanna’s philosophy.

The voice

Basavanna

ಬಸವಣ್ಣ

The reformer of the treasury, 1131 – 1167.

The questions it touches
  • Caste & dignity
  • The vernacular