Mathe Gangadevi, head of the Basava Dharma Peetha in Kudalasangama, has announced that the institution will revert to the use of Kudalasangama Deva as the signature of Sri Basaveshwara’s Vachanas in all its future publications.
She made the announcement in Bagalkot on Tuesday. Long ago, the late Sri Mathe Mahadevi, former head of the peetha, used Linga Deva as the signature of Sri Basaveshwara in the book Vachana Deepti.
The State Government had stopped its publication and seized the copies that were already printed. Since then, the peetha stopped the re-printing and publication of that book. In the light of these developments, “we have decided to use Kudalasangama Deva and not Linga Deva in all our future publications,” she said. Mathe Mahadevi had confirmed this stand in a statement in 2017, she said. Mathe Gangadevi, who succeeded Mathe Mahadevi, is the present seer of the peetha.
She told journalists that the institution will dissociate itself from some persons who are still using the words Linga Deva to denote the nom de plume of Sri Basaveshwara. “Some people still do it. I know. But we have nothing to do with it,’’ she said. “We will try to convince them to drop Linga Deva. We will issue a circular to all religious institutions associated with us,” she added.
Sri Mahadeshwar Swami, vice-president of the peetha and the successor to Mathe Gangadevi and G.G. Patil, president of the free boarding run by the peetha, were present.
Seers and heads of other Lingayat institutions have welcomed this decision. Sri Tontada Siddarama Swami, Jagatiya Lingayat Mahasabha leader Basavaraj Dhannur, Basava Kendra president Sharanappa Mithare and others have supported the move.
