GS PAPER I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context: PM bows to Jagadguru Basaveshwara on Basava Jayanthi.

Mahatma Basaveshwar

• He was an Indian 12th-century statesman, philosopher, poet, social reformer and Lingayat saint in the Shiva-focussed Bhakti movement, and Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chalukya/Kalachuri dynasty.
• Mahatma Basaveshwara was active during the rule of both dynasties but reached his peak of influence during the rule of King Bijjala II in Karnataka, India.
• He rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals but introduced Ishtalinga necklace, with an image of the Shiva Liṅga, to every person regardless of his or her birth, to be a constant reminder of one's bhakti (devotion) to Shiva.
• As the chief minister of his kingdom, he introduced new public institutions such as the Anubhava Mantapa, which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to discuss spiritual and mundane questions of life.
• A full account of Basava's life and ideas are narrated in a 13th-century sacred Telugu text, the Basava Purana by Palkuriki Somanatha.
• Mahatma Basaveshwara literary works include the Vachana Sahitya in Kannada Language. He is also known as Bhaktibhandari

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1718484

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