Lingayatism traces its origin to Basavanna, also known as Basava or Basaveshvara, a seminal figure whose devotion to Shiva was inseparable from a radical vision of social transformation. Emerging in the region of present-day Karnataka, his movement wove together intense personal bhakti with a critique of entrenched social hierarchies. Basavanna taught that direct, personal devotion to Shiva, symbolized by the individual wearing of the liṅga, was sufficient for spiritual life, thereby challenging the necessity of priestly intermediaries and elaborate ritualism. In this way, devotion was not a retreat from the world but a force that questioned the very structures that produced inequality and exclusion.

At the heart of his reformist work lay a resolute rejection of caste hierarchy and the traditional varna system, welcoming people from all social backgrounds into a shared spiritual community. He opposed the dominance of Brahmin priests and Vedic ritualism, opening the path of Shiva-bhakti to those historically denied religious agency. This egalitarian spirit extended to social practices: he supported inter-caste marriages and communal dining, and simplified wedding ceremonies so that spiritual commitment, rather than social status, defined the sacred bond. The Anubhava Mantapa, the “Hall of Experience,” embodied this democratizing impulse, serving as a forum where individuals from diverse backgrounds could participate in spiritual dialogue on equal footing.

Basavanna’s concern for justice also embraced questions of gender and economic life. He affirmed the dignity of labor, insisting that every devotee engage in honest work and opposing economic exploitation in all its forms. Women were encouraged to participate actively in religious life, and he supported widow remarriage, challenging norms that confined women to marginal and dependent roles. By emphasizing that spiritual worth is measured by devotion, ethical conduct, and work, rather than by birth, ritual status, or wealth, his teaching reoriented the social imagination of his community.

Through these intertwined strands—devotion to Shiva, social equality, gender justice, and the sanctification of labor—Basavanna shaped Lingayatism into both a spiritual path and a program of reform. The movement’s emphasis on direct experience of the divine, shared in a common language and lived through everyday work, offered an alternative vision of society grounded in dignity and mutual respect. In this synthesis, the worship of Shiva was not merely a matter of inner piety but a call to reorder social life so that every person could stand before the divine without fear, mediation, or discrimination.