Basava Jayanti 2027

About Basava Jayanti

Basava Jayanti marks the birth of Basavanna, the 12th-century Kannada poet, minister and reformer whose followers are the Lingayats. It falls on Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya, the same day as Akshaya Tritiya, and in 2027 it is on Sunday, 9 May 2027. Karnataka gives a state holiday, and Lingayat communities in Maharashtra and Telangana also mark it.

Basavanna, also called Basaveshwara, was born at Basavana Bagewadi in today's Vijayapura district of Karnataka, in a Kannada Brahmin family devoted to Shiva. He is usually dated 1131 to 1196, though some sources give earlier years. He grew up and studied at Kudalasangama, rose from accountant to chief minister at the Kalachuri court of King Bijjala II in Kalyana, and used that position to push for social and religious reform.

Who was Basavanna, and why does Karnataka remember him?

Basavanna taught that devotion to Shiva did not need a priest, a temple or a high birth. He promoted the ishtalinga, a small linga each devotee wears on the body and worships personally, whatever their caste or sex. He spoke against caste discrimination and against animal sacrifice, and he gathered around him a community of devotees called the Sharanas.

His most quoted teaching is Kayakave Kailasa: honest work is itself the way to Shiva's abode. With it goes dasoha, the idea that what you earn by your work is shared with others. Many Lingayat mathas serve free meals to all comers in that spirit.

He wrote in Kannada, not Sanskrit, in short prose poems called vachanas, so that ordinary people could hear and repeat them. Each of his vachanas ends with the name of his god, Kudalasangamadeva, the Lord of the meeting rivers. Other Sharanas, among them Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu, wrote vachanas too, and together they are one of the great bodies of Kannada literature.

The vachana goes on to answer its own question: his legs are the pillars, his body is the shrine, his head the golden dome. It is the clearest short statement of what he believed.

Historians see Basavanna as someone who reshaped and spread an existing Shaiva tradition rather than founding it from nothing, while the community regards him as its founder. Followers call themselves Lingayats or Veerashaivas, and how those two names relate, and where the tradition stands in relation to Hinduism, is debated within the community. In a message, simply use the name the person uses.

The Anubhava Mantapa

In Kalyana, Basavanna set up the Anubhava Mantapa, the "hall of experience", an assembly where men and women from every background, including those whom caste society kept out, met to discuss spiritual, social and economic questions. It is often described as an early parliament, and it is the reason his name comes up in talk of equality and public debate. In January 2024 the Karnataka cabinet declared Basavanna the state's cultural leader. A statue of him stands in Parliament House, installed in 2003, and another on the Albert Embankment of the Thames in London, unveiled on 14 November 2015.

How is the date of Basava Jayanti set?

Basava Jayanti falls on Vaishakha Shukla Tritiya, the third day of the waxing moon in Vaishakha, which is also Akshaya Tritiya and usually lands in late April or May. Karnataka's state holiday list names the day "Basava Jayanthi, Akshaya Tritiya".

When the tithi spans two mornings, panchangs and the government can pick different days. In 2026, for example, the tritiya began late on the morning of 19 April and ended early on 20 April. Drik Panchang placed Akshaya Tritiya on the 19th, while Karnataka gave its holiday on Monday, 20 April, the day the tritiya was current at sunrise. If you are planning around the holiday, follow the state list.

How Basava Jayanti is marked

Since the same day is Akshaya Tritiya, many Karnataka families also buy gold or start new ventures. For Lingayat households, though, Basava Jayanti is the main meaning of the day.

What to write

A Basava Jayanti message lands best when it uses Basavanna's own ideas. Honest work, equality, kindness to every living thing and sharing what you have are all close to his teaching. "Sharanu", a greeting of respect and surrender between Sharanas, is a warm opener for Lingayat friends.

Vachana

A short Kannada prose poem; Basavanna and the Sharanas wrote thousands.

Sharana

A devotee who has surrendered to Shiva; "Sharanu" is the greeting between them.

Ishtalinga

A small linga worn on the body and worshipped personally.

Kayakave Kailasa

"Work is Kailasa", Basavanna's teaching that honest work is worship.

Dasoha

Sharing what you earn; also the free meal served at mathas.

Anubhava Mantapa

The "hall of experience" in Kalyana where Sharanas debated as equals.

Aikya Mantapa

Basavanna's samadhi at Kudalasangama.

The same tithi is Akshaya Tritiya and, in many places, Parshuram Jayanti. Karnataka also remembers the poet-saint Kanakadasa on Kanakadasa Jayanti and its statehood on Karnataka Rajyotsava.

How to wish someone on Basava Jayanti

A Basava Jayanti wish does well to quote or echo Basavanna himself: "Kayakave Kailasa", work is worship, or his idea that the body is the temple. Lingayat friends often greet each other with "Sharanu". Speak of honest work, equality and sharing rather than wealth or luck, which belong to Akshaya Tritiya. For a colleague, a line about his Anubhava Mantapa, where anyone could speak, is warm without being religious.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Kannada.

When is Basava Jayanti in each year?

Basava Jayanti is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions