आमुक्तमाल्यदा (विजयनगर सम्राट् श्रीकृष्णदेवराय - गोदा देवी आण्डाल भक्ति एवं साम्राज्य-नीति)

GODA'S GARLAND OF DEVOTION

By the same author:
Bharati in English Verse
A Study of 'Savitri'
Subramania Bharati (RAO & RAGHAVAN)
The Glory and the Good: Essays on Literature
Subramania Bharati (NBT)
Sri Aurobindo (Publications Division)
The Mother
Our Mother
Poems of Subramania Bharati
Bharati (Sahitya Akademi)
Tiruviruttam: The Drama of the Love Divine
(Translation of Nammalwar's poem)
Sri Aurobindo: A Critical Introduction
Dante and Sri Aurobindo
Atom and the Serpent (Novel)
Portrait of a Woman, English translation of Akilon's Jnanapith
Award winning Tamil novel (Macmillan).
U. V. Swaminatha Iyer: English translation of K. V. Jagannathan's
Tamil biography (Sahitya Akademi).
Manimēkalai (English verse translation from the original Tamil:
in the press).
Viduthalai, Tamil translation of Chaman Nahal's English
Akademi award winning novel, Azadi (Sahitya Akademi).
One-Sixth (Translation of Subramania Bharati's Aaril Oru Pangu).
Puyal Nilaippadhillai: Short Stories in Tamil
Amuda Thuli Uthirndadu: Short Stories in Tamil
Oru Naal Pozhudu: A Novel in Tamil
Edited:
Perseus the Deliverer by Sri Aurobindo
In collaboration with Prof. K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar:
An Introduction to the Study of English Literature

Goda’s
Garland of Devotion
An Introduction to
ĀMUKTA MĀLYADA
by KRISHNADEVA RAYA
by
PREMA NANDAKUMAR
SAMATA BOOKS
MADRAS INDIA
1989

First Published: May 1989
© PREMA NANDAKUMAR
Published by
V. SADANAND for SAMATA BOOKS
10, Kamaraj Bhavan, 573, Mount Road
Madras-600 006
Printed at
RAJSRI PRINTERS
156 Avvai Shanmugam Road (Lloyds Road)
Madras-600 086

CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE vii
PREAMBLE ... 1
VISHNUCHITTA ... 9
YAMUNACHARYA ... 27
GODA DEVI ... 32
APPENDIX:
GODA DEVI: A LYRIC DAWN ... 59

TO MY PARENTS
...Goda Devi's love,
Vishnuchitta's wisdom...

PREFACE
Of the five great epics in Telugu literature, Āmukta Mālyada
has the pride of having given the Andhras the inspiring sentence:
Telugu is the best among the nation’s languages. Written by Emperor
Krishnadeva Raya, the epic is about the life of Goda Devi whose
garland of devotion was accepted by Sri Ranganatha It is verily
the saga sublime of the Love Divine.
Composed in the grand style of the classics, Āmukta Mālyada
savours of the nine rasas. And devotional fervour is the Great
Bass that elevates it to the position of a scripture.
A few years ago, I happened to listen to a discourse on poetic
appreciation by His Holiness Sri Lakshmana Yateendra of
Mumukshu Peetham. He chose the verse of Garuda’s flight above
the oceans in Āmukta Mālyada, and elaborated the architectonic
and emotional content of the few lines to describe the sublime
poetry of Krishnadeva Raya. Sri Lakshmana Yateendra kept the
audience spell-bound. We could almost hear the flap of the large
wings, the sounds of the turbulent ocean and the hiss of the knot
of serpents deep in the ocean-bed. It then became inevitable for
me to make a study of Āmukta Mālyada. Aided by the excellent
exegesis of Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu, I have spent wonderful
hours in communion with this golden poem, widening the horizons
of my knowledge of Vaishnava literature.
In the course of my Āmukta Mālyada studies, I found that no
book on the epic had been published so far in English. With a view
to introducing it to the non-Telugu readers, I began writing about
it. The results of my endeavour were published as a series of essays
in The Indian Express, Vijayawada, in 1987. I am grateful to Sri
R. Sampath for making this possible.
I claim no wide or deep reading in Telugu literature, and
my ‘introduction’ is not a work of scholarship. All that I have
sought to record is my enthusiasm for the eminent devotional epic.
The saga of the life and work of the Vaishnava Alwars and Acharyas
has helped me greatly to achieve rapport with the Telugu classic.

The Appendix 'Goda Devi: A Lyric Dawn' is offered as my
own humble footnote in verse to Krishnadeva Raya's powerfully
evocative epic, Āmukta Mālyada. My piece in an earlier draft ap-
peared in Tiruppāvai Festival Souvenir 1988 of Sri Desika Sabha
(Hyderabad-Secunderabad).
In conclusion, it is a privilege to record my gratitude to my
parents and my brother, Ambirajan, for their constant encourage-
ment and counsel; to my husband for his never-failing help; to
Sri Sribhashyam Appalacharyulu and Sri K. T. L. Narasimha-
charyulu for their kind words and generosity of understanding;
and to Rajsri Printers for the care, taste and despatch with which
they have produced this book.
Mudhal Tirumaligai
91, South Chitrai Street

1. PREAMBLE
   It is certainly astonishing that, with the entire classical heritage at
   his command—the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata—
   and himself a powerful King who made and lived history, Krishna-
   deva Raya should have chosen Goda Devi as the heroine of his
   epic, Āmukta Mālyada. The choice, of course, speaks volumes for
   the crystalline image of the girl who became a goddess.
   History tells us of the glorious days of Krishnadeva Raya's
   reign, and his great contemporary, Allasani Peddanna, has written
   about the Raya's generosity of understanding and love of the
   damozel Poesy. But though we hear of his patronage of eminent
   Telugu poets, he is not associated with any Tamil poet. All the
   same, his knowledge of Tamil literature must have been wide and
   deep. The Divya Prabhanda hymns seem to have won his religious
   and aesthetic heart so completely that two of the hymnologists—
   Vishnuchitta and Goda Devi—are the central characters in his
   epic, Āmukta Mālyada. Ramanujacharya's Visishtadvaita provides
   the philosophical background to the tale. In the course of the last
   five centuries, the epic has become entwined with the Telugu liter-
   rary consciousness in general and the Vaishnava heart in parti-
   cular. Come Margasirsa month, and we are immediately trans-
   ported to Nanda's Gokula, the Pavai Nonbu of the Yadava damsels,
   Goda Devi's Tiruppāvai, and Raya's epic Āmukta Mālyada.
   The epic opens with a detailed Preamble that pays homage to
   the various gods and acharyas. The very first verse employs a
   lovely conceit:
   The pendent of Lakshmi's necklace reflects Him;
   She is seen in the lovely Kausthubha gem.
   Their loving presence within
   Is now imaged outside, as it were,
   Shining through the divine bodies crystal-pure.
   To this Venkateswara, I bow in devotion.
   Since the purest form of love (aspiration for the Divine) forms
   the subject-matter of the epic, it is appropriate that the poet refers
   to the love-filled hearts of the Lord and Lakshmi. Commentators

have pointed out that the very mention of Lakshmi’s necklace
(Sri kamaneeya haara mani chennugan) is a reference to the theme, which
is about the garland of Goda Devi that was accepted and worn by
the Lord with pleasure; and that the choice of the utpalamala metre
for the opening verse is, again, an indication of the central plot.
Next come nobly articulated prayers to Anantha, Garuda,
Vishwaksena, Sudarsana, Pānchajanya, Kowmödaki, Sārnga
and Nandaki. Himself a soldier of repute, Krishnadeva Raya must
have felt specially elated inditing these verses that are associated
with guarding the devotees of the Lord. The description of the
divine conch was surely inspired by Goda Devi. Thus Krishnadeva
Raya:
As He blew the conch, the bees on the lotus
Moved in droves towards the Pānchajanya,
Attracted by the scented breath of the Lord.
It seemed as if the dark lives of demons
Ever bogged down in the mud of evil
Were being drawn away by the Maker;
Brilliant as the full moon at night,
This conch gives us all prosperity illimitable.
It may be recalled here that, after dreaming about her wedding
with Ranganatha in her Nāchiyār Tirumozhi, Goda Devi’s first
thought was for the Pānchajanya. The conch means music, romance,
loveliness, and a constant association with the Lord. Her decad
on the divine conch also begins with the scented breath of the
Lord, as Krishnadeva Raya’s tadaasya maaruta sugandha:
Is camphor as scented? the lotus?
Or the lips of the Lord? Tell me, white conch.
I wish to enjoy the Lord’s breath
Which is sweet and scented as well.
This Pānchajanya was born in the sea, nurtured by Asura
Panchajana, and wrested from him by Krishna who wished to
unleash terror upon the ranks of the demons. It shines like the full
moon in autumn, risen from the sea to the top of the Udaya Hill
(cf. Krishnadeva Raya’s raaka nisaakara gauradhyuti). Having gained
a firm seat in the Lord’s raised hand, the conch spends its time in
earnest converse with Him. Besides, it is ever alive due to the breath
of the Lord Himself. Does this not make it superior to every other

Preamble 3
thing in creation? To be breathing all the time in that stream of
Grace! The Pāñchajanya is seen resting in the Lord's hand like
a white swan on a red lotus. How very, very lucky! No wonder,
all the devotees of the Lord are quite jealous of this proximity
achieved by a mere ocean-born shell.
Goda Devi has then a brilliant idea. She tells the conch that,
as the philosophy of Vaishnavism calls for helping fellow aspirants
and approaching the Divine as a group of sadhaks, the conch should
help them in this co-operative endeavour to attain divine conscious-
ness. The Margasirsa vrata is meant for such a shivir, a camp of
devotees pitched in human time aspiring for the Lord's Grace.
Krishnadeva Raya is certain of the conch's generosity of under-
standing as a mediator. The Pāñchajanya will grant us prosperity
illimitable: kalyāna saakalyamun osangun.
Before passing on to the context which prompted the creation
of the epic Āmukta Mālyada, Krishnadeva Raya bows in deep devo-
tion at the feet of the twelve Alwars who indited the hymns of the
Divya Prabhandham, thereby ushering in a wonderful Hindu renais-
sance. The bhakti waves generated by the Alwars of Tamil Nadu
were to engulf the entire Indian sub-continent, and in the course
of several centuries blossom forth as Mira Bai, Kabir, Raidas,
Surdas, Tulsidas, Jayadeva, Vidyapati and Guru Nanak. This
world of bhakti is totally sattwik. Indeed, we enter the zone of
absolute happiness and calm in the world of Alwars' poetry.
As the king contemplates upon the life-giving cool springs
of poesy in the Divya Prabhandham, he realises that the Alwar-
heart is a living temple of Narayana. Has not Nammalwar repeat-
edly said: "He has come and occupied my heart"? Why has He
done so? Krishnadeva Raya has a charming explanation:
As if to be rid of the heat received
When living at the centre of the twelve Suns,
Narayana appears to have chosen
The hearts of the beloved Alwars
Which are indeed cool and scented lotuses,
And are pure through contemplation.
Desiring for release, I bow to them.
As the twelve Adityas illumine our cosmos, the twelve Alwars
illumine the spiritual spaces within us. By retaining the Lord in

4 God's Garland of Devotion
their hearts they give Him joy and themselves love in the ecstasy
of the Ananda consciousness. Goda Devi refers to this in the sixth
verse of Tiruppāvai: "As the dawn comes with the twittering of the
birds...the rishis and yogis repeat gently the name of Hari whom
they hold in their hearts". They repeat His name 'gently' lest He
be troubled by noise and wake up with a shock, explains a fond
commentator of Tiruppāvai! Such is the truth of the Greater Rea-
lism which envisions Narayana residing in the Alwars' heart.
The Preamble then moves on to a dramatic moment in his-
torical time: "Sometime ago I had decided to defeat Kalinga in
war. Leading my army I spent a few weeks near Vijayawada, in
the holy place of Srikakulam where the presiding deity is Andhra
Vishnu. Having fasted on the Ekadesi day, I rested in the temple
at night. Towards dawn I was vouchsafed a wonderful vision.
Darker than the rain-bearing clouds, with eyes that were far more
beautiful than lotuses, wearing garments that were a brighter gold
colour than that of Garuda's wings, with the Kausthuba gem
shining like the early morning sun, accompanied by Lakshmi
holding a lotus in one hand and the other promising Grace, Andhra
Vishnu appeared smiling and commanded me".
What could such a vision mean for a King who was looking
forward to the blood, sweat, toil and tears of a battle? The time was
meant for sharpening the sword and straightening the lance. Had
the Lord come to advise him on the strategy to be followed? Pre-
sently we hear what the Lord has to say. Not a word about assault,
counter-attack, or the push of aggression:
"You have written several works in Sanskrit. Write a poem
in Telugu that would please me. Let the theme be my marriage
with Goda Devi at Srirangam It was with some distaste that
I had received the garland offered to me by the garland-maker
in Mathura. By describing the tale of Goda Devi who gave me
her garland, you will make me happy".
Could there have been a trace of hesitancy on Krishnadeva
Raya's face as he heard the Lord? A King, a well-respected scholar,
and a renowned poet: can he 'descend' to write in Telugu? The
author of Madalasa Charitra, Satyabhama Parinaya, Sakalakatha San-
graha, Jnana Chintamani and Rasamanjari to write in Telugu, a
'regional language'! But the Lord goes on:

Preamble 5
"Should you wonder why write in Telugu, hear me I live
in the Telugu land. I am Andhra Vishnu. Have you not
spoken in different languages when consorting with kings
from different areas? Telugu is the best among the national
languages".
These words—Desa bhāshalandu Telugu lessa—have become
the flag of self-confidence and proper pride for the Telugu nation;
and ever since they were uttered by a royal figure in the name of
Andhra Vishnu, Telugu literature has never looked back. Inci-
dentally, though Ramanujacharya and later, Varadacharya (the
son of Vedanta Desika) were to lay the strong foundations of Vaish-
navism in Andhra Pradesh, it was the presence and power of Āmukta
Mālyada that has given an indispensable edge to the devotion and
philosophy propounded by the Vaishnava Alwars and Acharyas.
Recreating the glorious days when Vishnuchitta brought up the
lovely foundling, and taking us through the recurring drama of
a soul pining for union with the Divine in terms of Kāvyanubhava,
the language of Krishnadeva Raya welds the classical and the
romantic to give us a beautiful literary masterpiece.
Before withdrawing, the Lord tells the King that the epic
about Goda Devi's marriage with Ranganatha should be dedi-
cated to Sri Venkateswara. This was to make us understand that
the various archa forms are here to help us increase our devotion
by experiencing a personal relationship. Actually they are but
different forms of the one Divine, Narayana, and the writing of
the epic would assure the King increased prosperity.
Asking a king on the eve of a momentous battle to indite an
epic could only mean that everlasting fame for Krishnadeva Raya
would come not through the Kalinga victory. Indeed, the glory
that was Vijayanagar was reduced to a shambles in one day at
Tallikota. But the King had already reared his spiritual kingdom
on firm foundations. Āmukta Mālyada is with us today, proclaiming
the love, humility and poetry that made a King's inner life an en-
riching journey into light and Ananda.
But then, not all kings are great poets. In fact, kings and poets
rule very different territories. Again, rarely is a ruler of Kāvya
sāmrājya also an emperor of bhakti samrājya. Krishnadeva Raya
exemplifies this unusual combination. We need not tarry here with

6 Goda's Garland of Devotion
the doubts as to whether Krishnadeva Raya wrote Āmukta Mālyada,
or whether it was only from the pen of Allasani Peddanna. What
matters who wrote the plays of Shakespeare? The plays are the
reality: the rest is illusion, as far as the sahṛidaya is concerned. Such
too is the significance of the theme of this epic. History associates
Krishnadeva Raya with several Vaishnavite temples, and we expe-
rience a thrill to learn from the epic more about the soldier who was
such a great devotee as well, and in all probability also a great poet.
The second part of the Preamble gives us an account of
Krishnadeva Raya's ancestry as well as the splendour of his reign.
This was the dynasty that saved many Hindu temples from deci-
mation by Islamic marauders during the 15th-16th centuries.
Here an ingenious device is used to overcome the fault of self-praise.
When the vision of Andhra Vishnu withdraws and the Raya
wakes up, he decides to consult his courtiers on the significance of
the dream. In the morning, he pays his respects to the assembled
chieftains, ministers and scholars, and gives an account of the
auspicious dream. They are happy and consider the dream (śubha
svapna) a precursor to many good things. The very fact of the Lord
appearing in the King's dream signifies a further accession of faith
towards Narayana. Again, the command to write an epic means
that the King will be blessed with an increase in knowledge. The
presence of Lakshmi assures illimitable prosperity for the royal
household. The lotus in her hand is a pointer to the King becoming
an Emperor. The Lord's reference to the many kings and several
languages would bring lasting friendships; and the theme of the
'used garland' promises the King a rare joy in his personal rela-
tionships with his Queens. Besides, the Lord had spoken of increased
good when the epic was completed: this could only signify blessed
parenthood. Considering all this, the King must go ahead with the
task of writing the epic.
The courtiers then launch upon an account of the King's
ancestry. They begin with the Moon. We hear of the famous kings
of the lunar dynasty, Pururavas and his son Turvasu. The latter
takes us to the Tuluva dynasty which could boast of kings like
Timmadeva Raya, Eswaradeva Raya and Narasimharaju. Nara-
simharaja's second wife, Nagamma, was the mother of Krishnadeva
Raya.

Preamble 7
Vijayanagar itself is said to have been founded in 1336 by
Harihara and Bukka. After a series of usurpations, the Tuluva
dynasty came to the throne, thanks to Narasa Nayaka whose son
Vira Narasimha of "unequalled prowess" (apāra mahima) was
succeeded by a half-brother, Krishnadeva Raya, in 1509 History
tells us of his many victories: the most famous was his recovery of
the fortress of Raichur from Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur. He had
certainly become a legend in his lifetime. Thus Domingos Paes:
"This king is of medium height, and of fair complexion
and good figure, rather fat than thin; he has on his face signs
of small-pox. He is the most feared and perfect king that could
possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry; he is one
that seeks to honour foreigners, and receives them kindly,
asking about all their affairs whatever their conditions may
be. He is a great ruler and a man of much justice, but sub-
ject to sudden fits of rage, and this is his title: Crisnarao
Macacao, King of Kings, lord of the greater lords of India,
lord of the three seas and of the land".¹
Though romantic tangles have been occasionally used to tie
up his name in colourful contexts, Krishnadeva Raya has left behind
a fair name in personal life as well. Vincent Smith quotes from the
Archaeological Survey of India for 1908–'9 to underline this aspect:
"...his imposing personal appearance, his genial look and polite
conversation which distinguished a pure and dignified life, his love
for literature and religion, and his solicitude for the welfare of his
people; and above all, the most fabulous wealth that he conferred
as endowments on temples and Brahmans, mark him out indeed
as the greatest of the South Indian monarchs".
Thus the glowing references to the King's reign in the epic
do not sound hollow. Here was a King who incarnated the will to
rejuvenate Hinduism. That was the time when even any passive
acceptance of the Muslim ascendency would have proved fatal.
The courtiers therefore speak of the achievements of the King in
defeating powerful rulers like Adil Shah. But, then, Raya was
equally great as a writer. A sāhiti samaraangana saarvabhouma like

1. Quoted in Vincent Smith, The Oxford History of India (1958),
   p. 307.

8 Goda's Garland of Devotion
him must follow the command of the Lord and take up the story
of Goda Devi's wedding.
Having thus gained the approval of the respected courtiers,
the King begins the epic poem with a reference to the Lord's
Grace which could save one even when still in the womb. The King
needs an abundance of grace to pilot him through this seemingly
impossible task. He cannot depend upon the familiar story lines
and standard descriptions handed down by the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana traditions. Writing a full-fledged prabandah on a
Brahmin garland-maker and his teenage daughter was not going
to be an easy task. An epic must embody all the rasas. It must be
splashed with colour, and made to ring with the sounds of war.
People and places had to be larger than life. Overdoing philosophy
or devotional poetry could turn the poem into a theological tract
or an extended hymn. The Andhra Vishnu had wished for a poem
on the lines of classics like Madalasa Charitra. Could it be achieved?
A hero of the battle field, Krishnadeva Raya was also a hero
of the spirit. He takes up the challenge cheerfully, and the next
moment we are in Srivillipputtur, the place where Goda Devi
was born.

2. VISHNUCHITTA
   In the 8th century A.D., Villipputtur had reached the apex of its
   glory. The temple of Vatapatrasāyi, built by the chieftain Villi,
   was the centre of the town’s prosperity. But it was not material
   prosperity that made the city famous. The residents knew how to
   cultivate sreyas as well, and the very air vibrated with devotion to
   Narayana. Women going about their daily tasks (as when carrying
   water pots on their hips) walked reciting musically the hymns of
   the Alwars (divya prabandha yugaasayal dravidaanganam).
   Though the author has to follow epic conventions when des-
   cribing the prosperity and people of the land which includes the
   courtesans, he walks warily and avoids overt descriptions, for in a
   story of Goda Devi these things have no place. Instead, there is
   plenty of nature description. This is verily the kingdom of Sakham-
   bari: jack fruit ripening at the foot of the tree, bunches of plantains
   heady-scented champaks · a variety of trees like arecanut and mango
   makes the place a paradise for spiritual aspirants. The drums of
   the temple, the scent of the sacred basil, the bells atop the Dhwajas-
   thamba: verily these are of the kingdom of God! Everything speaks
   of the sweetness of human nature. For instance, women who guard
   paddy set out to dry are so gentle that they use lotus garlands to
   drive away the deer that come to eat the corn.
   The Villipputtur citizenry are fine hosts. They serve the Lord’s
   devotees with rice, dal, ghee, vegetables, milk and curd, for such
   is the Vaishnavite way of life. The Tiruppāvai speaks highly of
   community worship, community singing and community feasting
   (koodi irundhu kulirndhu). Vishnuchitta belonged to such a family.
   Having imbibed the teaching of Vaishnavism, he led a regulated
   outer life which moved in rhythm with his inner life of divine con-
   sciousness. He prepared flower garlands for the presiding deity of
   Villipputtur, and found great joy in this humble task.
   Krishnadeva Raya takes a special pleasure in detailing the
   variety of dishes that Vishnuchitta offered to his guests. The diffe-
   rent seasons brought out appropriate preparations to suit the
   human body. During rainy days there was an abundance of fried

10 Goda's Garland of Devotion
rice cakes and dried vegetables (vadiyamulu, varugulu); hot weather
indicated butter-milk soup (timmanambulu) and tender mango
pickle (vadapindelu: a delicacy of Tamil Nadu known as maavadu!);
winter would mean pepper sauce and steaming rice. Again, Vishnu-
chitta's reception included oil and dal flour for the pilgrims to have
a healthy bath in the tank on Saturdays. The feeding of pilgrims
went hand in hand with the reading of the Puranas that speak about
the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Day and night one could listen
to the recitation of the Divya Prabhandha hymns. All told, here was
a remote holy township glowing with the pearly light of sattwa:
Vishnuchitta, the gentle devotee of Narayana, lived here in con-
tentment, at peace with himself.
Traditional accounts speak of Vishnuchitta as the son of
Mukundacharya and Padmavati. He was born under the Swati
star on an Ekadesi day. Considered as an incarnation of Garuda,
it was not just acquired scholarship that made him famous. Rather,
like Garuda, he seemed a living image of the Veda, a jnanin born.
The name 'Vishnuchitta' turned out to be appropriate, as the
young man's consciousness was filled with the Divine Presence. He
engaged himself in horticulture and laid out a vast garder where
he worked, spade in hand. Gathering the flowers he would make
lovely garlands and himself take them to the temple where the
priest decorated the deity with these honey-spilling garlands.
Living ir an atmosphere of delight with the rainbow beauty
of nature, Vishnuchitta could envision the Divine as pure Ananda-
maya, a loveliness past description. This beauty and joy percolated
into his poems on Krishna. Effortlessly he walked past space and
time to watch the Gokula where Krishna was born. His verses on
the childhood, boyhood and youth of Krishna inaugurated a new
form (Pillai-Tamil) in Tamil literature.
Vishnuchitta begins with the birth of Krishna, which is cele-
brated by the Yadava ladies with strewing coloured powder and
sprinkling curds, milk and ghee. Vishnuchitta is now Yasoda
fondling the babe, dressing up his hair, bathing him, feeding him
and playing with him. The pranks of Krishna have a divine charm
about them that, whatever the mischief, he is ever the victor! He
grows up, grazes the cows, plays with the Yadava maids, steals

Vishnuchitta 11
their clothes, and dances upon the serpent Kaliya. And the flute
of Krishna!
As the sounds of Krishna's flute came from the forest, the girls
stood silently where they were with bowed heads so as not to miss
a single note. Divine damsels found this experience sweeter than
their own Gandharva music. Tilottama, Rambha and Urvasi
froze in statuesque poses in the midst of the dance. Tumburu,
Narada and the Kinnara couples ceased to play their musical
instruments, preferring to pay attention to the flute's call. Gandha-
rvas decided not to sing. Even more astonishing was the group
of gods who forgot to receive their respective portions in yajnas.
Instead, they came gliding to the Yadava homesteads. Krishna
stood in the forest, his hands crossing each other and holding the
flute, surrounded by birds and cattle self-lost in the vasts of this
soulful music:
The boy, dark like rain-bearing clouds,
With darker tresses of ringlets framing the darling face
Like droves of bees encircling a red lotus,
Played the flute; hearing the music,
The deer forgot to graze
And stood still as painted figures.
Such was Vishnuchitta's self-effacing bhakti-yoga. And,
suddenly, he was called upon to proceed to Madurai, then the
capital of the Pandyan rulers. The second Aswasa of Āmukta
Mālyada swiftly transports us to the grandeur of the capital city
of Madura. Krishnadeva Raya is in his element in picturing the
gold-topped fortresses, the snake-filled moat and the abundance
of high-rise buildings. Released from the earlier constraints when
dealing with Villipputtur, the poet gives free rein to his imagina-
tion as he takes up the epic components: the archful maids who sell
flowers, the noble elephants of the royal stable, the speeding horses,
the heroes of the land. However, for all the abundance, the bhoga,
there is no falsity, pride, jealousy. For this city of Madura revolves
on the pivot of Dharma. The vaishyas gather wealth through
honest means and give away most of their earnings to charity. The
farmers work ceaselessly to produce mountains of paddy which are
used to sustain the holy and the good; and the King himself is an
ideal monarch, heroic, well-endowed, charitable, compassionate.

12 Goda's Garland of Devotion
Research scholars have identified this Pandyan King with
Vallabhadeva (Ko Nedumaran) and M. Raghava Iyengar assigns
Vallabhadeva's reign to 740–767 A.D. Vallabhadeva's grand-
father was Ninraseer Nedumaran, a Jain who was converted to
Saivism by Jnanasambandhar. There is a tradition that Vallabha-
deva was a Saivite too, but he embraced Vaishnavism after listen-
ing to Vishnuchitta. It is also possible that Vallabhadeva's Chief
Minister, Maaran Kaari, had a hand in this conversion as the latter
hailed from Kalakkudi, a neighbouring hamlet of Villipputtur.
In Amukta Malyada severe summer introduces the Pandyan
King to the readers. Krishnadeva Raya's magnificent description
of the Greeshma ritu is one of the highlights of the epic. The scorching
sun-rays make the days blindingly bright, the skins of animals go
dry, long days watch pits being dug up on the river bed, drooping
lotus creepers appear in the lake, and cranes search for tiny fish in
the mud. There are also the welcome aspects of summer. The
moonlight is lovely, the nights are cool, a pleasant chill marks
the water in the well, jasmines gain a heady scent and oh! how to
describe the nectarean tender coconut water! These coconuts
are kept buried in sand for a while to make them yield icy milk
(himaantah naarikelaambuvul). Come summer, and it is the Float
festival in the Tirumaliruncholai temple which is near Madura.
Pilgrims come to the city in great numbers. One Brahmin among
them who performs sandhya on the Vaigai river bed, is entertained
to dinner by the King's chief priest with bananas, jack fruit, cucum-
bers, a variety of mangoes and grapes among other things, and
goes to take rest on the pial outside a house. There are other tra-
vellers there, and they all spend their time reciting the Lord's name
and exchanging Puranic lore.
The cool night is an invitation for romance. Vallabhadeva
decides to meet his beloved courtesan. On the way he hears some
travellers conversing in the dark. A voice recites in clear accents:
“Men work for eight months to save what they would need for
the four months of the rainy season; they gather during the day-
time the requirements for the night; the days of youth are engaged
profitably to gain security for old age; so we must gather now what
we would need after our life.” Such words of good import (purah
hita dharmamu) were spoken by the pilgrim to his fellow-travellers
on the pial. The King heard all this clearly.