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

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.