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

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