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

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