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

Vishnuchitta 17
listening to the others for a while, Vishnuchitta offered to speak,
provided the King would be the judge and this was agreed to.
Now Vishnuchitta began his arguments with a gentle smile. And
a nation’s spiritual history was laid on a new course.
At the outset, Vishnuchitta countered the statements of the
other scholars in the fray. There were involved speakers, argumen-
tative scholars and aggressive orators. But Vishnuchitta’s kindness
of heart, infinite patience and sense of commitment won the day.
The Sankhya, Advaita, Lokayata, Jaina, Mimamsa, Bauddha,
Charvaka and Vaiseshika doctrines were defeated with appropriate
quotations drawn from the Vedas, the Brahma Sutras and other
traditional granaries of Brahma-knowledge. Krishnadeva Raya’s
helpful authority in this passage was Ramanujacharya’s exegesis
on the Brahma Sutras.
Having silenced the opponents, Vishnuchitta spoke of the
unique characteristics of Visishtadvaita which light up for us the
Divine as a figure of knowledge and Ananda (sukha samvit):
“In the beginning there was only Narayana. Brahma,
Siva, the cosmos, the sun, the moon, the stars, water and fire
were not. Narayana then decided, as his leela, to enter the
chit and achit to appear as Many: so speaks the Chandogya
Upanishad. Besides, it is Narayana who is at the centre of the
Sun in Antaraditya Vidya as propounded by the scriptures.
The Taittiriya speaks of the all-pervading Brahman which
is Narayana. For the Brahman does not stand for any other
God”.
As proof of Narayana being the all-pervading Divine, Vishnu-
chitta referred to several important events in man’s spiritual past.
In days of yore when Parasurama was spreading havoc in the ranks
of Kshatriya rulers, Pradhartana gave up his kingdom in disgust
He prayed to Indra for Release. Indra appeared and directed him
“worship me”, meaning “worship Narayana within me”. like Vama-
deva who had worshipped the Lord as Antaryami. Thus Indra made
the King understand how the individual soul is different from the
Supreme. Only those who are after worldly effects—dharma,
artha, kama—worship Brahma and other gods. Moksha, however,
can be granted only by Narayana. Vishnuchitta then began to
recount the conversation of Khandikya and Kesidhwaja.
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