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

26 Goda’s Garland of Devotion
and went about with a plough? And Krishna, the darling of huma-
nity! When the Lord raised the Govardhana Hill, water fell around
Him in torrents and reflected His form in a million droplets. It
seemed then that Narayana was everywhere and the cows were
ensconced in an armour of the Lord’s protection. And Narayana
Kavacha can guard us as Krishna did for seven days and nights
the denizens of Gokula. One is here reminded of the soulful ‘Nara-
yana Kavacha Prarambhamu’ in the sixth skandha of Pothana’s
Bhagavatam.
Buddha; Kalki. These are but two more of the countless
incarnations of Narayana that are meant to help man in his on-
ward march towards Divine consciousness, and it is out of compas-
sion for man that the Divine constricts Himself to the inconvenienc. s
of an earthly existence. The Alwars realised this and gave expres-
sion to this idea in their hymns. Nammalwar speaks of Narayana
who “out of compassion was born mid the dirty human race”
(mana parippodu azhukku maanida jaathiyil thaan pirandhu) and took
the form He liked for destroying the demons. The divine incar-
nates whenever Dharma fades away from earth, says the Gita too.
As Vishnuchitta remembers the several incarnations of Nara-
yana and is moved to the depths by the Lord’s compassion, the
vision begins to fade. Before withdrawing, Vishnu instructs Viswa-
karma to enrich the yogi’s homestead at Villipputtur, as Vishnu-
chitta is sure to spend the entire prize-money to improve the tem-
ple of Vatapatrasayi. Such is the paraspara prema, mutuality of love,
between the Divine and the devotee!