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

40 Goda's Garland of Devotion
Ajomukhi and Surpanakha were disfigured because they were
women. And ugly as well. Remember how, as Balarama, the Lord
married Revati who was tall beyond human reach? When he want-
ed he could easily transform the hunchback Trivakra into a lovely
damsel. Which goes to prove that there is little logic and plenty of
whimsicality on the part of the Lord when it is a matter concerning
women.
As we now read these passages in Āmukta Mālyada, we can
easily visualise the intense maiden Goda Devi, her eyes flashing
angrily at some distant object, lips a quiver, speaking to her friends
in a plaintive tone, her hands unconsciously plucking at the fresh
garland of red roses in her hand.
The passages in Āmukta Mālyada which form an archful nindā
stuti criticising the Lord for His harsh treatment of ladies are elo-
quent testimony to Krishnadeva Raya's close acquaintance with
the hymns of the Divya Prabhandham. For instance, the poetic pro-
secution of Rama was surely inspired by Tirumangai Alwar's
Siriya Tirumadal which is in the form of a letter written by a love-
lorn lady pining for union with the Lord.
The letter opens with a reference to Bhu Devi "who has the
mountains for breasts, the ocean for garment, the Sun for the saffron-
mark on the forehead, the rivers for her necklaces, the rainy clouds
for her tresses and the waters beyond space as her guardian moat."
This is followed by a description of the lady's dressing-up and a
chance meeting with her Lord. Was it a deliberately contrived
meeting on His part? From that moment the lady had become mad
with love for the Divine. At last a gypsy finds out the truth. The
lover is dark-hued Narayana!
The rest of the letter is a magnificent description of the several
avatars with particular reference to the Rama and Krishna incar-
nations. How to overcome this impossible desire to possess the Divine
who is apparently beyond human possession if we consider his
superhuman activities? The only way is to show the world that the
days to feel shy are over. Confess this desire openly and if people
laugh at me, let them! Vasavadutta had done it before when she
followed the fettered Vuthsa Udayan. "I too shall go where He is,
to Venkata Hill, to Kanchi, to Vellarai, indeed to all the holy places