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

46 Goda's Garland of Devotion
She wore a white-and-ochre coloured sari and set about drying
her thick tresses with scented smoke".
Goda Devi would then go to the temple carrying garlands of
red lotuses and a bunch of ripe bananas. At that early hour the
temple would be deserted. She would sweep the prākāras and draw
lovely rangoli decorations all over the place. Pouring ghee made
from the milk of a tawny cow, she would light the lamp. Reciting
the Dvaya mantra affirming absolute self surrender, she would
decorate the deity with lotus garlands, prepare aloe-wood scented
smoke, and offer the sweet ripe plantains along with sugar and
ghee. Pieces of betel-nut, dried ginger and camphor would be
mixed by her and placed before the Lord with deep devotion. Only
after making all these offerings at dawn would Goda Devi join her
friends. Together they would circumambulate the sanctum sanc-
torum and receive the satagopa blessing from the priest as also the
holy water (charana teertha). Decorating her tresses with the garland
blazoning the Lord's pleasure, Goda Devi would then wend her
way home.
Such was her daily routine. Back home she would once again
become a prey to depression caused by the exile from the Lord's
presence. To overcome this she would spend her time singing the
hymns of the Divya Prabhandham that glorify the deeds of Krishna.
If Krishnadeva Raya gives brilliant descriptions of the sum-
mer and rainy seasons when dealing with the episodes of Vallabha-
deva and Yamunacharya respectively, he excels himself in the
unforgettable description of spring while delineating the life of
Goda Devi. The Margasirsa month had just ended. Goda Devi
had indited the Tiruppavai during the preceding thirty days.
Makara Sankrama had taken place now, the Sun having turned
towards the North. The poet archfully declares that this was
because the Sun could not bear the scorching flames of separa-
tion that engulfed Goda Devi who resided in the South. The Sun
raced towards the North to cool himself in the Himalayan ranges!
More such conceits mark the layers of description, and the poet's
powers of observation constantly jerk us into joyous recognition.
Spring had come and so people had stopped wetting their lips with
tongues (as the lips crack during winter); cool breeze from the
South enveloped the atmosphere, as if the breeze wished to give