The Giver of the Worn Garland : Krishnadevaraya’s Amuktamalyada

0.0

And below her hair, she would put on a garland and spend a few minutes just gazing into a pond, seeing her reflection and satisfying her desire before turning away and returning the worn garland to her flower basket The emperor Krishnadevaraya’s epic poem Amuktamalyada (Giver of the Worn Garland) depicts the life of the medieval Vaisnava poet-saint Andal, or Goda Devi as she is also known, and her passionate devotion to Lord Visnu. Krishnadevaraya’s unique poetic imagination brings to life a celestial world filled with wonder, creativity, humour and vibrant natural beauty. The mundane is made divine and the ordinary becomes extraordinary; the routine activities of daily life become expressive metaphors for heavenly actions, while the exalted gods of heaven are re-imagined as living persons. The poet’s ability to see divinity in the most commonplace activities is an extension of his powerful belief that god is everywhere, in everything, at all times.

0.0

Sri Krishnadevaraya became king of the fractured South Indian empire of Vijayanagaram in 1509. During his reign he expanded his empire to more than double its original size and contributed, both as patron and poet, to a flourishing age of artistic and literary creativity. Known as sahit?- samarangaa-sarva-bhauma, emperor in the fields of war and literature, he is remembered as an iconic god-king. THE TRANSLATOR Srinivas Reddy graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in South Asian Studies. He is a professional concert sitarist and has given numerous recitals in the US and India; he is also a teacher and educator and has taught several classes on Indian literature and music.