---

THE KING'S DREAM

[2] Krsnadevarāya, āmukta-mālyada, ed. Vedamu Venkatarayasastri, 2nd ed. (Madras: Vedamu Venkatarayasastri and Brothers, 1964), 1.1, 11–18, 44.

	He can be seen on the goddess,
	in the sheen of her pendant.
	And she is there on the jewel he wears,

	as if their images of one another
	that had been held inside them
	had come out clearly, and were mirrored

	This is the lord of Venkatam,
	the god I love. [3] This invocation is followed by nine more introductory verses, which we have not translated here.

Some time ago, I was determined to conquer the Kalinga territory. On the way, I camped for a few days with my army in Vijayavāda. Then I went to visit.āndhra Visnu, who lives in śrīkākula.

[4] Today in Krsna District, not far from Vijayavāda (near KuchipŪdi). The god of śrīkākulam is known as āndhra Visnu and may have marked an ancient focus of Andhra cultural identity.

Observing the fast of Visnu's day,

[5] Ekādaśi, the eleventh day of the lunar cycle, sacred to Vaisnavas.

in the fourth and final watch of that god's night,

	āndhra Visnu came to me in my dream.
	His body was a radiant black, blacker than a rain cloud.
	His eyes, wide and sparkling, put the lotus to shame.
	He was clothed in the best golden silk, finer still
	than the down on his eagle's wings. [6] Visnu rides the great bird Garuda.
	The red of sunrise is pale compared to the ruby on his breast.
	The goddess who was with him held a lotus in one hand,
	and his hand in the other, and her gentle glance was enough
	to do away with every loss. He was smiling, spilling goodness
	as he spoke to me:

	"You told the Story of Madâlasa, exciting connoisseurs of poetry
	with skillful similes and metaphors and the trope of true description.
	You sang of Satyabhāma, a poem resonant with feeling.
	You made a collection of superb stories culled from all ancient books.
	You composed the Gem of Wisdom, an eloquent work
	that dispels residues of darkness in those who hear it.

---

	You astounded us with honeyed poems in the language of the gods,
	The Pleasures of Poetry and other essays. [7] The verse offers the following names—probably only descriptive titles, despite our italics—for Krsnadevarāya's earlier works: Madâlasa-carita, SatyavadhŪ-prīnanambu, Sakala-kathā-sāra-sangrahambu, Jñāna-cintāmani, and Rasa-mañjari.
	Is Telugu beyond you? Make a book in Telugu
	now, for my delight.

	You might be wondering which ‘me' to describe. I'll tell you.
	You remember that wedding in śrīrangam, when I married
	the girl who had given me a garland she wore first?
	Tell that story. I'm a Telugu king,
	and you're the king of Kannada.
	Once I accepted, with no great liking,
	a garland given by a man. [8] Krsna was garlanded by Sudāma. You can make good
	that loss by singing of the special joy
	that comes from touching what a lover touched.

	‘Why Telugu?’ you might ask.
	This is the Telugu land.
	I am the lord of Telugu.
	There is nothing sweeter.
	Because you speak Telugu,
	many kings come to serve you.
	Among all the languages of the land,
	Telugu is best.

	Who should receive it?
	Give it to the god you chose as yours,
	the Lord of Venkatam, for I am he.
	We differ only in name.

	If you complete this book, you'll go
	from strength to strength." Then the god
	went away, and I woke up. I was moved
	and amazed. I bent my head
	toward the towers of his temple
	and, at the hour of dawn, said
	my morning prayers.

I held court in the presence of my army men and subordinate kings, but dismissed them early to their homes. Then I called the scholars learned in many old texts, of various traditions, honored them, and related my

---

good dream. They were thrilled and astonished, and they said: "Lord, this dream where the lord of lords appeared promises a long series of happy events. Let us explain. First, the fact that the god became visible in your dream means that your love for him will grow. That he asked you to compose a book means you will achieve a far deeper understanding of literary art. That he came with his wife, goddess of wealth, shows that your treasury will be immensely enriched. She held a white lotus in her hand: you will therefore wield the one and only white parasol of royalty. He mentioned that you must know the respective languages spoken by the many kings who serve you; this says that still more kings will be pulled to you. That statement about the joy that comes from touching what a lover touched promises that you will be loved by many more women. He said you will go from strength to strength if you compose this book; certainly you will live a long life and be blessed with many sons. You were born in the line of King Turvasu, who sustained the world with no small strength, so there is nothing surprising in this series of happy events that will come to you.… So, powerful king, king of kings, brilliant with energy, defender of fortresses, sole sovereign in the fields of letters and war, Krsnarāya: do compose that book."