Godā stuti

by Vedanta Desika

Śri Godā Stuti was composed to the Vaiṣṇava bhakti poetess, Āṇḍāl, by Śri Vedanta Desika during his visit to Srivilliputtur, the birth place of Āṇḍāl. It was a spontaneous composition, which occurred to him effortlessly, for he was deeply devoted to Godā Devi, having devoted his life to propagating the Rāmānuja darśana. The stuti begins with the following verse:

“I take refuge in Godādevi,
The wish-yielding creeper (kalpavalli)
In the grove of Viṣṇuciṭṭa’s family;
That clings to the sandalwood tree of Raṅgarāja;
She is lovely and incarnates
The patience of Mother Earth
And the compassion of Mahālakṣmi.
I seek no other refuge.”

Godā Devi is compared to the wish-yielding creeper, kalpaka, in Indra’s grove. Poetic convention compares a young girl to a lovely creeper, however this particular creeper is special, referred to as ‘kalpavalli’. In his advice to the king, Bhartṛhari says: “The earth yields all kinds of desired fruits, just as the kalpaka creeper” (Nītiśatakam, 38). Godā Devi’s grace sees to it that all our desires are fulfilled, evoking the comparison.

In the second verse, Vedanta Desika proclaims

Adapted from Godā Stuti by Premananda Kumar, TTD Publications