Sri Krishna Madbhagavatam
51. Kṛṣṇa, the Ranchor
When
Mucukunda, the celebrated descendant of the Ikṣvāku dynasty, was favored by Lord Kṛṣṇa, he circumambulated the Lord within
the cave and then came out. On coming out of the cave, Mucukunda saw that the
stature of the human species had surprisingly been reduced to pigmy size.
Similarly, the trees had also far reduced in size, and Mucukunda could
immediately understand that the current age was Kali-yuga. Therefore, without
diverting his attention, he began to travel north. Eventually he reached the
mountain known as Gandhamādana. It appeared there were many trees on this
mountain, such as sandalwood and other flower trees, the flavor of which made
anyone joyful who reached them. He decided to remain in that Gandhamādana
Mountain region in order to execute austerities and penances for the rest of
his life. It appears that this place is situated in the northernmost part of
the Himalayan Mountains, where the abode of Nara-Nārāyaṇa is situated. This place is still
existing and is called Badarikāśrama. In Badarikāśrama he engaged himself in
the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa, forgetting all pain and pleasure and
the other dualities of this material world. Lord Kṛṣṇa also returned to the vicinity of the
city of Mathurā and began to fight with the soldiers of Kālayavana and kill
them one after another. After this, He collected all the booty from the dead
bodies, and under His direction, it was loaded on bullock carts by big men and
brought back to Dvārakā.
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Meanwhile,
Jarāsandha again attacked Mathurā, this time with bigger divisions of
soldiers, numbering twenty-three akṣauhiṇīs.
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wanted to save Mathurā from the
eighteenth attack of the great military divisions of King Jarāsandha. In
order to prevent further killing of soldiers and to attend to other important
business, Lord Kṛṣṇa
left the battlefield without fighting. Actually He was not at all afraid, but
He pretended to be an ordinary human being frightened by the immense quantity
of soldiers and resources of Jarāsandha. Without any weapons He left the
battlefield. Although His lotus feet were as soft as the petals of the lotus
flower, He proceeded for a very long distance on foot.
This time,
Jarāsandha thought that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were very much afraid of His
military strength and were fleeing from the battlefield. He began to follow
Them with all his chariots, horses and infantry. He thought Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma to be ordinary human
beings, and he was trying to measure the activities of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa is known as Ranchor, which means
"one who has left the battlefield." In India, especially in
Gujarat, there are many temples of Kṛṣṇa which are known as temples of Ranchorjī.
Ordinarily, if a king leaves the battlefield without fighting he is called a
coward, but when Kṛṣṇa
enacts this pastime, leaving the battlefield without fighting, He is
worshiped by the devotee. A demon always tries to measure the opulence of Kṛṣṇa, whereas the devotee never tries to
measure His strength and opulence, but always surrenders unto Him and
worships Him. By following the footsteps of pure devotees we can know that Kṛṣṇa, the Ranchorjī, did not leave the
battlefield because He was afraid, but because He had some other purpose. The
purpose, as it will be revealed, was to attend to a confidential letter sent
by Rukmiṇī, His future first wife. The act of
Kṛṣṇa's leaving the battlefield is a
display of one of His six opulences. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme powerful, the
supreme wealthy, the supreme famous, the supreme wise, the supreme beautiful;
similarly He is the supreme renouncer. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam clearly states that
He left the battlefield in spite of having ample military strength. Even
without His militia, however, He alone would have been sufficient to defeat
the army of Jarāsandha, as He had done seventeen times before. Therefore, His
leaving the battlefield is an example of His supermost opulence of
renunciation.
After traversing a
very long distance, the brothers pretended to become very tired. To mitigate
Their weariness They climbed up a very high mountain several miles above sea
level. This mountain was called Pravarṣaṇa due to constant rain. The peak was
always covered with clouds sent by Indra. Jarāsandha took it for granted that
the two brothers were afraid of his military power and had hidden Themselves
at the top of the mountain. First he tried to find Them, searching for a long
time, but when he failed he decided to trap and kill Them by setting fires
around the peak. He therefore surrounded the peak with oil and set it on
fire. As the blaze spread more and more, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma jumped from the top of
the mountain down to the ground--a distance of eighty-eight miles. Thus,
while the peak was burning up, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma escaped without being seen by
Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha concluded that the two brothers had been burned to
ashes and that there was no need of further fighting. Thinking himself
successful in his efforts, he left the city of Mathurā and returned to his
home in the kingdom of Magadha. Gradually Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma reached the city of
Dvārakā, which was surrounded on all sides by the sea.
Following this, Śrī
Balarāma married Revatī, daughter of King Raivata, ruler of the Ānarta
province. This is explained in the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. After
the marriage of Baladeva, Kṛṣṇa married Rukmiṇī. Rukmiṇī was the daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, ruler of the province known as
Vidarbha. Just as Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Vasudeva, Rukmiṇī
is the supreme goddess of fortune, Mahā-Lakṣmī. According to the authority of
Caitanya-caritāmṛta,
the expansion of Kṛṣṇa
and Śrī Rādhārāṇī
is simultaneous; Kṛṣṇa
expands Himself into various Viṣṇu-tattva forms, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī expands Herself into various
śakti-tattva forms by Her internal potency, as multi-forms of the goddess of
fortune.
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According to Vedic convention, there
are eight kinds of marriages. In the first-class marriage system, the parents
of the bride and bridegroom arrange the marriage date. Then, in royal style,
the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride, and in the presence of brāhmaṇas, priests and relatives, the bride is
given in charity to the bridegroom. Besides this, there are other systems, such
as the gandharva and rākṣasa marriages. Rukmiṇī was married to Kṛṣṇa in the rākṣasa style because she was kidnapped by
Him the presence of His many rivals, like Śiśupāla, Jarāsandha, Śālva and
others. While Rukmiṇī
was being given in charity to Śiśupāla, she was snatched from the marriage
arena by Kṛṣṇa, exactly as Garuḍa snatched the pot of nectar from the
demons. Rukmiṇī, the only daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, was exquisitely beautiful. She
was known as Rucirānanā, which means "one who has a beautiful face,
expanding like a lotus flower."
Devotees of Kṛṣṇa are always anxious to hear about the
transcendental activities of the Lord. His activities of fighting, kidnapping
and running away from the battlefield are all transcendental, being on the
absolute platform, and devotees take a transcendental interest in hearing of
them. The pure devotee does not make the distinction that some activities of
the Lord should be heard and others should be avoided. There is, however, a
class of so-called devotees known as prākṛta sahajiyā who are very interested in
hearing about Kṛṣṇa's
rāsa-līlā with the gopīs, but not about His fighting activities with His
enemies. They do not know that His bellicose activities and His friendly
activities with the gopīs are equally transcendental, being on the absolute
platform. The transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
are relished by pure devotees through submissive aural reception. They do not
reject even a drop
The story of Kṛṣṇa's marriage with Rukmiṇī is described as follows. The King of
Vidarbha, Mahārāja Bhīṣmaka, was a very qualified and devoted prince. He
had five sons and only one daughter. The first son was known as Rukmī; the second,
Rukmaratha; the third, Rukmabāhu; the fourth and youngest, Rukmakeśa; and the
fifth, Rukmamālī. The brothers had one young sister, Rukmiṇī. She was beautiful and chaste and was
meant to be married to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Many saintly persons and sages like Nārada Muni
and others used to visit the palace of King Bhīṣmaka. Naturally Rukmiṇī had a chance to talk with them, and
in this way she obtained information about Kṛṣṇa. She was informed about the six
opulences of Kṛṣṇa, and simply by hearing about Him, she
desired to surrender herself to His lotus feet and become His wife. Kṛṣṇa had also heard of Rukmiṇī. She was the reservoir of all
transcendental qualities: intelligence, liberal-mindedness, exquisite beauty
and righteous behavior. Kṛṣṇa therefore decided that she was fit to be His
wife. All of the family members and relatives of King Bhīṣmaka decided that Rukmiṇī should be given in marriage to Kṛṣṇa. However her elder brother, Rukmī,
despite the desire of the others, arranged for her marriage with Śiśupāla, a
determined enemy of Kṛṣṇa. When the black-eyed, beautiful Rukmiṇī heard the settlement, she immediately
became very morose. However, being a king's daughter, she understood political
diplomacy and decided that there was no use in simply being morose. Some steps
should be taken immediately. After some deliberation, she decided to send a
message to Kṛṣṇa, and so that she might not be
deceived, she selected a qualified brāhmaṇa as her messenger. Such a qualified
brāhmaṇa is always truthful and is a devotee
of Viṣṇu. Without delay, the brāhmaṇa was sent to Dvārakā.
Reaching the gate of Dvārakā, the
brāhmaṇa informed the doorkeeper of his
arrival, and the doorkeeper led him to the place where Kṛṣṇa was sitting on a golden throne. Since
the brāhmaṇa had the opportunity of being Rukmiṇī's messenger, he was fortunate enough
to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is the original cause of all
causes. A brāhmaṇa
is the spiritual teacher of all the social divisions. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in order to teach everyone the Vedic
etiquette of how to respect a brāhmaṇa, immediately got up and offered him His throne.
When the brāhmaṇa
was seated on the golden throne, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa began to worship him exactly in the
manner in which the demigods worship Kṛṣṇa. In this way, He taught everyone that worshiping
His devotee is more valuable than worshiping Himself.
In due time, the brāhmaṇa took his bath, accepted his meals and
took to rest on a bedstead completely bedecked with soft silk. As he was
resting, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
silently approached and, with great respect, put the brāhmaṇa's legs on His lap and began to
massage them. In this way, Kṛṣṇa appeared before the brāhmaṇa and said, "My dear brāhmaṇa, I hope that you are executing the
religious principles without any difficulty and that your mind is always in a
peaceful condition." Different classes of people in the social system are
engaged in various professions, and when one inquires as to the well-being of a
particular person, it must be done on the basis of that person's occupation.
Therefore, when one inquires as to the welfare of a brāhmaṇa, the questions should be worded
according to his condition of life so as not to disturb him. A peaceful mind is
the basis for becoming truthful, clean, equipoised, self-controlled and
tolerant. Thus by attaining knowledge and knowing its practical application in
life, one becomes convinced about the Absolute Truth. The brāhmaṇa knew Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and still he accepted the respectful service of the Lord on the
grounds of Vedic social convention. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was playing just like a human being.
Belonging to the kṣatriya
division of the social system, and being a young boy, it was His duty to show
respect to such a brāhmaṇa.
Lord Kṛṣṇa continued: "O best of all the
brāhmaṇas, you should always remain satisfied
because if a brāhmaṇa
is always self-satisfied he will not deviate from his prescribed duties; and
simply by sticking to one's prescribed duties, everyone, especially the brāhmaṇas, can attain the highest perfection
of all desires. Even if a person is as opulent as the King of heaven, Indra, if
he is not satisfied he inevitably has to transmigrate from one planet to
another. Such a person can never be happy under any circumstances; but if a person's
mind is satisfied, even if he is bereft of his high position, he can be happy
living anywhere and everywhere."
Lord Kṛṣṇa then desired to know about the rulers (kṣatriyas) in the brāhmaṇa's kingdom, so He inquired whether the citizens of the kingdom were all happy. A king's qualification is judged by the temperament of the people in the kingdom. If they are very happy in all respects, it is to be understood that the king is honest and executing his duties rightly. Kṛṣṇa said that the king in whose kingdom the citizens are happy is very dear to Him. Of course Kṛṣṇa could understand that the brāhmaṇa had come with a confidential message; therefore He said, "If you have no objection, I am giving you permission to speak about your mission." Thus, being very satisfied by these transcendental pastimes with the Lord, the brāhmaṇa narrated the whole story of his mission to come and see Kṛṣṇa. He got out the letter which Rukmiṇī had written to Kṛṣṇa and said, "These are the words of Princess Rukmiṇī: 'My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible and most beautiful one, any human being who happens to hear about Your transcendental form and pastimes immediately absorbs through his ears Your name, fame and qualities; thus all his material pangs subside, and he fixes Your form in his heart. Through such transcendental love for You, he sees You always within himself; and by this process all his desires become fulfilled. Similarly, I have heard of Your transcendental qualities. I may be shameless in expressing myself so directly, but You have captivated me and taken my heart. You may suspect that I am an unmarried girl, young in age, and may dobut my steadiness of character, but my dear Mukunda, You are the supreme lion among the human beings, the supreme person among persons. Any girl, although not yet out of her home, or any woman who may be of the highest chastity, would desire to marry You, being captivated by Your unprecedented character, knowledge, opulence and position. I know that You are the husband of the goddess of fortune and that You are very kind toward Your devotees; therefore I have decided to become Your eternal maidservant. My dear Lord, I dedicate my life and soul unto Your lotus feet. I have accepted Your Lordship as my selected husband, and I therefore request You to accept me as Your wife. You are the supreme powerful, O lotus-eyed one. Now I belong to You. If that which is enjoyable for the lion to eat is taken away by the jackal, it will be a ludicrous affair; therefore I request You to immediately take care of me before I am taken away by Śiśupāla and other princes like him. My dear Lord, in my previous life I may have done public welfare work like digging wells and growing trees, or pious activities such as performing ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices and serving the superior spiritual master, the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. By these activities, perhaps I have pleased the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. If this is so, then I wish that You, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the brother of Lord Balarāma, would please come here and catch hold of my hand so that I may not be touched by Śiśupāla and his company.'"
Rukmiṇī's marriage with Śiśupāla was already settled; therefore she suggested that Kṛṣṇa kidnap her so that this might be changed. This sort of marriage, in which the girl is kidnapped by force, is known as rākṣasa and is practiced among the kṣatriyas, or the administrative, martial spirited type of men. Because her marriage was already arranged to take place the next day, Rukmiṇī suggested that Kṛṣṇa come there incognito to kidnap her and then fight with Śiśupāla and his allies like the King of Magadha. Knowing that no one could conquer Kṛṣṇa and that He would certainly emerge victorious, she addressed Him as Ajita--the unconquerable. Rukmiṇī told Kṛṣṇa not to be concerned that many of her family members, including other women, might be wounded or even killed if the fighting took place within the palace. As the king of a country thinks of diplomatic ways to achieve his object, similarly Rukmiṇī, being the daughter of a king, was diplomatic in suggesting how this unnecessary and undesirable killing could be avoided.
She explained that it was the custom of her family to visit the temple of the goddess Durgā, their family deity, before a marriage. (The kṣatriya kings were mostly staunch Vaiṣṇavas, worshiping Lord Viṣṇu in either the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa form; still, for their material welfare they used to worship the goddess Durgā. They never made the mistake, however, of accepting the demigods as the Supreme Lord on the level of Viṣṇu-tattva, as did some less intelligent men.) In order to avoid the unnecessary killing of her relatives, Rukmiṇī suggested that it would be easiest for Him to kidnap her while she was either going from the palace to the temple or else while she was returning home.
She also explained to Kṛṣṇa why she was so anxious to be married to Him, even though her marriage was to take place with Śiśupāla, who was also qualified, being the son of a great king. Rukmiṇī said that she did not think anyone was greater than Kṛṣṇa, not even Lord Śiva, who is known as Mahādeva, the greatest of all demigods. Lord Śiva also seeks the pleasure of Lord Kṛṣṇa in order to be delivered from his entanglement in the quality of ignorance within the material world. In spite of the fact that Lord Śiva is the greatest of all great souls, mahātmās, he keeps on his head the purifying water of the Ganges, which emanates from a hole in this material universe made by the toe of Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Śiva is in charge of the material quality of ignorance, and in order to keep himself in a transcendental position, he always meditates on Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore Rukmiṇī knew very well that obtaining the favor of Kṛṣṇa was not an easy job. If even Lord Śiva must purify himself for this purpose, surely it would be difficult for Rukmiṇī, who was only the daughter of a kṣatriya king. Thus she desired to dedicate her life to observing severe austerities and penances, such as fasting and going without bodily comforts. If it were not possible in this lifetime to gain Kṛṣṇa's favor by these activities, she was prepared to do the same lifetime after lifetime. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that pure devotees of the Lord execute devotional service with great determination. Such determination, as exhibited by Rukmiṇīdevī, is the only price for purchasing Kṛṣṇa's favor and is the way to ultimate success in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
After explaining Rukmiṇīdevī's statement to Kṛṣṇa, the brāhmaṇa said: "My dear Kṛṣṇa, chief of the Yadu dynasty, I have brought this confidential message for You from Rukmiṇī; now it is placed before You for Your consideration. After due deliberation You can act as You please, but if You want to do something, You must do it immediately. There is not much time left for action."
52. Kṛṣṇa Kidnaps Rukmiṇī
After hearing Rukmiṇī's statement, Lord Kṛṣṇa
was very pleased. He immediately shook hands with the brāhmaṇa and said: "My dear brāhmaṇa, I am very glad to hear that Rukmiṇī is anxious to marry Me, since I am also anxious
to get her hand. My mind is always absorbed in the thought of the daughter of
Bhīṣmaka, and sometimes I cannot sleep at night because
I am thinking of her. I can understand that the marriage of Rukmiṇī with Śiśupāla has been arranged by her elder
brother in a spirit of animosity toward Me; so I am determined to give a good
lesson to all of these princes. Just as fire is extracted and utilized after
manipulating ordinary wood, similarly, after dealing with these demoniac
princes, I shall bring forth Rukmiṇī, like fire, from their midst."
Kṛṣṇa,
upon being informed of the specific date of Rukmiṇī's
marriage, became anxious to leave immediately. He asked His driver, Dāruka, to
harness the horses for His chariot and prepare to go to the kingdom of
Vidarbha. The driver, just after hearing this order, brought Kṛṣṇa's four special horses. The names and descriptions
of these horses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa.
The first one, Śaivya, was greenish; the second, Sugrīva, was grayish like ice;
the third, Meghapuṣpa, was the color of a new cloud; and
the last, Balāhaka, was of ashen color. When the horses were yoked and the
chariot ready to go, Kṛṣṇa helped the brāhmaṇa up and gave him a seat by His side. Immediately
they started from Dvārakā and within one night arrived at the province of
Vidarbha. The kingdom of Dvārakā is situated in the western part of India, and
Vidarbha is situated in the northern part. They are separated by a distance of
not less than 1,000 miles, but the horses were so fast that they reached their
destination, a town called Kuṇḍina, within one night, or at most,
twelve hours.
King Bhīṣmaka
was not very enthusiastic about handing his daughter over to Śiśupāla, but he
was obliged to accept the marriage settlement due to his affectionate
attachment for his eldest son, who had negotiated it. As a matter of duty, he
was decorating the city for the marriage ceremony and was acting in great
earnestness to make it very successful. Water was sprinkled all over the
streets, and the city was cleansed very nicely. Since India is situated in the
tropical zone, the atmosphere is always dry. Due to this, dust always
accumulates on the streets and roads; so they must be sprinkled with water at
least once a day, and in big cities like Calcutta, twice a day. The roads of Kuṇḍina were arranged with colored flags and festoons,
and gates were constructed at particular crossings. The whole city was
decorated very nicely. The beauty of the city was enhanced by the inhabitants,
both men and women, who were dressed in washed cloth, decorated with sandalwood
pulp, pearl necklaces and flower garlands. Incense was burning everywhere, and
fragrances like aguru scented the air. Priests and brāhmaṇas were sumptuously fed and, according to
ritualistic ceremony, were given sufficient wealth and cows in charity. In this
way, they were engaged in chanting Vedic hymns. The King's daughter, Rukmiṇī, was exquisitely beautiful. She was very clean
and had beautiful teeth. The auspicious sacred girdle was tied on her wrist.
She was given various types of jewelry to put on and long silken cloth to cover
the upper and lower parts of her body. Learned priests gave her protection by
chanting mantras from the Sāma Veda, Ṛg Veda and Yajur Veda. After this they
chanted mantras from the Atharva Veda and offered oblations in the fire to
pacify the ominous conjunctions of different stars.
King Bhīṣmaka
was very experienced in dealing with the brāhmaṇas
and priests when such ceremonies were held. He specifically distinguished the
brāhmaṇas by giving them large quantities of gold and
silver, grains mixed with molasses, and cows decorated with golden ornaments.
Damaghoṣa, Śiśupāla's father, executed all kinds of
ritualistic performances to invoke good fortune for his own family. Śiśupāla's
father was known as Damaghoṣa due to his superior ability to cut
down unregulated citizens. Dama means curbing down, and ghoṣa means famous; so he was famous for controlling
the citizens. Damaghoṣa thought that if Kṛṣṇa came to disturb the marriage ceremony, he would
certainly cut Him down with his military power. Therefore, after performing the
various auspicious ceremonies, Damaghoṣa gathered his military divisions,
known as Madasravi. He took many elephants, garlanded with golden necklaces,
and many chariots and horses which were similarly decorated. It appeared that
Damaghoṣa, along with his son and other companions, was
going to Kuṇḍina, not completely forgetting the marriage, but
mainly intent on fighting
Meanwhile, inside the palace, Rukmiṇī was expecting Kṛṣṇa to arrive, but when neither He nor the brāhmaṇa who took her message appeared, she became full of anxiety and began to think how unfortunate she was. "There is only one night between today and my marriage day, and still neither the brāhmaṇa nor Śyāmasundara has returned. I cannot ascertain any reason for this." Having little hope, she thought perhaps Kṛṣṇa had found reason to become dissatisfied and had rejected her fair proposal. As a result the brāhmaṇa might have become disappointed and not come back. Although she was thinking of various causes for the delay, she expected them both at every moment.
Rukmiṇī further began to think that demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the goddess Durgā might have been displeased. It is generally said that the demigods become angry when they are not properly worshiped. For instance, when Indra found that the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were not worshiping him (Kṛṣṇa having stopped the Indra-yajña), he became very angry and wanted to chastise them. Thus Rukmiṇī was thinking that since she did not worship Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā very much, they might have become angry and tried to frustrate her plan. Similarly she thought that the goddess Durgā, the wife of Lord Śiva, might have taken the side of her husband. Lord Śiva is known as Rudra, and his wife is known as Rudrāṇī. Rudrāṇī and Rudra refer to those who are very accustomed to putting others in a distressed condition so they might cry forever. Rukmiṇī was thinking of the goddess Durgā as Girijā, the daughter of the Himalayan Mountains. The Himalayan Mountains are very cold and hard, and she thought of the goddess Durgā as hardhearted and cold. In her anxiety to see Kṛṣṇa, Rukmiṇī, who was after all still a child, thought this way about the different demigods. The gopīs worshiped goddess Kātyāyanī to get Kṛṣṇa as their husband; similarly Rukmiṇī was thinking of the various types of demigods, not for material benefit, but in respect to Kṛṣṇa. Praying to the demigods to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa is not irregular, and Rukmiṇī was fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.
Even though she pacified herself by thinking that the time for Govinda to arrive had not yet expired, Rukmiṇī felt that she was hoping against hope. She began to shed tears, and when they became more forceful, she closed her eyes in helplessness. While Rukmiṇī was in such deep thought, auspicious symptoms appeared in different parts of her body. Trembling began to occur in her left eyelid and in her arms and thighs. When trembling occurs in these parts of the body it is an auspicious sign indicating that something lucrative can be expected.
Just then Rukmiṇī, full of anxiety, saw the brāhmaṇa messenger. Kṛṣṇa, being the Supersoul of all living beings, could understand Rukmiṇī's anxiety; therefore He sent the brāhmaṇa inside the palace to let her know that He had arrived. When Rukmiṇī saw the brāhmaṇa, she could understand the auspicious trembling of her body and immediately became elated. She smiled and inquired from him whether or not Kṛṣṇa had already come. The brāhmaṇa replied that the son of the Yadu dynasty, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, had arrived; he further encouraged her by saying that Kṛṣṇa had promised to carry her away without fail. Rukmiṇī was so elated by the brāhmaṇa's message that she wanted to give him in charity everything she possessed. However, finding nothing suitable for presentation, she simply offered him her respectful obeisances. The significance of offering respectful obeisances to a superior is that the one offering obeisances is obliged to the respected person. In other words, Rukmiṇī implied that she would remain ever grateful to the brāhmaṇa. Anyone who gets the favor of the goddess of fortune, as did this brāhmaṇa, is without a doubt always happy in material opulence.
When King Bhīṣmaka heard that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had come, he invited Them to see the marriage ceremony of his daughter. Immediately he arranged to receive Them, along with Their soldiers, in a suitable garden house. As was the Vedic custom, the King offered Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma honey and fresh washed cloth. He was hospitable not only to Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and kings such as Jarāsandha, but he also received many other kings and princes according to their respective personal strength, age and material possessions. Out of curiosity and eagerness, the people of Kuṇḍina assembled before Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and began to drink the nectar of Their beauty. With tearful eyes, they offered Them their silent respects. They were very pleased, considering Lord Kṛṣṇa the suitable match for Rukmiṇī. They were so eager to unite Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī that they began to pray to the Personality of Godhead: "My dear Lord, if we have performed any pious activities that You are satisfied with, kindly be merciful upon us and accept the hand of Rukmiṇī." It appears that Rukmiṇī was a very popular princess, and all the citizens, out of intense love for her, prayed for her best fortune. In the meantime, Rukmiṇī, being very nicely dressed and protected by bodyguards, came out of the palace to visit the temple of Ambikā, the goddess Durgā.
Deity worship in the temple has been in existence since the beginning of Vedic culture. There is a class of men described in the Bhagavad-gītā as the veda-vāda-rata; they only believe in the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, but not in the temple worship. Such foolish people may here take note that although this marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī took place more than 5,000 years ago, there were arrangements for temple worship. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, yānti deva-vratā devān: "The worshipers of the demigods attain the abodes of the demigods." There were many people who worshiped the demigods and many who directly worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The system of demigod worship was directed mainly to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Gaṇeśa, the sun-god and the goddess Durgā. Lord Śiva and the goddess Durgā were worshiped even by the royal families; other minor demigods were worshiped by silly inferior people. As far as the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas are concerned, they simply worship Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā the worship of demigods is condemned, but not forbidden; there it is clearly stated that the less intelligent class of men worship the different kinds of demigods for material benefit. On the other hand, even though Rukmiṇī was the goddess of fortune, she went to the temple of the goddess Durgā because the family deity was worshiped there. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that as Rukmiṇī was proceeding towards the temple of the goddess Durgā, within her heart she was always thinking of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore when Rukmiṇī went to the temple it was not with the intention of an ordinary person, who goes to beg for material benefits; her only target was Kṛṣṇa. When people go to the temple of a demigod, the objective is actually Kṛṣṇa, since it is He who empowers the demigods to provide material benefits.
As Rukmiṇī proceeded toward the temple, she was very silent and grave. Her mother and her girl friend were by her side, and the wife of a brāhmaṇa was in the center; surrounding her were bodyguards. (This custom of a would-be bride going to the temple of a demigod is still practiced in India.) As the procession continued, various musical sounds were heard. Drums, conchshells, and bugles of different sizes such as paṇavas, turyas and bheris combined to make a sound which was not only auspicious but very sweet to hear. There were thousands of wives of respectable brāhmaṇas present. These women were all dressed very nicely with suitable ornaments. They presented Rukmiṇī with flower garlands, sandalwood pulp and a variety of colorful garments to assist her in worshiping Lord Śiva and the goddess Durgā. Some of these ladies were very old and knew perfectly well how to chant prayers to the goddess Durgā and Lord Śiva; so, followed by Rukmiṇī and others, they led these prayers before the deity.
Rukmiṇī
offered her prayers to the deity by saying, "My dear goddess Durgā, I
offer my respectful obeisances unto you as well as to your children." The
Goddess Durgā has four famous children: two daughters--the goddess of fortune,
Lakṣmī, and the goddess of learning, Sarasvatī--and two
famous sons, Lord Gaṇeśa and Lord Kārttikeya. They are all
considered to be demigods and goddesses. Since the goddess Durgā is always
worshiped along with her famous children, Rukmiṇī
specifically offered her respectful obeisances to the deity in that way;
however, her prayers were different. Ordinary people pray to the goddess Durgā
for material wealth, fame, profit, strength and so on; Rukmiṇī, however, desired to have Kṛṣṇa for her husband and therefore prayed to the deity
to be pleased upon her and bless her. Since she desired only Kṛṣṇa, her worship of the demigods is not condemned.
While Rukmiṇī was praying, a variety of items were presented
before the deity, chief of which were water, different kinds of flames,
incense, garments, garlands and various foodstuffs prepared with ghee, such as
puris and kacuris. There were also fruits, sugarcane, betel nuts and spices
offered. With great devotion, Rukmiṇī offered them to the deity according
to the regulative principles directed by the old brāhmaṇa
ladies. After this ritualistic ceremony, the ladies offered the remnants of the
foodstuffs to Rukmiṇī as prasādam, which she accepted with
great respect. Then Rukmiṇī offered her obeisances to the ladies
and to the goddess Durgā. After the business of deity worship was finished,
Rukmiṇī caught hold of the hand of one of her girl
friends and left the temple, accompanied by the others.
All the princes and visitors who came
to Kuṇḍina for the marriage were assembled outside the
temple to see Rukmiṇī. The princes were especially very
eager to see her because they all actually thought that they would have Rukmiṇī as their wife. Struck with wonder upon seeing
Rukmiṇī, they thought that she was specially manufactured
by the Creator to bewilder all the great chivalrous princes. Her body was
well-constructed, the middle portion being thin. She had green eyes, pink lips,
and a beautiful face which was enhanced by her scattered hair and by different
kinds of earrings. Around her feet she wore jeweled lockets. The bodily luster
and beauty of Rukmiṇī appeared as if painted by an artist
perfectly presenting beauty following the description of great poets. The
breast of Rukmiṇī is described as being a little bit
high, indicating that she was just a youth not more than thirteen or fourteen
years old. Her beauty was specifically intended to attract the attention of Kṛṣṇa. Although the princes gazed upon her beautiful
features, she was not at all proud. Her eyes moved restlessly, and when she
smiled very simply, like an innocent girl, her teeth appeared just like lotus
flowers. Expecting Kṛṣṇa to take her away at any moment, she
proceeded very slowly towards her home. Her legs moved just like a full-grown
swan, and her ankle bells tinkled very mildly.
As already explained, the great
chivalrous princes who assembled there were so overwhelmed by Rukmiṇī's beauty that they almost became unconscious.
Full of lust, they hopelessly desired Rukmiṇī's
hand, comparing their own beauty with hers. Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī, however, was not interested in any of them; in
her heart she was simply expecting Kṛṣṇa to come and carry her away. As she
was adjusting the ornaments on her left-hand finger, she happened to look upon
the princes and suddenly saw that Kṛṣṇa was present amongst them. Although
Rukmiṇī had never before seen Kṛṣṇa,
she was always thinking of Him; thus she had no difficulty in recognizing Him
amongst the princely order. Kṛṣṇa, not being concerned with the other
princes, immediately took the opportunity of placing Rukmiṇī on His chariot, marked by a flag bearing an image
of Garuḍa. He then proceeded slowly, without fear, taking
away Rukmiṇī exactly as the lion takes the deer from the midst
of the jackals. Meanwhile Balarāma appeared on the scene with the soldiers of
the Yadu dynasty.
Jarāsandha, who had many times
experienced defeat by Kṛṣṇa, began to roar: "How is this? Kṛṣṇa is taking Rukmiṇī
away from us without any opposition! What is the use in our being chivalrous
fighters with arrows? My dear princes, just look! We are losing our reputation
by this action. He is just like the jackal taking away the booty from the
lion."
53. Kṛṣṇa Defeats All the Princes and Takes
Rukmiṇī Home to Dvārakā
All the princes led by Jarāsandha
became very angry at Kṛṣṇa's kidnapping Rukmiṇī. Struck by the beauty of Rukmiṇī, they had fallen from the backs of their horses
and elephants, but now they began to stand up and properly arm themselves.
Picking up their bows and arrows, they began to chase Kṛṣṇa on
their chariots, horses and elephants. To check their progress, the soldiers of
the Yadu dynasty turned and faced them. Thus terrible fighting between the two
belligerent groups began. The princes opposing Kṛṣṇa
were led by Jarāsandha and they were all very expert in fighting. They began to
shoot their arrows at the soldiers of Yadu just as a cloud splashes the face of
a mountain with torrents of rain. Gathered on the face of a mountain, a cloud
does not move very much, and therefore the force of rain is much more severe on
a mountain than it is anywhere else.
The opposing princes were determined to
defeat Kṛṣṇa and recapture Rukmiṇī
from His custody, and they fought with Him as severely as possible. Rukmiṇī, seated by the side of Kṛṣṇa,
saw arrows raining from the opposing party onto the faces of the soldiers of
Yadu. In a fearful attitude, she began to look on the face of Kṛṣṇa, expressing her gratefulness that He had taken
such a great risk for her sake only. Her eyes moving, she appeared to be very
sorry and Kṛṣṇa could immediately understand her mind. He
encouraged her with these words: "My dear Rukmiṇī,
don't worry. Please rest assured that the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty will
kill all the opposing soldiers without delay."
As Kṛṣṇa
was speaking with Rukmiṇī, the commanders of the Yadu dynasty's
soldiers, headed by Lord Balarāma, who is also known as Saṅkarṣaṇa,
as well as Gadadhara, not tolerating the defiant attitude of the opposing
soldiers, began to strike their horses, elephants, and chariots with arrows. As
the fighting progressed, the princes and soldiers of the enemy camp began to
fall from their horses, elephants and chariots. Within a very short time, it
was seen that millions of severed heads, decorated with helmets and earrings,
had fallen on the battlefield. The soldiers' hands were cut up along with their
bows and arrows and clubs; one head was piled upon another, and one horse was
piled upon another. All the infantry soldiers, as well as their camels,
elephants and asses, fell down with severed heads.
When the enemy, headed by Jarāsandha,
found that they were gradually being defeated by the soldiers of Kṛṣṇa, they thought it unwise to risk losing in the
battle for the sake of Śiśupāla. Śiśupāla himself should have fought to rescue
Rukmiṇī from the hands of Kṛṣṇa,
but when the soldiers saw that Śiśupāla was not competent enough to fight with
Kṛṣṇa, they decided not to lose their strength
unnecessarily; therefore they ceased fighting and dispersed.
Some of the princes, as a matter of
etiquette, appeared before Śiśupāla. They saw that Śiśupāla was very much
discouraged, like one who has lost his wife. His face appeared to be dried up,
and he had lost all his energy, and all the luster of his body had disappeared.
They began to address Śiśupāla thus: "My dear Śiśupāla, don't be
discouraged in this way. You belong to the royal order and are the chief
amongst the fighters. There is no question of distress or happiness for a person
like you because neither of these conditions is everlasting. Take courage.
Don't be disappointed by this temporary reverse. After all, we are not the
final actor; as puppets dance in the hands of a magician, we are all dancing by
the will of the Supreme, and according to His grace only we suffer distress or
enjoy happiness, which therefore balance equally in all circumstances."
The whole catastrophe of the defeat was
due to the envious nature of Rukmiṇī's elder brother, Rukmī. Having seen
his sister forcibly taken away by Kṛṣṇa after he had planned to marry her
with Śiśupāla, Rukmī was frustrated. So he and Śiśupāla, his friend and
intended brother-in-law, returned to their respective homes. Rukmī, very much
agitated, was determined to personally teach Kṛṣṇa a
lesson. He called for his own soldiers--a military phalanx consisting of
several thousand elephants, horses, chariots and infantry--and, equipped with
this military strength, he began to follow Kṛṣṇa to
Dvārakā. In order to show his prestige, Rukmī began to promise before all the
returning kings, "You could not help Śiśupāla marry my sister, Rukmiṇī, but I cannot allow Rukmiṇī to
be taken away by Kṛṣṇa. I shall teach Him a lesson. Now I am
going there." He presented himself as a big commander and vowed before all
the princes present, "Unless I kill Kṛṣṇa in
the fight and bring back my sister from His clutches, I shall no more return to
my capital city, Kuṇḍina. I make this vow before you all,
and you will see that I shall fulfill it." After thus vibrating all these
boasting words, Rukmī immediately got on his chariot and told his chariot
driver to pursue Kṛṣṇa. He said,
"I want to fight with Him immediately. This cowherd boy has become very
proud because of His tricky way of fighting with the kṣatriyas, but today I shall teach Him a good lesson.
Because He has the impudency to kidnap my sister, I, with my sharpened arrows,
shall teach Him very good lessons indeed." Thus this unintelligent man,
Rukmī, ignorant of the extent of the strength and activities of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, began to voice impudent threats.
In
great stupidity he soon stood before Kṛṣṇa, telling Him repeatedly, "Stop
for a minute and fight with me!" After saying this he drew his bow and
directly shot three forceful arrows against Kṛṣṇa's body. Then he condemned Kṛṣṇa as the most abominable descendant of
the Yadu dynasty and asked Him to stand before him for a minute so that he
could teach Him a good lesson. "You are carrying away my sister just like
a crow stealing clarified butter meant for use in a sacrifice. You are simply
proud of Your military strength, but You cannot fight according to regulative
principles. You have stolen my sister; now I shall relieve You of Your false
prestige. You can keep my sister under Your possession only as long as I do not
pinion You to the ground for good with my arrows."
Lord Kṛṣṇa, after hearing all these crazy words from Rukmī,
immediately shot an arrow and severed the string of Rukmī's bow, making him
unable to use another arrow. Rukmī immediately took another bow and shot
another five arrows at Kṛṣṇa.
Being attacked for the second time by Rukmī, Kṛṣṇa again severed his bowstring. Rukmī took a third
bow, and Kṛṣṇa again cut off its string. This time,
in order to teach Rukmī a lesson, Kṛṣṇa personally shot six arrows at him, and then He
shot another eight arrows. Thus four horses were killed by four arrows, the
chariot driver was killed by another arrow, and the upper portion of Rukmī's
chariot, including the flag, was chopped off with the remaining three arrows.
Having run out of arrows, Rukmī took
the assistance of swords, shields, tridents, lances and similar other weapons
used for fighting hand-to-hand, but Kṛṣṇa immediately severed them all in the same way.
Being repeatedly baffled in his attempts, Rukmī simply took his sword and ran
very swiftly toward Kṛṣṇa,
just as a fly proceeds toward a fire. As soon as Rukmī reached Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa cut his weapon to pieces. This time Kṛṣṇa took out His sharp sword and was
about to kill him immediately, but Rukmī's sister Rukmiṇī, understanding that this time Kṛṣṇa would not excuse her brother, fell
down at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa
and in a very grievous tone, trembling with great fear, began to plead with her
husband.
Rukmiṇī first addressed Kṛṣṇa as
"Yogeśvara." Yogeśvara means one who is possessed of inconceivable
opulence and energy. Kṛṣṇa possesses inconceivable opulence and
energy, whereas Rukmiṇī's brother had only limited military
potency. Kṛṣṇa is immeasurable, whereas her brother was measured
in every step of his life. Therefore, Rukmī was not even comparable to an
insignificant insect before the unlimited power of Kṛṣṇa.
She also addressed Kṛṣṇa as the God of the gods. There are
many powerful demigods, such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra, and Candra; Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of all these gods, whereas Rukmiṇī's brother was not only an ordinary human being,
but was, in fact, the lowest of all because he had no understanding of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, a human being who has no
conception of the actual position of Kṛṣṇa is the lowest in human society. Rukmiṇī also addressed Kṛṣṇa as
"Jagatpati," the master of the whole cosmic manifestation. In
comparison, her brother was only an ordinary prince.
In this way, Rukmiṇī compared the position of Rukmī to that of Kṛṣṇa and very feelingly pleaded with her husband not
to kill her brother just before the auspicious time of her being united with Kṛṣṇa, but to excuse him. In other words, she displayed
her real position as a woman. She was happy to get Kṛṣṇa as
her husband just at the moment when her marriage to another was to be
performed, but she did not want it to be at the loss of her elder brother, who,
after all, loved his young sister and wanted to hand her over to one who was,
according to his own calculations, a better man. While Rukmiṇī was praying to Kṛṣṇa
for the life of her brother, her whole body trembled, and because of her
anxiety, her face appeared to by dried up, her throat became choked, and, due
to her trembling, the ornaments on her body loosened and fell scattered on the
ground. Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately became compassionate and agreed not
to kill the foolish Rukmī. But, at the same time, He wanted to give him some
light punishment, so He tied him up with a piece of cloth and snipped at his
moustache, beard and hair, keeping some spots here and there.
While Kṛṣṇa
was dealing with Rukmī in this way, the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty, commanded
by Balarāma Himself, broke the whole strength of Rukmī's army just as an
elephant in a tank discards the feeble stem of a lotus flower. In other words,
as an elephant breaks the whole construction of a lotus flower while bathing in
a reservoir of water, so the military strength of the Yadus broke up Rukmī's
forces. Yet when the commanders of the Yadu dynasty came back to see Kṛṣṇa, they were all surprised to see the condition of
Rukmī. Lord Balarāma became especially compassionate for His sister-in-law, who
was newly married to His brother. In order to please Rukmiṇī, Balarāma personally untied Rukmī, and in order
to further please her, Balarāma, as the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, spoke some words of chastisement. "Kṛṣṇa, Your action is not at all satisfactory," He
said. "This is an abomination very much contrary to our family tradition!
To cut someone's hair and shave his moustache and beard is almost comparable to
killing him. Whatever Rukmī might have been, he is now our brother-in-law, a
relative of our family, and You should not have put him in such a
condition."
After this, in order to pacify her,
Lord Balarāma said to Rukmiṇī, "You should not be sorry
because your brother has been made very odd-looking. Everyone suffers or enjoys
the results of his own actions." Lord Balarāma wanted to impress upon
Rukmiṇī that she should not have been sorry for the
consequences suffered by her brother due to his actions. There was no need of
being too affectionate toward such a brother. Lord Balarāma again turned toward
Kṛṣṇa and said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, a
relative, even though he commits such a blunder and deserves to be killed, should
be excused. For when such a relative is conscious of his own fault, that
consciousness itself is like death. Therefore, there is no need in killing
him." He again turned toward Rukmiṇī
and informed her that the current duty of the kṣatriya
in the human society is so fixed that, according to the principles of fighting,
one's own brother may become an enemy on the opposite side. A kṣatriya does not hesitate to kill his own brother.
In other words, Lord Balarāma wanted to instruct Rukmiṇī
that Rukmī and Kṛṣṇa were right in not showing mercy to
each other in the fighting, despite the family consideration that they happened
to be brothers-in-law.
"Besides that," Balarāma continued, "the consideration that a person is neutral or is one's friend or enemy is generally made by persons who are in the bodily concept of life. Such foolish persons become bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. The spirit soul is of the same pure quality in any embodiment of matter, but those who are not sufficiently intelligent see only the bodily differentiations of animals and men, literates and illiterates, rich and poor, and so on, which cover the pure spirit soul. Such differentiation, observed purely on the basis of the body, is exactly like differentiation between fires in terms of the different types of fuel they consume. Whatever the size and shape of the fuel, there is no such variety of size and shape of the fire which comes out. Similarly, in the sky there are no differences in size or shape."
In this way Balarāma appeased them by His moral and ethical instruction. He stated further: "This body is part of the material manifestation. The living entity or spirit soul, being in contact with matter, is transmigrating, due to illusory enjoyment, from one body to another, and that is known as material existence. This contact of the living entity with the material manifestation has neither integration nor disintegration. My dear chaste sister-in-law, the spirit soul is, of course, the cause of this material body, as much as the sun is the cause of sunlight, eyesight and the forms of material manifestation." The example of the sunshine and the material manifestation is very appropriate in the matter of understanding the living entity's contact with this material world. In the morning, there is sun rise, and the heat and light expand gradually throughout the whole day. The sun is the cause of all material production and shapes and forms; it is due to the sun that integration and disintegration of material elements take place. But as soon as the sun is set, the whole manifestation is no longer connected to the sun, which has passed from one place to another. When the sun passes from the eastern to the western hemisphere, the result of interaction due to the sunshine in the eastern hemisphere remains, but the sunshine itself is visible again on the western hemisphere. Similarly, the living entity accepts or produces different bodies and different bodily relationships in a particular circumstance, but as soon as he gives up the present body and accepts another, he has nothing to do with the former body. Similarly, the living entity has nothing to do with the next body which he accepts. He is always free from the contact of this bodily contamination. Therefore, the conclusion is that the appearance and disappearance of the body have nothing to do with the living entity, as much as the waxing and waning of the moon have nothing to do with the moon. When there is waxing of the moon, we falsely think that the moon is developing, and when there is waning of the moon we think that the moon is decreasing. Factually the moon, as it is, is always the same; it has nothing to do with such visible waxing and waning activities.
"Consciousness of material existence can be compared to sleeping and dreaming. When a man sleeps, he dreams of many nonfactual happenings, and as a result of dreaming he becomes subjected to different kinds of distress and happiness. Similarly, when person is in the dreaming condition of material consciousness, he suffers the effects of accepting a body and giving it up again in material existence. Opposite to this material consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In other words, when a man is elevated to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness he becomes free from this false conception of life."
In this way, Śrī Balarāma instructed them in spiritual knowledge. He addressed His sister-in-law thus: "Sweet, smiling Rukmiṇī, do not be aggrieved by false motives caused by ignorance. Due to false notions only one becomes unhappy, but this unhappiness is immediately removed by discussing the philosophy of actual life. Be happy on that platform only."
After hearing such enlightening
instruction from Śrī Balarāma, Rukmiṇī immediately became pacified and happy and
adjusted her mental condition, which was very much afflicted by seeing the
degraded position of her brother, Rukmī. As far as Rukmī was concerned, neither
was his promise fulfilled nor his mission successful. He had come from home
with his soldiers and military phalanx to defeat Kṛṣṇa and release his sister, but on the
contrary, he lost all his soldiers and military strength. He was personally
much degraded, and in that condition he was very sorry; but by the grace of the
Lord he could continue his life to the fixed destination. Because he was a kṣatriya, he could remember his promise
that he would not return to his capital city, Kuṇḍina, without killing Kṛṣṇa and releasing his sister, which he
had failed to do; therefore, he decided in anger not to return to his capital
city, and he constructed a small cottage in the village known as Bhojakaṭa and began to reside there for the
rest of his life.
After defeating all the opposing
elements and forcibly carrying away Rukmiṇī, Kṛṣṇa brought her to His capital city,
Dvārakā, and then married her according to the Vedic ritualistic principle.
After this marriage, Kṛṣṇa became the King of the Yadus at Dvārakā. On the
occasion of His marriage with Rukmiṇī, all the inhabitants were happy, and in every
house there were great ceremonies. The inhabitants of Dvārakā City became so
pleased that they dressed themselves with the nicest possible ornaments and
garments, and they went to present gifts according to their means to the newly
married couple, Kṛṣṇa
and Rukmiṇī. All the houses of Yadupurī (Dvārakā)
were decorated with flags, festoons and flowers. Each and every house had an
extra gate specifically prepared for this occasion, and on both sides of the
gate there were big water jugs filled with water. The whole city was flavored
by the burning of high quality incense, and at night there was illumination by
thousands of lamps, decorating each and every building.
The entire city appeared jubilant on
the occasion of Lord Kṛṣṇa's marriage with Rukmiṇī. Everywhere in the city there was
profuse decorations of banana trees and betel nut trees. These two trees are
considered very auspicious in happy ceremonies. At the same time there was an
assembly of many elephants, who carried the respective kings of different
friendly kingdoms. It is the habit of the elephant that whenever he sees some
small plants and trees, out of his sportive frivolous nature, he uproots the
trees and throws them hither and thither. The elephants assembled on this
occasion also scattered the banana and betel nut trees, but in spite of such
intoxicated action, the whole city, with the trees thrown here and there,
looked very nice.
The friendly kings of the Kurus and the
Pāṇḍavas were represented by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the five Pāṇḍu brothers, King Drupada, King
Santardana, as well as Rukmiṇī's father, Bhīṣmaka. Because of Kṛṣṇa's kidnapping Rukmiṇī, there was initially some
misunderstanding between the two families, but Bhīṣmaka, King of Vidarbha, being
approached by Śrī Balarāma and persuaded by many saintly persons, was induced
to participate in the marriage ceremony of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī. Although the incidence of Kṛṣṇa's kidnapping was not a very happy
occurrence in the kingdom of Vidarbha, kidnapping was not an unusual affair
among the kṣatriyas. Kidnapping was, in fact,
current in almost all marriages. Anyway, King Bhīṣmaka was from the very beginning
inclined to hand over his beautiful daughter to Kṛṣṇa. In one way or another his purpose
had been served, and so he was pleased to join the marriage ceremony, even
though his eldest son was degraded in the fight. It is mentioned in the Padma
Purāṇa that Mahārāja Nanda and the cowherd
boys of Vṛndāvana joined the marriage ceremony.
Kings from the kingdoms of Kuru, Sṛñjaya, Kekaya, Vidarbha and Kunti came to Dvārakā
on this occasion with all their royal paraphernalia.
The
story of Rukmiṇī's being kidnapped by Kṛṣṇa was poeticized, and the professional
readers recited it everywhere. All the assembled kings and, especially, their
daughters were struck with wonder and became very pleased upon hearing the
chivalrous activities of Kṛṣṇa.
In this way, all visitors as well as the inhabitants of Dvārakā City became
joyful seeing Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī together. In other words, the Supreme
Lord, the maintainer of everyone, and the goddess of fortune were united, and
all the people felt extremely jubilant.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations H H Swami Sri Prabhupada ji, Sri Krishnalilas
dot com and Hinduism online dot com for
the collection)
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