VedaVyasa
Praneetha
The Mad Bhagavatam
Chapter 54
Rukmî's Defeat and Krishna Married
(The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī)
This chapter describes how Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa defeated the opposing kings after kidnapping Rukmiṇī, disfigured Rukmiṇī's brother Rukmī, brought Rukmiṇī to His capital and married her.
As Śrī Kṛṣṇa was taking Princess Rukmiṇī away, the inimical kings gathered their armies and pursued Him. Lord Baladeva and the generals of the Yādava army turned to face these opponents, blocking their advance. The enemy armies then began pouring incessant showers of arrows upon Lord Kṛṣṇa's army. Seeing her husband-to-be's forces under such violent attack, Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī looked at Śrī Kṛṣṇa fearfully. But Kṛṣṇa simply smiled and told her there was nothing to fear because His army would surely destroy the enemy in short order.
Lord Balarāma and the other heroes then began to annihilate the opposing army with nārāca arrows. The enemy kings, headed by Jarāsandha, retreated after suffering the destruction of their armies at the hands of the Yādavas.
Jarāsandha consoled Śiśupāla: "Happiness and distress are never permanent and are under the control of the Supreme Lord. Seventeen times Kṛṣṇa defeated me, but in the end I was victorious over Him. Thus seeing that victory and defeat are under the control of destiny and time, I have learned not to succumb to either lamentation or joy. Time now favors the Yādavas, so they have defeated you with only a small army, but in the future time will favor you, and you will surely conquer them." Consoled in this way, Śiśupāla took his followers and returned to his kingdom.
Rukmiṇī's brother Rukmī, who hated Kṛṣṇa, was infuriated by Kṛṣṇa's kidnapping of his sister. So, after vowing before all the kings present that he would not return to Kuṇḍina until Kṛṣṇa had been destroyed and Rukmiṇī rescued, Rukmī set out with his army to attack the Lord. Ignorant of Lord Kṛṣṇa's glories, Rukmī boldly went out to attack Kṛṣṇa in a lone chariot. He approached the Lord, struck Him with arrows and demanded that He release Rukmiṇī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa fended off Rukmī's weapons, breaking them to pieces. Then He raised His sword high and was about to kill Rukmī when Rukmiṇī interceded and fervently pleaded that her brother's life be spared. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not kill Rukmī, but with His sword He shaved off bits of Rukmī's hair here and there, leaving him disfigured. Just then Lord Baladeva appeared on the scene with the Yādava army. Seeing Rukmī disfigured, He gently reproached Kṛṣṇa: "To disfigure such a close family member is as good as killing him; therefore he should not be killed but set free."
Lord Baladeva then told Rukmiṇī that the sorry condition of her brother was only the fruit of his past work, since everyone is responsible for his own happiness and suffering. He further instructed her about the transcendental position of the jīva soul and how the illusion of happiness and distress is simply a result of ignorance. Accepting Lord Balarāma's instructions, Rukmiṇī gave up her sorrow.
Rukmī, meanwhile, felt totally frustrated, deprived as he was of all his strength and his will to fight. Since he had vowed not to return home without conquering Kṛṣṇa, Rukmī constructed a city on that very spot and took up residence there in a mood of undiminished anger.
Lord Kṛṣṇa took Rukmiṇī to His capital, Dvārakā, and married her. All the citizens celebrated in lavish style, broadcasting throughout the city accounts of how the Lord had kidnapped Rukmiṇī. Everyone in Dvārakā was delighted to see Lord Kṛṣṇa united with Rukmiṇī.
10.54.1
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'They all thus [realizing their being robbed] most angry in armor mounted their means of transport and came, each surrounded by his own troops, after them, holding their bows.
10.54.2
yādavānīka-yūthapāḥ
(2) When the Yâdava army spotted them in their pursuit, held the officers to face them, o King, and twanged they their bows.
10.54.3
rathopasthe 'stra kovidāḥ
(3) From horseback, elephant shoulders and from the chariot seats released those [enemy] masters of arms clouds of arrows that rained like water does over the mountains.
10.54.4
patyur balaḿ śarāsāraiś
(4) When the slender-waisted girl saw the army of her Lord covered by heavy rains of arrows looked she embarrassed at His face with eyes full of fear.
10.54.5
vinańkṣyaty adhunaivaitat
(5) The Supreme Lord laughing said: 'don't be afraid, o beautiful eyes, right now will this enemy force be destroyed by your troops'.
To express His great affection for Rukmiṇī, Lord Kṛṣṇa gallantly referred to His own Yādava army as "your men," indicating that the Lord's entire dynasty was now the property of His beloved queen. The Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, desires to share His blissful opulences with all living beings, and thus He sincerely invites them to come back home, back to Godhead. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, introduced throughout the world by Śrīla Prabhupāda on the order of his spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, who himself preached all over India on the order of his exalted father, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, is broadcasting the loving message of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Remember Him, serve Him, return to Him and share in the infinite bounty of the kingdom of God.
10.54.6
gada-sańkarṣanādayaḥ
amṛṣyamāṇā nārācair
(6) The heroes Gada [Krishna's younger half-brother], Sankarshana and the others could not tolerate the display of power of the enemy forces and thus struck they with arrows of iron down the horses, elephants and chariots.
10.54.7
(7) Of those riding the chariots, the horses and the elephants fell by the thousands the heads to the ground complete with earrings, helmets and turbans.
10.54.8
karabhā ūravo 'ńghrayaḥ
aśvāśvatara-nāgoṣṭra-
(8) There were the heads of humans, horses, donkeys, mules, elephants and camels as well as [loose] hands with swords, clubs and bows, hands without fingers, thighs and legs.
Karabhāḥ indicates the portion of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers. The same word may also indicate an elephant's trunk, and thus in this verse the implication is that the thighs lying on the battlefield resembled the trunks of elephants.
10.54.9
hanyamāna-balānīkā
vṛṣṇibhir jaya-kāńkṣibhiḥ
rājāno vimukhā jagmur
(9) The kings headed by Jarâsandha who eager for the victory saw their armies annihilated by the Vrishnis, then left discouraged.
Although Śiśupāla had not married Rukmiṇī, he passionately considered her his property, and thus he was devastated, like a man who has lost his beloved wife.
10.54.10
(10) They approached and addressed S'is'upâla who with the wife he had in mind being stolen away, dispirited was perturbed with a dried up face with all its color gone.
10.54.11
(11) [Jarâsandha said:] 'O Sir, tiger among men, please give up this dark state of mind, for the embodied ones is there to the wanted and unwanted no permanence to be found.
10.54.12
nṛtyate kuhakecchayā
(12) As a woman made of wood dances to the desire of a puppeteer is the same way this world, concerned with joy and sorrow, controlled by its Controller.
By the will of the Supreme Lord, living beings are awarded the proper results of their own activities. One who understands the Absolute Truth surrenders to the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and is no longer considered to be within the material system of existence. Since those endeavoring within the material system, or world, are necessarily trying to exploit the creation of God, they must be subjected to reactions, which are perceived by the conditioned souls as miserable and joyful. In fact, the entire material way of life is a fiasco when seen from the perspective of absolute bliss.
10.54.13
trayo-viḿśatibhiḥ sainyair
(13) I myself with twenty-three armies lost seventeen times over in battles with S'auri [Krishna] and only one I won.
Jarāsandha offers his own life as an example of the inevitable happiness and distress of this material world.
10.54.14
(14) Nonetheless do I never lament or rejoice, knowing that the world is driven by time and fate combined.
Having stated that the Supreme Lord controls this world, Jarāsandha explains the specific method of control. It should be remembered that in the Vedic context kāla, or time, does not refer merely to a system of measuring planetary movements such as days, weeks, months and years but rather to the way things are being moved. Everything is moving according to its destiny, and this destiny is also described as "time," since everyone's destiny is revealed and imposed by the movements of time.
10.54.15
parājitāḥ phalgu-tantrair
(15) Even now are we all, leaders of the leaders of heroes, defeated by the meager entourage of Yadus under the protection of Krishna.
10.54.16
ripavo jigyur adhunā
kāla ātmānusāriṇi
(16) Now, with our enemies having conquered, works the time in their favor but then again shall we conquer when the times have changed to our favor.'
10.54.17
evaḿ prabodhito mitraiś
caidyo 'gāt sānugaḥ puram
(17) S'rî S'uka said: 'Thus persuaded by his friends went S'is'upâla back to his city and so did also each of the surviving kings who followed him return to his own place.
10.54.18
pṛṣṭhato 'nvagamat kṛṣṇam
akṣauhiṇyā vṛto balī
(18) The mighty Rukmî however, who hating Krishna couldn't bear the fact that his sister got married in the râkshasa style, pursued Krishna surrounded by an entire akshauhinî.
10.54.19-20
rukmy amarṣī su-saḿrabdhaḥ
pratijajñe mahā-bāhur
(19-20) Rukmî, mighty armed with his bow and armor, most angrily full of resentment swore to all the kings listening: 'Let me tell you this in truth: I will not return to Kundina without having killed Krishna in battle and having retreived Rukminî'.
10.54.21
codayāśvān yataḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
(21) Thus speaking climbed he his chariot and told he his charioteer: 'Quickly, drive the horses to where Krishna is, there must be a fight between Him and me.
10.54.22
adyāhaḿ niśitair bāṇair
svasā me prasabhaḿ hṛtā
(22) Today will I, with my sharp arrows, baffle the madness of that most wicked Cowherd who had the temerity to violently abduct my sister!'
that gopālasya actually means "of the protector of the Vedas,"while durmateḥ means "of Him whose beautiful mind is compassionate even toward the wicked." Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī adds that the real meaning of what Rukmī said is that today, fighting with Lord Kṛṣṇa, Rukmī would relieve himself of his pretensions to being a great hero
10.54.23
vikatthamānaḥ kumatir
īśvarasyāpramāṇa-vit
rathenaikena govindaḿ
tiṣṭha tiṣṭhety athāhvayat
(23) Thus foolishly vaunting not realizing what Krishna was all capable of, shouted he next with a single chariot coming forward at Krishna: 'Stand and fight!'
10.54.24
(24) Drawing his bow he most firmly struck Krishna [His chariot] with three arrows and said: 'Wait a minute, You corrupter of the Yadu-dynasty!
that kula-pāḿsana may be understood as a combination of the words kula-pa, "O master of the Yadu dynasty," and aḿsana, "O expert killer of enemies." The ācārya gives the grammatical details that make this interpretation possible.
10.54.25
(25) Wherever You might go having stolen my sister like being a crow who steals the sacrificial butter, I'll put an end today to Your false pride, You foolish cheater, You devious fighter!!
In his hysterical attack, Rukmī displays the very qualities he attributes to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Every living being is part and parcel of the Lord and belongs to the Lord. Therefore Rukmī was like a crow trying to steal the sacrificial offering meant for the enjoyment of the Lord.
10.54.26
(26) If You want my arrows not to kill You, lay off and release the girl', but Krishna with a smile struck Rukmî with six arrows that broke his bow.
10.54.27
aṣṭabhiś caturo vāhān
(27) With Krishna firing eight arrows at his four horses, with two at his charioteer and with three at his flagpole, took he up another bow and struck he Krishna with five.
10.54.28
(28) Even though He was struck by all of these arrows broke Krishna, the Infallible One, his bow again just as another one that he picked up.
10.54.29
(29) The spiked bludgeon, the trident, the lance, the shield and sword, the pike, the javelin or whatever weapon he took up were all by Him, the Lord, broken.
10.54.30
tato rathād avaplutya
khaḍga-pāṇir jighāḿsayā
(30) Then leaping from his chariot sword in hand ran he, with the intent to kill Krishna, forward as furious as a bird in the wind.
10.54.31
tilaśaś carma ceṣubhiḥ
(31) With His arrows breaking to pieces the sword and shield of His attacker, took He, prepared to kill Rukmî, up His own sharp sword.
10.54.32
patitvā pādayor bhartur
(32) Seeing that He wanted to kill her brother fell the saintly Rukminî beset in fear at the feet of her husband and pleaded she piteously.
10.54.33
yogeśvarāprameyātman
bhrātaraḿ me mahā-bhuja
(33) S'rî Rukminî said: 'O Controller of Yoga, o Inscrutable Soul, o God of Gods, o Master of the Universe, o Auspicious One, please don't kill my brother, o Mighty-armed One.'
10.54.34
śucāvaśuṣyan-mukha-ruddha-kaṇṭhayā
gṛhīta-pādaḥ karuṇo nyavartata
(34) S'rî S'uka said: 'With His feet held by her whose limbs were trembling in total fear, with her mouth dry of sorrow, her throat choked and her golden necklace disheveled in her agitation, desisted He in compassion.
he "worldly rule" that one's sister is the personification of mercy: dayāyā bhaginī mūrtiḥ. Even though Rukmī was wicked and was opposed to his sister's best interest, Rukmiṇī was compassionate toward him, and the Lord shared her compassion.
10.54.35
(35) With a strip of cloth tying him up, shaved He the evildoer, making a mess of him leaving him but some of his hair and mustache. Meanwhile crushed the extraordinary army of the Yadu heroes their opponents the way elephants crush a lotus flower [compare 1.7].
10.54.36
kṛṣṇāntikam upavrajya
(36) Getting close to where Krishna was found they there Rukmî in a sorry condition as good as dead. The almighty Supreme Lord Sankarshana, feeling pity, thereupon released the one bound up and said to Krishna:
10.54.37
kṛtam asmaj-jugupsitam
vairūpyaḿ suhṛdo vadhaḥ
(37) 'How improper of You, o Krishna; this clipping of Yours, of his mustache and hair so badly, is as terrible as the death of a family member!'
Omniscient Balarāma knew that Rukmī was the guilty party, but to encourage the lamenting Rukmiṇī He decided to gently reproach Śrī Kṛṣṇa
10.54.38
maivāsmān sādhvy asūyethā
(38) [To Rukminî:] 'O saintly lady, please don't be angry with Us making such a mess of your brother; there is to the matter of who brings happiness and grief no one else responsible but the person in question, since everyone has to face the consequences of his own actions.'
10.54.39
bandhur vadhārha-doṣo 'pi
(39) [And to Krishna again:] 'Even though a relative because of his wrongdoing deserves to be killed, should he by a relative not be killed, but instead be banned [from the family]; why should he who because of his evil deeds ended his own [honorable] life, be killed a second time?'
10.54.40
bhrātāpi bhrātaraḿ hanyād
(40) [To Rukminî:] 'The sacred code of warriors as established by the founding father [Brahmâ] is that a brother even mustn't hesitate to kill his own brother. And that indeed is something most dreadful.'
Lord Balarāma, in the interest of fairness, is giving a complete analysis of the situation. Although one should not kill a relative, there are extenuating circumstances according to military codes. In the American Civil War, which took place in the 1860's, many families were divided between the army of the North and that of the South, and thus fratricidal killing unfortunately became a common affair. Such killing is certainly ghoratama, most dreadful. Yet such is the nature of the material world, where duty, honor and so-called justice often create conflict. Only on the spiritual platform, in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can we transcend the unacceptable pain of material existence. Rukmī was maddened by pride and envy and thus could not understand anything about Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
10.54.41
śrī-madāndhāḥ kṣipanti(41) [Back to Krishna again:] 'Those being proud of a kingdom, land, riches, women, honor and power or something else [other than the soul] do, blinded as they are in their infatuation about the opulence, for that reason indeed commit offenses.'
10.54.42
(42) [And to Rukminî again:] 'In this attitude of yours toward all living beings, of wishing evil to the ones inimical and good to well-wishers, are you as partial as any ignoramus.
Lord Kṛṣṇa was originally meant to marry Rukmiṇī. All along this was the best arrangement for all concerned, and yet from the beginning Rukmī had maliciously opposed this beautiful arrangement. When his sister's desire was finally fulfilled and she was taken by Kṛṣṇa, he viciously attacked the Lord with vulgar insults and mortal weapons. In return Lord Kṛṣṇa tied him up and partially clipped his hair and mustache. While certainly humiliating for a puffed-up prince like Rukmī, his punishment was a mere slap on the wrist, considering what he had done.
10.54.43
suhṛd durhṛd udāsīna
(43) By the illusory power of God is effected that people in their ways are bewildered about the Real Self so that they, who thus take the body for the soul, speak in terms of having a friend, an enemy or someone neutral.
10.54.44
nāneva gṛhyate mūḍhair
(44) Those who are bewildered perceive the One and Only Supreme Soul of each and all embodied being as being many, just like one does with the stars [not recognized as a cohering galaxy] or the air [seen as different for an enclosed space, see also B.G. 18: 20-21 and 1.2: 32].
The last line of this text, yathā jyotir yathā nabhaḥ, introduces two analogies in which we perceive one thing to be many. Jyotiḥ indicates the light of heavenly bodies such as the sun or moon. Although there is only one moon, we may see the moon reflected in pools, rivers, lakes and buckets of water. Then it would appear as if there were many moons, although there is only one. Similarly, we perceive a divine presence in each living being because the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, although He is one. The second analogy given here, yathā nabhaḥ, is that of the sky. If we have a row of sealed clay pots in a room, the sky, or air, is in each pot, although the sky itself is one.
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.32) gives a similar analogy concerning fire and wood:
yathā hy avahito vahnir
"The Lord, as the Supersoul, pervades all things, just as fire permeates wood, and so He appears to be of many varieties, though He is the absolute one without a second."
10.54.45
(45) The physical body having a beginning and an end is composed of the physical elements, the senses and the modes of nature. Because of material ignorance is it something imposed upon the self and is it thus the cause of experiencing the cycle of birth and death.
The material body, composed of various material qualities, elements and so on, attracts and repels the conditioned soul and thus entangles him in material existence. Because of our attraction and repulsion for our own body and other bodies, we establish temporary relationships, dedicate ourselves to great endeavors and sacrifices, concoct imaginary religions, make noble speeches and thoroughly involve ourselves in material illusion. As Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage." Beyond the somewhat absurd theater of material existence is the real and meaningful world of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the liberated life of pure souls devoted in loving service to the Supreme Lord.
10.54.46
nātmano 'nyena saḿyogo
viyogaś casataḥ sati
dṛg-rūpābhyāḿ yathā raveḥ
(46) For the soul in contact with anything else, o chaste one, is there no separation because of the originating from it [as with the individual soul] or untruth because of being revealed by it [as a physical form]; like it is also with the sun in relation to the seeing and the form seen.
As explained in the previous text, the conditioned soul ignorantly assumes himself to be the material body and thus rotates in the cycle of birth and death. In fact, matter and spirit are co-energies of the original source of everything, the Supreme Lord, who is the Absolute Truth.
As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.5), jīva-bhūtāḿ mahā-bāho yayedaḿ dhāryate jagat. The material world is sustained by the living beings' desire to exploit it. The material world is like a prison. Criminals are determined to commit crimes, and thus the government finds it necessary to maintain a prison system. Similarly, the Supreme Lord maintains the material universes because the conditioned souls are determined to rebel against Him and try to enjoy without His loving co-operation. Thus here the phrase tad-dhetutvāt is used to describe the soul, meaning that the soul is the cause of matter assembling itself into a material body. The term tat-prasiddheḥ indicates that the soul is the cause of the body's being perceived, and the same term also indicates that this fact is well known to the enlightened.
Besides its given meaning, the word ātmanaḥ in this verse may indicate the Supreme Soul, in which case the term tad-dhetutvāt indicates that Lord Kṛṣṇa expands His personal potency and thus manifests the material universe. Since the Lord exists eternally in His pure, spiritual body, He never becomes material, as indicated here.
10.54.47
(47) Birth and such are but transformations of the body, never of the soul, just as the lunar phases do not imply that the moon has died on the day of a new moon.
Lord Balarāma here explains how the conditioned souls identify with the body and how this identification should be given up. Certainly every ordinary person considers himself or herself young, middle-aged or old, healthy or sick. But such identification is an illusion, just as the waxing and waning of the moon is an illusion. When we identify ourselves with the material body, we lose our power to understand the soul.
10.54.48
anubhuńkte 'py asaty arthe
tathāpnoty abudho bhavam
(48) Like a sleeping person experiences himself, sense-objects and results of action even though they're not real, undergoes the same way an unintelligent person his material existence [see also 6.16: 55-56].
As stated in śruti, asańgo hy ayaḿ puruṣaḥ: "The living being has no intimate connection with the material world." This point is explained in the present verse. A similar statement is found in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.22.56):
arthe 'hy avidyamāne 'pi
"For one who is meditating on sense gratification, material life, although lacking factual existence, does not go away, just as the unpleasant experiences of a dream do not."
10.54.49
(49) Therefore, o you with the pristine smile, please be yourself again [as the goddess of fortune] and dispell with the knowledge of the essence the sadness born of ignorance of which you dried up and were confounded.'
10.54.50
(50) S'rî S'uka said: 'The slender-waisted one thus enlightened by Balarâma, the Supreme Lord, gave up her despondency and regained her composure with intelligence.
10.54.51
prāṇāvaśeṣa utsṛṣṭo
vitathātma-manorathaḥ
(51) Left with only his life air, expelled by his enemies and deprived of his strength and luster was he [Rukmî] unable to forget his humiliation. Frustrated in his personal desires he then built himself a residence. It became a large city named Bhojakatha ['having experienced the vow'].
10.54.52
kuṇḍinaḿ na pravekṣyāmīty
(52) Having said 'Without killing the evil-minded Krishna, without retrieving my sister, I will not return to Kundina', took he angry right on that spot up his residence.
10.54.53
(53) The Supreme Lord, thus defeating the earthly rulers, brought the daughter of Bhîshmaka to His capital and married her according the vidhi, o protector of the Kurus.
10.54.54
(54) To that occasion there was great rejoicing in each and every home of the Yadu city were, o King, the people had no one but Krishna, the leader of the Yadus, as their object of love.
10.54.55
pāribarham upājahrur
(55) The men and women, joyful with shining jewels and earrings, respectfully presented wedding gifts to the ones celebrated, who were exquisitely dressed.
10.54.56
vicitra-mālyāmbara-ratna-toraṇaiḥ
(56) The city of the Vrishnis appeared beautiful with the festive columns raised, the variety of flower garlands, the banners, the gems and the arches with at every doorway an arrangement of auspicious items as pots full of water, aguru incense and lamps.
10.54.57
gajair dvāḥsu parāmṛṣṭa-
rambhā-pūgopaśobhitā
(57) It's streets were sprinkled with the help of elephants dripping with mada who belonged to the popular personalities who were invited and at the doorways, to further enhance the beauty, were placed plantain and betelnut stems.
10.54.58
(58) The members of the Kuru, Sriñjaya, Kaikeya, Vidarbha, Yadu and Kunti families enjoyed the occasion of being together in the midst of the people who excitedly ran about.
10.54.59
gīyamānaḿ tatas tataḥ
(59) Hearing about the kidnapping of Rukminî that was being sung all around, became the kings and their daughters greatly amazed.
10.54.60
dvārakāyām abhūd rājan
rukmiṇyā ramayopetaḿ
(60) O King, in Dvârakâ were all the citizens overjoyed to see Krishna, the Master of all Opulence joined in marriage with Rukminî, the goddess of fortune.'
Thus end of the Tenth Canto, Fifty-fourth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Marriage of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī."
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