Kṛṣṇa Kidnapping Rukmīṇī

Kṛṣṇa Married Rukmīṇī

Kṛṣṇa Kidnapping Rukmīṇī
(from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam)

By Mohini Devi

The Background History

When Kṛṣṇa appeared on earth, His eternal consort appeared on the Earth also as Rukmīṇī in the family of Bhīṣmaka. As Lakṣmī is Viṣṇu’s Śakti so is Rukmīṇī Kṛṣṇa’s Śakti. Wherever and whenever the name of Kṛṣṇa is chanted, there also lies the name of Rukmīṇī. And in this way, they aren’t separated. Rukmīṇī is mostly praised for her extraordinary beauty, good virtues and her immense love for Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Rukmīṇī was the daughter of Bhīṣmaka – the king of Vidarbha and She was courageous, bold and full of self determination.

Rukmīṇī had heard much about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s high caliber, his character, charm, grace, and greatness and fell in love with Kṛṣṇa, longing to be married to Him. She would rather die than lose Kṛṣṇa. Rukmīṇī was all set to marry Lord Kṛṣṇa or give up her life.

Rukmīṇī’s eldest brother Rukmī was a friend of evil King Kaṁsa, who Kṛṣṇa killed, and hence Rukmī was against Lord Kṛṣṇa and his marriage with his sister. Rukmī strongly denied their marriage and changed Bhīṣmaka’s mind. Rukmī wanted his sister Rukmīṇī to get married to his good friend Śiśupāla – (the crown prince of Cedi and the son of Śrutakīrti, who was the sister of Kuntī.)

Rukmīṇī came to know about the plan of not letting her marry Kṛṣṇa. She then immediately called for a trusted Brāhmaṇa and asked him to deliver a letter to Kṛṣṇa where she wrote about the conspiracy and asked Kṛṣṇa to marry her. She also mentioned that if Kṛṣṇa refused to marry her, then she would commit suicide. She requested Kṛṣṇa to come to Vidarbha so that she could run off with him. Rukmīṇī also pleaded with Kṛṣṇa not to fight with anyone because many of her family would die in the battle.

Rukmīṇī was a king’s daughter, courageous and bold, and furthermore she would rather die than lose Kṛṣṇa. Considering all this, she wrote a frank, explicit letter, begging Kṛṣṇa to come and take her away from the place and marry her. She even told Kṛṣṇa in which way he should kidnap her.

As soon as Kṛṣṇa got Rukmīṇī’s letter through a trusted Brāhmaṇa, he left for Vidarbha with Balarāma (his brother).

Kṛṣṇa Kidnapped Rukmīṇī

Rukmīṇī’s Love Letter to Kṛṣṇa
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.37)

Śrī Rukmīṇī said [in her letter, as read by the Brāhmaṇa]: O beauty of the worlds, having heard of Your qualities, which enter the ears of those who hear and remove their bodily distress, and having also heard of Your beauty, which fulfills all the visual desires of those who see, I have fixed my shameless mind upon You, O Kṛṣṇa.

O Mukunda, You are equal only to Yourself in lineage, character, beauty, knowledge, youthfulness, wealth and influence. O lion among men, You delight the minds of all mankind. What aristocratic, sober-minded and marriageable girl of a good family would not choose You as her husband when the proper time has come?

Therefore, my dear Lord, I have chosen You as my husband, and I surrender myself to You. Please come swiftly, O almighty one, and make me Your wife. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, let Śiśupāla never touch the hero’s portion like a jackal stealing the property of a lion.

If I have sufficiently worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead by pious works, sacrifices, charity, rituals and vows, and also by worshiping the demigods, brāhmaṇas and gurus, then may Gadāgraja come and take my hand, and not Damaghoṣa’s son (Śiśupāla) or anyone else.

O unconquerable one, tomorrow when my marriage ceremony is about to begin, You should arrive unseen in Vidarbha and surround Yourself with the leaders of Your army. Then crush the forces of Caidya and Magadhendra and marry me in the Rākṣasa style (by kidnapping), winning me with Your valor.

Since I will be staying within the inner chambers of the palace, You may wonder, “How can I carry you away without killing some of your relatives?” But I shall tell You a way: On the day before the marriage there is a grand procession to honor the royal family’s deity, and in this procession the new bride goes outside the city to visit Goddess Girijā (Ambikā).

O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Śiva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.

The Brāhmaṇa said: This is the confidential message I have brought with me, O Lord of the Yadus. Please consider what must be done in these circumstances, and do it at once.

After Lord Kṛṣṇa kidnapped Rukmīṇī from Vidarbha he brought her 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 Rukmīṇī. Everyone in Dvārakā was delighted to see Lord Kṛṣṇa united with Rukmīṇī.

Kṛṣṇa punishing Rukmī – the brother of Rukmiṇī

Meanwhile: 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.”