Rāmā, Wife of Kalki

Rāmā was the third wife of Bhagavān Kalki. She was the daughter of Śaśidhvaja, the king of Bhallāṭanagara, and his wife Suśānta. She was the avatāra of Satyabhāmā, the beloved queen of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. She came to complete a connection of karma left unfinished in the age of the Kṛshṇa-avatāra.

Rāmā performed the Rukmiṇī Vrata for four years under the guidance of Paraśurāma. From it she received two sons, Meghamāla and Bāhuka. When Bhagavān Kalki went up to Vaikuṇṭha, Rāmā entered agni (fire) and followed him.

Who she was and why she took birth

Rāmā was the daughter of Śaśidhvaja and Suśānta. She was the avatāra of Satyabhāmā, one of the chief mahishīs (queens) of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the Dvāpara-yuga.

The Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 13, ties her birth to the unfinished karma of her father in that earlier age. In the Kṛshṇa-avatāra, Śaśidhvaja had been Satrājit, the Yādava nobleman who owned the Syamantaka jewel. His brother Prasena was killed and the jewel was lost. Satrājit wrongly accused Kṛshṇa of the theft. Kṛshṇa found the jewel and gave it back. Satrājit was ashamed. He offered both the jewel and his daughter Satyabhāmā to Kṛshṇa to make amends. Kṛshṇa accepted both.

The false charge (kalaṅka) laid on Kṛshṇa had a result. Satrājit did not receive full moksha in that birth. The Purāṇa says that the gift of Rāmā (Satyabhāmā born again) to Kalki (Kṛshṇa born again) completed the circle. The gift was made a second time, in full awareness and love, and the kalaṅka was cleansed.

The marriage

The marriage of Rāmā and Kalki took place in Bhallāṭanagara, after the great battle between Kalki and Śaśidhvaja had ended. Suśānta’s stotra (hymn of praise) had awakened Kalki, and the full exchange of devotion had taken place. Śaśidhvaja then called his sons back from the battlefield. In front of the gathered kings, brāhmaṇas and all the people of Bhallāṭa, he gave Rāmā to Kalki.

The wedding was held with great joy. There were conches, bherīs (drums), mṛdaṅgas (drums), songs and dances, and the maṅgalācaraṇas (auspicious rites) performed by the women of the city. Śaśidhvaja gave a rich dowry: ten thousand elephants, a lakh of horses, six thousand chariots and six hundred women attendants (dāsī). Kalki, shining like the full moon among the stars, presided over the gathering with Rāmā at his side.

The Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 10, tells this.

The Rukmiṇī Vrata

After the Digvijaya (the conquest of the directions) was finished and they had returned to Śambhala, Rāmā wished for a son. Paraśurāma came to Śambhala on a tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), and Kalki told him of her wish. Paraśurāma laid down the Rukmiṇī Vrata for her. This vrata (vow) is made to Bhagavān Vāsudeva and Rukmiṇī. He also initiated her into the practice.

Rāmā kept the Rukmiṇī Vrata for four full years. She began on Vaiśākha Śukla Dvādaśī. Each day she did a shoḍaśopacāra pūjā (worship with sixteen offerings) to the image of Bhagavān Vāsudeva, placed on an ashṭadala-padma maṇḍala (a design of an eight-petalled lotus). The rite included a bath with pañcāmṛta (five sweet substances), recitation of the Purushasūkta, and offerings of pādya (water for the feet), arghya, ācamana (water for sipping), flowers, a garment, the sacred thread (yajñopavīta), ornaments, naivedya (food offering) of yoghurt, milk, jaggery, rice, apūpa (cakes) and laddus, then dhūpa (incense) and dīpa (lamp). At the end of each year she wore a silk bracelet, gave a meal to brāhmaṇas, and took purified havya (offering) with Kalki.

The Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 17, tells this.

Her sons Meghamāla and Bāhuka

The fruit of the Rukmiṇī Vrata was the birth of two sons to Rāmā by Kalki. They were Meghamāla (“garlanded with clouds”) and Bāhuka (“strong-armed”). Both were dear to Kalki and blessed with good fortune (saubhāgya). They were full of energy (utsāha) and valour (parākrama). They gave themselves to yajña, dāna (giving), tapas and vratas, and they worked for the welfare of the devas. Rāmā also gained lasting youth (sthira-yauvanatva) as a fruit of the vrata.

The Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 18, tells this.

Entry into agni

The devas asked Bhagavān Kalki to return to Vaikuṇṭha, and he agreed. At the moment of his divine ascent, Rāmā entered agni, together with Padmāvatī. This agni-praveśa (entry into fire) was a willing and loving act of a wife following her husband. Rāmā, the avatāra of Satyabhāmā, joined Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in his form as Kalki, in the eternal realm beyond time and form.

The Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 19, tells this.

Sources

• Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapters 10, 13, 17–18, 19