Rukmiṇī

Rukmiṇī is the foremost queen of Dvārakā and the most loved of Kṛshṇa’s eight chief wives. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa says she is an avatāra (descent) of Mahālakshmī, born into the royal house of Vidarbha as the daughter of King Bhīshmaka. She is ayonisambhavā (not born from a womb): she is a divine being who appeared directly. Texts tell of her marriage to Kṛshṇa against the hostility of her brother Rukmi, her beauty and devotion, her place below Rādhā, and her return to Vaikuṇṭha.

Who she is

Rukmiṇī is Mahālakshmī herself, the eternal consort of Nārāyaṇa. She came to earth to be at Kṛshṇa’s side in his earthly avatāra. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa gives this order:

• Rādhā is the Mūla-Prakṛti (the root nature), the source of all divine feminine power. She stays at Kṛshṇa’s left side in Goloka.
• Rukmiṇī is Mahālakshmī, the full (pūrṇa) form of Lakshmī’s śakti (power) on earth. She is said to be born from Rādhā’s own left side, and so she is the earthly form of Rādhā’s portion.

Sarasvatī’s teaching in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa is: “Rādhā is the fire. Rukmiṇī is the light of that fire. All other devīs are parts of Rādhā. Rukmiṇī is the whole lotus (pūrṇakamala), but Rādhā is the root from which that lotus grows.”

Birth and family

Rukmiṇī was born as the daughter of Bhīshmaka, the righteous and powerful king of Vidarbha, who ruled from the capital city Kuṇḍina (also called Kuṇḍinapura). Her elder brother was Rukmi, who was hostile to Kṛshṇa.

The family purohita (priest) Śatānanda, son of Gautama Ṛshi, advised Bhīshmaka to give Rukmiṇī to Kṛshṇa. Rukmiṇī herself had long before given her heart to Kṛshṇa in full devotion.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 105.

The marriage

Rukmi strongly opposed the marriage. He arranged to give Rukmiṇī to Śiśupāla. He invited the kings of Aṅga, Kaliṅga, Magadha, Saurāshṭra and Mahārāshṭra to a ceremony like a svayaṃvara (a bride’s own choice of husband). Rukmiṇī sent a secret message to Kṛshṇa through Śatānanda.

Kṛshṇa came to Kuṇḍina with his company. Outside the city gates, Rukmi and his allies Śiśupāla, Śālva and Dantavakra met Kṛshṇa and insulted him. Balarāma fought them with his hala (plough) and musala (club) and drove them off. Śatānanda led Kṛshṇa through the hundred gates of Kuṇḍina.

Rukmiṇī at the wedding. She had a golden colour and the glow of a hundred moons. She wore saffron clothes and a mālatīmālā (garland of jasmine). She walked seven pradakshiṇās (circles of honour) around Kṛshṇa and bowed to him in full devotion.

Bhīshmaka wept with joy and with the grief of parting. He performed the kanyādāna (giving away of the bride) by placing his daughter’s hand in Kṛshṇa’s hand with Vedic mantras. Kṛshṇa accepted with the word “Svasti.”

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 107 and 108.

Life in Dvārakā

Rukmiṇī was Kṛshṇa’s foremost earthly queen and lived in Dvārakā. When Ushā, the wife of Aniruddha and the daughter of Bāṇāsura, came to Dvārakā after the great war, Rukmiṇī was given charge of her. She bore Kṛshṇa ten sons and one daughter. Pradyumna was the eldest and the most famous.

Rukmiṇī’s palace in Dvārakā was decorated with the Pārijāta tree brought from svarga (heaven). It became the most famous of all the queens’ palaces. Her devotion to Kṛshṇa was complete and without reserve.

At the assembly at Siddhāśrama, when the supreme glory of Rādhā was shown, Rukmiṇī bowed down before Rādhā with her head on the ground. She was full of holy awe and recognition.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 112 and 124.

Return to Vaikuṇṭha

Rukmiṇī is ayonisambhavā: not born in the ordinary way, but directly manifested. When Kṛshṇa went back to Goloka (Goloka-ārohaṇa) and his earthly avatāra was complete, Rukmiṇī went with her divine body straight to Vaikuṇṭha. There she takes up again her eternal place as Mahālakshmī, the queen of all śrī (prosperity) beside Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 129.

Rukmiṇī in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva

Lakshmīdevī and her birth in Vidarbha

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa (Vishṇu Parva) also tells of Rukmiṇī’s divine nature. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa himself tells Bhīshmaka that Rukmiṇī is sākshāt (in person) Lakshmīdevī. On Hemakūṭa mountain the devas asked Bhagavān Vishṇu and Lakshmī to come down to earth. Lakshmī was told to be born as Bhīshmaka’s daughter at Kuṇḍinapura in Vidarbha, and to wait there for the coming of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Kṛshṇa says to Bhīshmaka in the assembly: “Your daughter is Lakshmīdevī in person. By Brahmā’s order she has come down into bhūloka (the earth). She is not fit for a svayaṃvara. She should be given to a worthy man. This is the way of dharma.” This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 52.

Rukmiṇī is born as the daughter of Bhīshmaka, the righteous king of Vidarbha, who rules from Kuṇḍinapura. Her elder brother Rukmi was always hostile to Kṛshṇa. He had learned the Brahmāstra from Paraśurāma and divine astras (weapons) from Druma. At Jarāsaṃdha’s urging, Rukmi decided to give Rukmiṇī to Śiśupāla. Bhīshmaka himself believed that Kṛshṇa was the right husband, but he could not stand against the pressure of Jarāsaṃdha and Rukmi. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 48 and 60.

The svayaṃvara and Kṛshṇa’s arrival

Rukmi arranged a grand svayaṃvara for Rukmiṇī at Kuṇḍinapura and invited kings from every direction. Jarāsaṃdha, Śiśupāla, Dantavaktra, Śālva, Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva, Bhagadatta, Bhūriśravas and many other kings came with their armies. A messenger told Kṛshṇa that the beauty of the three worlds, in Kuṇḍinapura, was to be given at a svayaṃvara. Kṛshṇa was deeply moved. He went there with the Yādavas Balarāma, Sātyaki, Akrūra, Kṛtavarma and others.

Garūḍa went with Kṛshṇa to Vidarbha. The kings who had gathered were filled with fear when Garūḍa came, because the wind of his wings stirred the oceans and shook the mountains. Kṛshṇa stayed at the home of Kratha and Kaiśika, the two brothers who ruled Vidarbha. They joyfully offered their kingdom to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Then Indra himself sent a messenger. He ordered the gathered kings to perform Kṛshṇa’s rājyābhisheka (royal consecration) in Vidarbha. He sent a divine throne made by Viśvakarma and eight holy pots from Kubera. At Indra’s command the kings consecrated Kṛshṇa at the svayaṃvara place. Apsarasas danced, Gandharvas sang, and the devas showered flowers from the sky. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 48 to 51.

The abduction

On the day before the svayaṃvara, Rukmiṇī went in a chariot, guarded by soldiers, to a temple to do pūjā to Śacīdevī under the Jyeshṭhā nakshatra (lunar star group). Kṛshṇa saw her. She wore white silk and had matchless beauty, Lakshmī in person. He at once decided that she was his. When her pūjā was over and she came out of the temple, Kṛshṇa took her and placed her in his chariot. Those who tried to stop him were struck down with a tree that he pulled up by the roots. The Kṛshṇa-vaṃśīyas stood guard on every side. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 60.

Rukmi’s defeat

Rukmi was enraged. In front of Bhīshmaka he swore that he would not enter Kuṇḍinapura again until he had killed Kṛshṇa and won Rukmiṇī back. He went after Kṛshṇa with a great army of southern kings: Krātha, Aṃśumanta, Śrutavarma, Veṇudāri and others. On the banks of the Narmadā, Rukmi faced Kṛshṇa himself and let loose sixty-four sharp arrows. Kṛshṇa answered with seventy. He broke Rukmi’s chariot, killed his charioteer, broke his bow and cut down his flag. Rukmi jumped from his wrecked chariot with his sword. Kṛshṇa cut the sword too, and at last wounded him with three arrows through the heart. Rukmi fell.

Rukmiṇī saw her brother on the ground. She threw herself at Kṛshṇa’s lotus feet and begged for Rukmi’s life. Out of love for Rukmiṇī, Kṛshṇa gave Rukmi abhaya (freedom from fear) and left without killing him. Meanwhile Balarāma, Yuyudhāna, Akrūra, Kṛtavarma and Cakradeva scattered the armies of Jarāsaṃdha, Śiśupāla, Dantavaktra and the other allied kings. Rukmi could not keep his vow. He refused to enter Kuṇḍinapura again and built a new city in Vidarbha called Bhojakaṭa, where he settled. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 61.

Marriage in Dvārakā and her sons

Kṛshṇa brought Rukmiṇī to Dvārakā. After Balarāma and the Yādavas also came back in victory, Kṛshṇa married Rukmiṇī there with the proper rites. She became his foremost queen (jyeshṭha-patnī), a pativratā (wife devoted to her husband) of matchless beauty and virtue. She bore Kṛshṇa ten sons and one daughter. The named children are Cārudeshṇa, Sudeshṇa, Pradyumna, Susheṇa, Cārugupa, Cārubāhu, Cāruvinda, Sucāru, Bhadrācāru, and the daughter Cārumatī. All the sons were great warriors and skilled in dharma, artha (wealth) and the craft of ruling. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 61.

Pradyumna was the most famous of her sons. He was the avatāra of Manmatha (Kāmadeva). Śaṃkara had burned Kāmadeva’s form, and Kāmadeva was born again through Rukmiṇī’s womb as Kṛshṇa’s son. The asura Śambara carried off the infant Pradyumna on the seventh night after his birth and raised him without telling him who he was. But the boy killed Śambara in the end and came back to Dvārakā with Māyāvatī, who was Ratī herself born again. During Pradyumna’s long absence Rukmiṇī was overcome with grief. On the day he returned, she told of a dream she had seen, which told what was to come. A beautiful woman had entered her house with a garland of lotuses and put it round her neck. When Kṛshṇa pointed out the returned Pradyumna and brought him to Rukmiṇī, she wept for joy and said she was blessed. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 106 to 110.

Later, Balarāma killed Rukmi in a quarrel over dice at the wedding of Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, and Rukmavatī, Rukmi’s granddaughter. This match was made when Kṛshṇa asked Rukmi to give his granddaughter to Aniruddha. Rukmiṇī, as Kṛshṇa’s foremost queen, was there at these events. Kṛshṇa did not blame Balarāma for Rukmi’s death, out of loyalty to his elder brother and his own restraint. But in private he wept and comforted the grieving Rukmiṇī. This is told in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 62.

The Śrī–Rukmiṇī Saṃvāda in the Anuśāsana Parva

In the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Bhīshma tells Yudhishṭhira of a time when Rukmiṇī, in the presence of Śrī Kṛshṇa, questioned Lakshmī directly. She called her “Bhṛgu’s daughter” and the beloved of Nārāyaṇa, and asked in what kind of beings she lives. Lakshmī answered in detail. She spoke of the qualities and settings that draw her to a place or drive her away, and of her true form, mūrtimatī (in bodily form), which lives only in Nārāyaṇa. This is told in the Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 11.

The pāyasam trial and Durvāsa’s vara: Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 159

Kṛshṇa told Yudhishṭhira of another episode in Dvārakā that involved the fearsome ṛshi Durvāsa. Kṛshṇa told it in answer to Pradyumna’s angry questions about honouring brāhmaṇas. Durvāsa ate hot pāyasam (milk pudding) in Kṛshṇa’s house. He then ordered that the leftover be smeared on Kṛshṇa’s own body, and then on Rukmiṇī’s. He next yoked Rukmiṇī to his chariot like a horse. He drove her hard down the royal road and urged her on even as she stumbled. The Dāśārhas were furious at the shame. Kṛshṇa showed no sign of anger at any time. Afterwards he ran after the fleeing ṛshi, still covered in pāyasam, and begged his forgiveness.

Durvāsa was pleased by this complete absence of krodha (anger). He gave Kṛshṇa a vara (a boon) that no harm could touch any place where the pāyasam had touched him. The soles of his feet were left out, because they had been forgotten in the smearing. Durvāsa also said that Rukmiṇī would be the first among Kṛshṇa’s sixteen thousand wives. She would be forever young and forever fragrant, and age, disease and loss of beauty would not touch her. This is told in the Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 159.

Grief at Dvārakā and entry into the fire: Mausala Parva

The curse of the brāhmaṇas came to its end. The Vṛshṇis killed one another at Prabhāsa, and Kṛshṇa and Balarāma laid down their bodies. Arjuna came to a Dvārakā that had become like a woman whose husband has died. When Arjuna arrived, the sixteen thousand wives of Kṛshṇa cried aloud in sorrow. Rukmiṇī and Satyabhāmā, the daughter of Satrājit, threw themselves on the ground around Arjuna. They clung to him and wept in grief beyond comfort, because the Pāṇḍava had become their only refuge. Only after a long lament were they raised up and seated. Then Arjuna spoke to them of the qualities of Govinda. This is told in the Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 5.

Arjuna did the last rites for Vasudeva and for the fallen heroes. He led the surviving people of Dvārakā out of the city, which the sea then swallowed, and he crowned Vajra at Indraprastha. Rukmiṇī then chose not to live on after her lord. With the queens Gāndhārī (Kṛshṇa’s own wife, not the Gāndhārī of the Kurus), Śaibyā, Haimavatī and Jāmbavatī, Rukmiṇī entered the fire and followed Kṛshṇa to his own realm. The other beloved queens, Satyabhāmā first among them, went to the forest to perform tapas (austerity). This is told in the Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa (Chapters 105, 107, 108, 112, 124 and 129)
• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 48 to 62 and 106 to 110
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 11 and 159
• Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapters 5 and 7