Kālindī Kṛshṇa Vivāha

The Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Garuḍa Purāṇa tells how Kālindī married Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Kālindī was the daughter of Bhagavān Sūrya in his Vivasvant form. She did tapas (austerity) on the bank of the Yamunā with one wish: to have Bhagavān Vishṇu as her husband. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa tells the account to Garuḍa.

Who Kālindī is

Kālindī was born as the daughter of Bhagavān Sūrya in his Vivasvant form. She also has two other names. She is called Yamunā because she is Sūrya’s daughter. She is called Yamānujā, the younger sibling of Yama, because both are children of Vivasvant.

She did special tapas with the one wish of becoming the wife of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

What tapas means

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa uses Kālindī’s case to teach Garuḍa what tapas is. He says:

“What is called tapas is the effort to burn away the pāpa (sin) of earlier births. This is also called pāpānautāpa, regret for pāpa, like fire that burns it away. Some people in their earlier birth lived their whole life without once thinking of Mukunda. At the end of life they finally say: ‘O Mukunda, I am scorched by this saṃsāra, with all its ties to wife, children, servants, house and field. When will I see your face? I never served you, I never offered you pūjā. How can I be saved? How can a great pāpī (one full of pāpa) like me ever see you?’ This crying out and turning to Bhagavān Vishṇu at the end of a life lived without him is itself pāpānautāpa. And what one does now is tapas.”

Kālindī did this tapas on the bank of the Yamunā. Her mind was fixed on Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in dhyāna (meditation).

Kṛshṇa meets Kālindī

One day Bhagavān Kṛshṇa went to the forest with Arjuna along the Yamunā bank. He saw Kālindī sitting there in tapas. He sent Arjuna to find out her story. Arjuna came back and told him fully who she was and what she wished for.

Then Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself came to her at an auspicious muhūrta (a favourable time). Following the proper custom, he took her hand in marriage (pāṇigrahaṇa). In this way Kālindī’s wish was fulfilled.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa then says to Garuḍa:

“I am complete bliss in myself. I have no desire of any kind. All my marriages came from bhaktānugraha-dṛshṭi, the wish to show grace to my devotees, purely out of regard for what they wished.”

Sources

• Garuḍa Purāṇa (Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa), Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 21