Nāgnajitī Kṛshṇa Vivāha
The Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Garuḍa Purāṇa tells the account of Nīlā, also called Nāgnajitī. In an earlier birth she did hard tapas at Śeshācala to win Bhagavān Vishṇu himself as her husband. Bhagavān Hari appeared to her and promised to be her husband, and she was reborn as Nīlā. At her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a bride is won or chooses her husband), Bhagavān Kṛshṇa subdued seven bulls and married her.
The earlier birth
In her earlier birth Nīlā was the daughter of Kavyavāhana, the Agni among the ancestors, who is the foremost of the pitṛs (ancestors). She lived with her mind on Bhagavān Vishṇu alone as her husband (ananya-cintana). When her father began to arrange her marriage, she said with full firmness that she would accept no one but Nīlameghaśyāma, the one with the colour of a dark cloud, as her husband.
Her father asked: “How will you ever reach him? Why are you so firm?” She answered:
“Father, only Hari, who has all good qualities, can be my husband. If this wish is not fulfilled in this birth, I will spend my whole life longing for him alone. He has no beginning. He is eternal and complete. He is the one essence of the whole universe. He is most beautiful, he gives moksha, and he fulfils every wish. The woman who marries Śrī Hari alone is truly complete in good fortune. Women whose husbands are devotees of Bhagavān Vishṇu have fulfilled lives. Only many lifetimes of puṇya (merit) bring a woman a husband who is a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu.”
She then described a vision of Kali Yuga that she had received through the grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu. In that age these would all become rare:
- devotees of Bhagavān Vishṇu
- devotion to Hari
- good company of the holy
- darśana (sight) of Hari on Śeshācala
- darśana of Raṅganātha on the Kālindī
- darśana of Varadarāja at Kāñcī
- darśana of Rāma Setu
- bowing at the feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu at Gayā Kshetra
She said: “Before that Kali Yuga arrives, I will become a wife of Bhagavān Vishṇu and be placed at those many kshetras (holy places), waiting and watching for the darśana of his devotees.”
She left to do tapas toward Śeshācala. Her father understood everything, and he arranged for her protection.
Tapas at Pāpanāśana
She first went to Kapila Tīrtha and bowed to Śrīnivāsa there. After three days of service she went on to Pāpanāśaka Tīrtha. She bathed in its water, which destroys pāpa (sin). Then she entered a vast lonely cave-space to the north, three kosas wide in every direction. There she settled into dhyāna (meditation) on Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa and spoke to him:
“Devā, you are my mother, father, husband, companion, son, guru, nearest relative, circle of friends, and the beloved of my life. In this saṃsāra all so-called friends and relatives come from some passing reason. But you, without any such reason, have been my everything since beginningless time. So, O Deva, I have chosen you as my husband. In every birth I will be only your wife.”
Śrī Hari was pleased by this deep tapas. He appeared before her in person and said:
“O maiden, in the Kṛshṇa avatāra I shall become your husband.”
At this darśana the daughter of Kavyavāhana gave up her body by yoga. She was reborn at once as Nīlā in the house of a righteous man named Kumbhaka.
The svayaṃvara
In her new birth Nīlā’s father held a svayaṃvara with this condition. Whoever could subdue and bring under control the seven fierce bulls given to him by a vara (boon) of Bhagavān Śiva would receive Nīlā as his wife. He set this condition because he knew that only one who had won the grace of Bhagavān Śiva could do such a thing.
Many brave kshatriyas came, but they could not subdue the bulls. Some people dismissed Kṛshṇa as only a cowherd boy (gopālabāla). Kṛshṇa pleased Bhagavān Śiva and received the power to subdue all seven bulls.
Even after this, a group of kshatriya kings refused to accept a cowherd as the winner. They seized Nīlā by force and tried to carry her away. Kṛshṇa followed them, fought them, and defeated them all. He brought Nīlā back. Then he married her according to the śāstras.
Kṛshṇa’s words to Garuḍa
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa tells Garuḍa: “All my marriages came from bhaktānugraha-dṛshṭi. They happened out of regard for the devotee’s wish, not out of any desire of mine, for I am complete bliss in myself and can have no such desire.”
Sources
- Garuḍa Purāṇa (Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa), Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 19