Rohiṇī

Rohiṇī was a wife of Vasudeva and the birth-mother of Balarāma. Kaṃsa began to trouble the Yādava family after the voice from the sky (ākāśavāṇī) foretold his death. Vasudeva’s wives, except Devakī who was held prisoner, fled to safe places. Rohiṇī took shelter at the home of Nanda in Gokula, a settlement of cowherds. She lived under Nanda’s protection through the whole time of Kaṃsa’s terror.

In that safe place she received the child that Devakī had conceived as her seventh. By the power of Yogamāyā, the child was moved to Rohiṇī’s womb, and Rohiṇī gave birth to Balarāma.

Her place in the family

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapters 1–2, tells that when Kaṃsa began his cruelty, Vasudeva’s several wives “fled to hidden places.” Rohiṇī was one of them, and she went to Nanda’s settlement in Gokula.

The moving of the child

The most important event in Rohiṇī’s life is the moving of the child from one womb to another. Devakī conceived for the seventh time. The child was Śeṣa, the divine serpent and aṃśa (part) of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa told Yogamāyā to move this child from Devakī’s womb to the womb of Rohiṇī in Gokula. Yogamāyā did this unseen, by her divine power.

To the outside world, Devakī seemed to have lost the child, and the people of Mathurā mourned. In Gokula, Rohiṇī’s pregnancy went on as usual. She gave birth to a strong and beautiful son, Balarāma. He is also called Rohiṇeya (son of Rohiṇī) and Saṃkarṣaṇa (the one who was drawn across, saṃkarṣita).

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 2, tells this.

Rohiṇī in Gokula

Rohiṇī lived in Nanda’s household through Kṛṣṇa’s childhood in Gokula and Vṛndāvana. She was Balarāma’s mother and part of Vasudeva’s household. She was thus part of the wider family whose centre was Kṛṣṇa’s foster-parents, Nanda and Yaśodā. She watched Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma grow up together in the settlement of the gopas (cowherds).

This is drawn from the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda.

Rohiṇī in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7, gives the same account. Rohiṇī is living in Nanda’s settlement when Yogamāyā is told to move the child. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa himself gives the instruction to Yogamāyā: “Go to Nanda’s Gokula. Vasudeva’s wife Rohiṇī is there. His other wives have fled to secret places out of fear of Kaṃsa. The child in Devakī’s womb is my aṃśa (Śeṣa). Move that child and place it in Rohiṇī’s womb.”

Sahagamana on Vasudeva’s pyre

The Mausala Parva of the Mahābhārata tells of the end of the Yādava age. The Vṛṣṇis destroyed one another at Prabhāsa. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, her own son, had left their bodies. Vasudeva then gave up his life in yoga, grieving for his slain kin.

His body was carried out and laid on the pyre. Four of his queens, Devakī, Bhadrā, Rohiṇī and Madirā, wished to reach the world of their husband. They climbed on to the funeral fire and performed sahagamana (going with the husband in death). Arjuna had the pyre burned with sandalwood and costly fragrant substances, and he carried out the rites for Vasudeva and his devoted queens.

This is from the Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapters 1–2
• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7
• Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7