106 - Marriage of Revati and Balarama

 Narayana said- In the meantime the valorous king, Kakudmi arrived from Brahmaloka in search for a suitable groom for his daughter. He gave away in marriage his daughter named Revati who possessed beauty unequal in the three worlds, adorned with all the ornaments, having quite a youthful body to Baladeva quite playfully. She was born in Satyayuga and had seen twenty-seven yugas.

He gave away his daughter in marriage to Balarama in the presence of the sages, gods and Indra and also gave away three lakhs of elephant in dowry. The dowry included ten lakhs of horses, a lakh of chariots, a lakh of slave-girls adorned with the gem-studded ornaments, a lakh of diamonds, a lakh of gems, a crores of gold coins, beautiful costumes sanctified by fire, the jewels, rubies and other diamonds. The king Kakudmi handing on his daughter Revati in marriage to Balarama mounted on a gem-studded chariot and went back to Kundinapura.

After the completion of the marriage, Devaki, Rohini, Yasoda, Aditi, Diti entered the house together with Revati who was born out of the amsha of Lakshmi.

Devaki the spouse of Vasudeva served the Brahmanas with food and the riches, performing the welfare ceremony.

Thereafter the gods, the sages, the king with their armies delightfully reached the city of Kundinapura.

Everybody found the city to be quite beautiful which was surrounded by seven deep moats and seven boundary walls with hundred gates. Vishvakarma had built the outer gate of the city with various gems and jewels which was witnessed by all the people of the marriage party. The gate was guarded by four great warriors.

 The four warriors guarding the gate included Rukmi, Sisupala, valorous Dantavaktra and Salva who was well-versed in the warfare as well as illusion, the prince Rukmi was anxious for a war holding all the weapons. He was enraged finding the army of Krishna and then hearing at the gods and the sages, he spoke aloud harsh words, which were echoed in the sky.

Rukmi said- The deeds performed at a time or the moves of the destiny cannot be stopped by anyone otherwise what to speak in the assembly of the gods.

In order to marry Rukmini, the beautiful damsel who is suitable for the gods, a cowherd’s son of Nanda is arriving with the sages.

The cowherds is the lover of the cowherdesses and consumes always the left-over of the cowherds, his caste is unknown nor does he know anything about the food or the love- making.

He is neither the son of a king nor a sage, he was born of Vasudeva, Kshatriya and was brought up by a Vaishya.

The wicked person killed a woman during his childhood. By enjoying the conjugal pleasures with him Kubja died, together with the washerman.

By killing a king one earns Brahmahatya and this Krishna killed the religious king Kamsa in Mathura.

 Salva said- O god. there is nothing untrue in whatever has been spoken by Rukmi, how can the cowherd of Nanda become the husband of Rukmini.

 Sisupala said - what more surprise could be there in the universe that Brahma and other gods; and the sons to Brahma have arrived here at the command of a human being.

 Dantavaktra said- A Brahmana is always greedy and the gods are always graceful to the devotees but why have the sons of Brahma arrived here at the command of the son of Nanda? On hearing the words of these people, all the gods, the sages and the kings besides Balarama were enraged.