Rukmini

Rukmini was the daughter of King Vidarbha Bhishmaki , who was a vassal of King Magadha Jarasandha. According to another version, Bhishmaka was the king of Kundila in Upper Assam .

Rukmini was a princess famous for her chastity and beauty for the whole world. When Krishna expressed his desire to marry Rukmini, her older brother, named Rukmi , who was one of the comrades-in-arms of the demonic king Kamsa , who was killed by Krishna, categorically opposed this marriage.

Rukmini's parents already wanted to marry her to Krishna, but Rukmi managed to convince her father to abandon this idea. Rukmi was an imperious and ambitious prince, and did not want to anger the cruel emperor Jarasandhu. Instead, he proposed to marry Rukmini to his friend Shishupalu, a prince from Chedi. Sisupala was a vassal of Jarasandha, and therefore an ally of Rukmi.

Bhishmaka agreed to his son's proposal, but Rukmini, having learned about these plans, was horrified by this prospect and immediately called a brahmana named Sunanda and sent him a letter to Krishna. In a letter, she asked Krishna to come to Vidarbha and kidnap her before the planned wedding. She suggested that the most appropriate time for the attack should be the wedding day itself, when the motorcade would advance along the path to the temple, where the wedding was supposed to take place. Rukmini asked Krishna to abduct her and marry her. In the end, she attributed that if Krishna refuses to satisfy her desire, she will certainly commit suicide. After receiving the message of Rukmini, Krishna set off on his journey to Vidarbha with his brother Balarama . Meanwhile, ишiалаupala was overwhelmed with the joy of the news Rukmi transmitted to him. He immediately went to Kundina to ask for Rukmini's hand. Jarasandha knew that Krishna would not give up so easily, and therefore gathered all his vassals and allies in order to repulse him.

Soon spies informed Rukmini and her father Bhishmak that Krsna had already arrived in Vidarbha. In the depths of his heart, Bhismak approved of Krishna's intention to abduct his daughter and did not take any measures to obstruct Krishna's plan. At that time, Rukmini was preparing in the palace for the upcoming wedding. She decided to go to the temple in order to pray. In the temple, she prayed for a long time to the goddess Parvati that Krishna would abduct her and marry her. On leaving the temple, Krishna was already waiting for her, and as soon as Rukmini crossed the threshold, he took her to his chariot. Sisupala, noticing what had happened, chased after them with Jarasandha. Balarama came to the rescue and began to fight with Jarasandha, Sisupala and other warriors. Only Rukmi continued the pursuit of Krishna and Rukmini.

In the ensuing battle, Krishna quickly won. When he had already raised his sword, intending to kill Rukmi, Rukmini fell to her knees and began to beg Krishna to spare him. Krishna granted the request of his bride and released Rukmi, but shaved his head as punishment. According to the then existing customs, such dishonor for the ksatriya was worse than death. A few days later, Krishna returned to Dvaraka and played there a magnificent wedding with Rukmini.

One day, one of the queens of Krishna, named Satyabhama, became proud that Krishna loved her very much and was under her control. Rukmini, in her turn, was modest and simply humbly served Krsna. Her devotion to Krishna was especially beautiful. Once, the sage Narada arrived in Dvaraka and during a conversation with Satyabhama, pointed out to her that the love that Krishna has for her is not at all so strong - who actually controls the heart of Krishna is Rukmini. Satyabhama demanded from Narada to prove this. Then Narada asked her to take part in a special ritual during which she would have to give Krishna to Narada and then take it back, paying appropriate compensation in gold and jewelry, the weight of which should exceed the body weight of Krishna. Narada promised Satyabham that if she successfully passed this test, Krishna’s love for her would increase many times over. Then Narada hinted to her that her wealth might not be enough for such an event. Satyabhama angrily declared that to collect the amount of jewelry that could outweigh Krishna would be a mere trifle for her. Narada then warned her that if she could not do this, then Krishna would have to become his slave and serve him, fulfilling all his desires.

Krishna gladly agreed to participate in this performance. When everything was ready for the ceremony, Satyabhama handed over to Krishna Narada, after which the servants of Satyabhama brought all her huge treasures and put them on specially mounted scales for this purpose, but they were not enough to outweigh Krishna. Narada then began to tease Satyabhama and threatened that if she did not find enough gold and precious stones, he would be forced to auction Krishna into slavery. In such a desperate situation, Satyabhama had to swallow her pride and ask the other wives to donate their jewelry, which they willingly agreed to because of their strong love for Krishna. But even this was not enough to outweigh Krishna, who until that time had remained a dumb witness to what was happening. Then he decided to add salt to the wounds of Satyabhama's pride and began to complain that he would now become a slave to some shepherd and would suffer from separation from his beloved wife until the end of his days. At that moment, Narada intervened and announced that perhaps Rukmini was able to help Satyabham in this situation. Seeing no other way, Satyabhama had to humbly call for Rukmini for help. Agreeing to help, Rukmini began to pray to Krishna and put on the scales a tiny piece of tulasi, which at that moment outweighed Krishna. Even after all the jewels were removed, the tulasi leaf left on the scales still weighed more than Krishna.

There are many different explanations for the causes of this competition, but the end of the story, in which a simple sheet of tulasi outweighs Satyabham's gold, is the same everywhere. This story is often given to explain the significance of tulasi in the service of Krishna, as well as the significance of how a simple humble offering to God from His devotee is much more valuable than all material wealth.

Rukmini was born into a royal family and Puranic literature describes her as an avatar of Lakshmi :

• "O hero among the Kuru , the Supreme Lord Himself, Govinda , married the daughter of King Bhishmaka, who is the direct embodiment of the goddess of fortune," says the Bhagavata Purana ( Bhagavata Purana 10.52.16)

• The inhabitants of Dvaraka were overwhelmed with joy at the sight of Krishna, the Lord of all wealth, together with the goddess of fortune Rukmini. (The Bhagavata Purana 10.54.60)

• Lakshmi , in her partial incarnation, was born on earth as Rukmini in the Bhishmaki family. (The Mahabharata , Adi-parva 67.156)

• Rukminidevi, the queen and consort of Krsna, is none other than svarupa-sakti (mula-prakriti), the main potency of Krsna (krsnatmika) and the queen of the spiritual world (jagatkatri) Vaikuntha .

Rukmini and Krishna had ten children. Rukmini's first son was Pradyumna , then she was born Charudeshna, Sudeshna and the powerful Charudeha, as well as Sucharu, Charugupta, Bhadrachara, Charuchandra, Vicharu and Charu.

Rukmini is also referred to by other names:

• Ruciranana - The one whose face is beautiful like an opened lotus flower .
• Vaidarbhi

• Tulasi

• Biography of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana (Russian)
• Bhagavata Purana: Krishna Abducts Rukmini