Yahdavabhyudhaya-chapter13

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Chapter13- Krishna carries Rukmini off

 

 

 

Rukmini came out of the temple and saw Krishna. Her glances, says Desika, were like the garlands she placed on him as in svayamvara. It was like one made of lotus, lily and indheevara, a flower coloured indigo, because her eyes resembled all the three. He looked as the personification of the rasas, sringara, veera and adhbutha, the sentiments of love, valour and wonder and at the same time he surpassed all these and shone as something different from all these because he excelled all the rasas.

 

Sa rukmineenethra chakorachandhrah

thA thathpraharshAmbuja poorvasanDhyA

thadhadhbhuthadhvandhvam avekshya sakhyah

yayuh thulAm apsarasAm anoonAm- ( Yad.13-13)

 

The friends of Rukmini seeing the couple resembled the celestial damsels because they were looking without batting their eyelids. Krishna was the moon for the chakora birds, meaning her eyes, and she appeared as the dawn for the lotus of his eyes. Chakora is a mythological bird believed to survive by the light of the moon. The lotuses similarly blossom at the arrival of dawn. Hence the comparison.

 

Krishna came near Rukmini and grasped her hand. Desika poetically describes that his hand looked like a bee desiring for the lotus of her face and her eyes became the bees for his lotus –face. Desika says that this incarnation of Rukmini excelled the others such as Sita in brilliance because she was going to give birth to the god of love himself as Pradhyumna.

 

The couple, who were bound to each other by their auspicious qualities, gave immense joy to the friends of Rukmini who thought that she was like a lioness being Haripriya, beloved to Lord Hari, (pun on the word hari which means both lion and Krishna) and hence unapproachable by the other kings who were like elephants in front of the lion, `haripriyAm kesariNeem ivainAm dhurAsadhAm anyanrpadvipendhraih.'

 

As Rama freed Sita from the rakshasas and took her in the pushpaka vimana Krishna carried Rukmini in his chariot in front of all the enemy kings. Desika describes Rukmini traveling with Krishna thus:

 

prabhEVa dhEvEna thamopahEna

prathyak dhiSam thena saha prayAhnthee

nithyAnapAyithvam ajAnatheenAm

sathyApayAmAsa nijam prajAnAm

 

Just as the light of the Sun goes with him to the west Rukmini went towards the west to Dvaraka with Krishna who is the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance. Thus she seemed to proclaim her inseparable state with the Lord. Sita says in Sundarakanda `ananyA rAghaveNAham bhAskareNa prabha yaThA,' I am inseparable from Rama as the light from the Sun. Lakshmi always accompanies the Lord as the Azvar puts it `agalakillen enru iraiyum alarmEl mangai urai marbA.'

 

Sisupala to whom Rukmini was betrothed ran behind the lion of the yadhavas, carrying Rukmini like his lioness, hollering like a jackal and Rukmi, the brother of Rukmini pursued Krishna with the intention of avenging the insult to his friends. But Krishna vanquished him and carried Rukmini off to Dvaraka. Desika skips the details of fight between Rukmi with Krishna and his humiliation, probably because it is unnecessary for a bhakthikavya.

 

When they entered Dvaraka all the women hastened to see Rukmini and Desika elaborately describes their arrival to the scene. Each one of them was in a different state decorating themselves and hurrying up in the middle of it. The people seeing Rukmini who looked like a golden creeper around the kalpavrksha obtained all the four purusharthas, says Desika.

 

Krshnasya thAm skanDham upaGnayantheem

Suradhrumasyeva suvarNa valleem

Avekshya noonamchathurah pumarTHAn

Ananya labhyAn alabhantha pourAh (Yad.13-65)

 

The four purusharthas, namely dharma, arTha , kama and moksha was gained simultaneously by the people of Dvaraka which is rare to get otherwise. Dharma due to the rightful union of the two, arTHa due to the arrival of Rukmini who is none other than Lakshmi, seeing them as a couple satisfied the desire kama and the divine sight is capable of securing moksha.

 

The marriage of Rukmini and Krishna

 

Desika describes the marriage in detail which was not found in Srimadbhagavatham. One can understand all the steps of the ceremony of marriage by reading this chapter. These slokas will be a fitting quotation in a marriage invitation.

 

 

 

Elderly ladies adorned Rukmini with ornaments and it looked as though they have covered her beauty with ornaments thinking that it is too much to be shown in full. The auspicious garlands and the sacred rice grains attained their merit by the association with the divine couple. The sacred thread tied to the hand of Krishna looked like Vasuki on the manthra mountain, as his hands resembled the mountain which was going to churn the sea of his foes.

 

The flames of the fire in the altar when ignited burned round as though doing mangalarathi to the couple. The puffed rice was put in the fire which is usually done by the bride whose hand is placed on the bridegroom(lajahoma) with the prayer for the long life of her husband.(arimugan acchuthan kaimmEl en kai vaitthu porimugam thatta kanAkkandEn –Nacchiar thirumozi)

 

Then the couple chanted the manthra for life-long companionship and took seven steps round the fire.

Anvethu vishnuh svayam ithi udheerya

priyAm parADheena ivAnugacchan

jAyApatheenAm jagadhudhbhavAnAm

bhavyAm dhaSAm bhAvayathi sma nAThah

 

Krishna, the Lord Vishnu Himself, chanted the manthra which means ` let Vishnu follow you,' and went behind Rukmini, like an ordinary mortal. Desika explains the act of Krishna going round the fire as `AthmAnameva svayam agniroopamparikramaih paryacharath sa dhevah,' he went round himself in the form of agni.

 

The reason for this is `viSvasya bAhyAntharanithyavrtthyA na karma kartha cha ya eva eshAm,' since the Lord is everywhere inside and outside, being transcendent and imminent, he can neither be the doer nor the act as nothing else exists other than Him. Agni, the fire-god also sent his flames in a circular motion as though circumambulating the divine couple who are inside him.

 

Then Krishna grasped the feet of Rukmini and placed it on the grinding stone, ammi, which acquired the status of the jewel-stone crowning the Vedas, due to the association of the hand of the Lord and the foot of Sridevi, says Desika.

 

Finally Krishna did the svishtakrth yaga ( must be the seshahoma) which is done as the upasana of agnideva with the implication that even if the steps of the marriage were done in a wrong order agni should rectify it and make it right.

 

Desika says `svathejasA bhAvitha viSvathejAhsvAhAsakham dhevam upAstha dhevah,' meaning , the one with whose light everything else shines ( thameva bhAntham anubhAthi srvam thasya bhasA sarvamidham vibhAthi-up.) propitiated the fire.

 

rAmasya seetheva rameva vishnoh

amushya bhooyAsthvam ihaikapathnee

ithyoochisho yAdhavavrddhadhArAn

preethASayA praikshatha sAsanAThA (Yad.13-95)

 

Rukmini looked at the elderly women of Yadava clan who blessed her she should be the one and only wife to Krishna. Here there could arise a doubt regarding the comparison with Rama and Vishnu by the women, who naturally were not aware of the identity of the divine couple and simply gave the traditional blessing. To say that she should be the ekapathni of Krishna like Seetha to Rama is of course valid but Vishnu is known to have three pathnis, namely, Sridevi, Bhoo devi and Neeladevi. And in krishnavathara also he had many pathnis.

 

But this should be construed to mean that Rukmini is the pathnee which word is derived as `yajne pathyuh samyogah yayA sA' , that is, the pathni is the one who is in unison with her husband in yajna and other vedic duties. It is always the first wife who is entitled for this. Even in respect to Lord Vishnu Lakshmi is the main consort who being inseparable from Him, takes prominent part in protecting the devotees. Of course Rukmini being none else that Sridevi herself this blessing is quite appropriate.

 

The ritual of seeing Arundhathi, the wife of Vasisihta was also performed and Desika says Arundhathi became fit to be seen by all with reverence because of this.

 

The sages gave their blessing that Krishna, who married his own wife by his leela as a human being, should prosper in auspiciousness more and more.

 

After doing the proper honouring to both everyone went back to their houses and the whole city of Dvaraka was flourishing in dharma, because both of them, the prime cause of all beings, were there.

 

srivathsasamsThAna jushA prkrthyA

sThAnenachihnena cha lakshaneeyou

dhrshtAvabheeshtam bajathAm dhadhAthe

jagathpathee thAviha dhampathee dhvou

 

That divine couple who were the masters of the universe, bestowed all blessings to the world. Desika says that they ere known to be the Lord Himself and His consort by the srivathsa mark on His chest which is also the place of Lakshmi.

 

Those who were blessed by the sight of the two, who were mutual adornment to each other and beyond the dualities of opposites like heat and cold, were not to be considered either humans or divine being, says Desika.

 

Na the manushyA nacha dhevathAsthe

prAyeNa thAmeva thaTHA bhavanthou

Yairevam anyonya vibhooshitham thath

dvandhvAdhikam dvandhvam avaikshi dhanyaih (Yad.13-107)

 

They are not humans because the divinity is not perceptible by humans and they can neither be devas because they also have their limitations. The implication is that the divine couple themselves assumed the role of spectators to see themselves as the dvandhva, the pair who are dhvandhvAtheetha, transcendent of the duality. The import of this sloka is the mahavakya thathvamasi, says Utthamur swamin.

 

Desika concludes the chapter by a beautiful sloka as follows.

 

Subhagam upalabimbe SAthakummbhe api rathnam

Kanathi vipinabhAge kAlakante api gangA

vaSika nrpagrhe sA vasudeve api adheepyath

na hi bhavathi viseshah kvApi nithyonnathAnAm

 

The precious gem, either in a stone image or embedded in gold shines the same. Similarly Rukmini shone in all her splendour in the mansion of Vasudeva as well as when she was in the palace of the king of vidarbha which was inferior to her status.