In the previous episode, we had witnessed a critical juncture wherein Bhagawan Krishna is finally taking the lead in the operation! He was all set for the mission, wherein He was hiding amidst the lawn behind the temple wherein Rukmini Devi was supposed to arrive. The moment she had arrived with her father and family to offer prayers, Bhagawan Krishna saw this as an opportunity and immediately swung into action! He suddenly appears from behind the bushes in the lawn, rushes His way towards Rukmini Devi, spots her, lifts her in His arms, carries her swiftly to His chariot, places her in the chariot and rides away even swiftly! The onlookers near Rukmini Devi were all stunned by the way Bhagawan Krishna executed His action! Nnobody expected that such a thing would happen within just a wink of an eye. On one hand, people were amazed at the lightning quick speed with which Bhagawan Krishna operated, and on the other hand, Rukmini Devi’s father, Rukmi was raging with anger. He couldn’t obviously stop Bhagawan Krishna from “abducting” his daughter right in front of his eyes! His ego hurt him a lot and thus, he got into his chariot along with few others, and followed Bhagawan Krishna with all the speed and might.
Upon hearing that his fiancé was being abducted by none other than his own cousin brother, Sishupaala was raging in anger too! Sishupaala also joined the fleet of Rukmi and Co. and hurried towards Bhagawan Krishna! Thus, the entire army was able to surround Bhagawan Krishna’s chariot and succeeded in not letting Him get away so easily. Bhagawan Krishna too on His part, thought that this is the right time to teach all of these people a befitting lesson! Being Raakshasas, Rukmi, Jarasandha, Sishupaala, etc. were supposed to be shown their place, and Bhagawan Krishna was waiting for that opportunity for all these years. Now that the opportunity had come right in front of Him, He decided that rather than escaping from them, it is better to teach them a lesson by facing them on a war! It is to be remembered that Raakshasas cannot be dealt with “Saama”, “Dhaana” or “Bedha”. Only the “Dhanda Upaaya” would work against them.
In fact, this is the same thing that we witnessed in our Ramayana project as well – When Hanuman crossed over the ocean to meet Mother Sita, he decided within himself that as he was searching, if somebody came in the front as an obstruction for his missions, he would only use his “Paraaakrama” (Strength) to win over them and continue the search operation. With this savage resolution, Hanuman executed what he planned too – it was not just on paper! When “Lankini” came against him, he defeated her with all his might. In that way, Hanuman also killed the Raakshasas namely Jambumaali, “Kinkaras”, etc. who came against him. Thus, Hanuman was someone who “walked the talk” of what he wanted to achieve. We’re also witnessing a similar thing here as well, where Bhagawan Krishna had come with a savage resolution that whoever comes against Him in His pursuit of Rukmini Devi would be dealt with severely!
Thus, as the time was apt, Bhagawan Krishna commences a huge war with Rukmi and Co. The war continues to be bitterly fought between the two camps, and finally none in Rukmi’s camp, including Rukmi himself were able to give any sort of resistence to Bhagawan Krishna’s might! Finally, all of them had to call truce and they were insulted and made fun of by Bhagawan Krishna! At the end of all this, they had to return empty handed, and Sishupaala was hurt beyond words. He couldn’t take that insult he had from Bhagawan Krishna. His ego was hurt to such an extent that he wowed to retaliate very soon, for all what had happened! As Sishupaala wowed thus, Bhagawan Krishna, being playful as ever, made fun of him recklessly, resulting in Sishupaala getting even angrier than ever! He finally leaves that place with his head hanging in shame and frustration, and as Sishupaala leaves the place, Rukmi and Co. also follow him back.
It is to be noted that Bhagawan Krishna stopped Himself by deafeating the entire army and insulting them, but not going to the extent of killing them. He did not kill even a single person. Surprised by this, Rukmini Devi asks Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Krishna! Why did you leave them alive? You should have killed all of them, when it comes to a war, isn’t it?” Bhagawan Krishna laughs and replies back to Rukmini Devi thus, “Oh Rukmini! Afterall they’re your relatives! How can you ever say that? Rukmi is your father. He is my father-in-law, isn’t it? How can I kill him? Won’t it be a mistake on my part to do that? Let us not think about this beyond this point, and let us hurry towards Dwaaraka and get married as quickly as possible!”
Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna and Rukmini Devi hurried towards Dwaaraka. So for today, let us wait for Bhagawan Krishna and Rukmini Devi to reach Dwaaraka and let us witness some descriptions about the all-important “Rukmini Kalyaana” in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 