In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the all-important “Rukmini Kalyana” event, wherein Bhagawan Krishna is all set to marry Rukmini Devi, who is none other than the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi. We had witnessed that whenever Bhagawan Vishnu incarnates in this world, Goddess Mahalakshmi also incarnates along with Him and protect the world as a couple. Eventually, they would get married during their incarnation, and this would be a very important event to be celebrated and worshipped. In that way, we had witnessed the auspicious “Sita-Kalyana” during the Rama-Avatara where Bhagawan Rama gets married to Mother Sita. Similarly here, we’re witnessing Bhagawan Krishna getting married to Rukmini Devi. In that way, we had witnessed that Rukmini Devi was born to King Rukmi of the Vidharba kingdom. As Rukmini Devi grew up, she heard a lot about Bhagawan Krishna, His divine “Leelas” at Gokula, etc. and how He is currently the king of a great kingdom called Dwaraka. Eventually, Rukmini Devi fell in love with Bhagawan Krishna and surrendered herself to His divine lotus feet. However, King Rukmi had other ideas – He wanted his daughter to get married to Sishupala, who was Bhagawan Krishna’s cousin. We’ve already witnessed who this Sishupala is. He was basically a Raakshasa by nature, and by hook or crook, Sishupala convinced King Rukmi to marry his daughter. However, Rukmini Devi was steadfast with her intention of marrying Bhagawan Krishna and nobody else. With this, she confronted her father, only to get a negative response from him. Even though her father did not accept Rukmini Devi’s intention, she was strong in what she wanted. None other than Bhagawan Krishna mattered for her.
So now, how is Bhagawan Krishna going to respond? The marriage date was fixed. All kings were invited for the grand event. Sishupala too was on his way to marry his lady love. However, Rukmini Devi was staunch in her approach. All what was happening around her did not sink into her heart. All that mattered to her was Bhagawan Krishna. As things were progressing, Rukmini Devi thought of a plan. She called out for a “Vriddha Brahmana” and handed over a paper with seven or eight slokas written on it. In other words, this was a “love letter” given by Rukmini Devi to Bhagawan Krishna. Rukmini Devi instructed the Brahmana to take it all the way to Dwaaraka, meet Bhagawan Krishna there and hand it over to Him personally.
As per the instruction from Rukmini Devi, the Vriddha Brahmana hurries his way to Dwaaraka. He gets on top of a horse, which can take him swiftly to Dwaaraka city. As the Brahmana reaches Dwaaraka, We should understand the distance here – Vidharba Desha is somewhere in the eastern end of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Dwaaraka is somewhere in the western coast of India. The distance would be more than 1500 kilometres apart. The Vriddha Brahmana travels swiftly from Maharashtra to Gujarat, meets Bhagawan Krishna in person, hands over the letter given by Rukmini Devi to Him. As Bhagawan receives the letter, He asks the Brahmana to read it for Him. This letter is referred to as “Rukmini Sandesha” in the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, and we had witnessed this in detail earlier as well. Thus, the Brahmana reads the letter to Bhagawan Krishna, wherein Rukmini Devi expresses herself – “Oh Bhagawan! Right from the moment I started hearing about you and your divine “Leelas”, I surrendered myself completely to your divine lotus feet. Right from the moment I started hearing from you, I decided that if at all there is a marriage in my life, it should only be with you and nobody else. However, my family is planning something different. I’m going to get married to a Raakshasa by name Sishupala. If my love and surrender towards you are true and if you acknowledge it with your heart, please come and save me from this disaster. Please protect your ardent devotee from falling into this pit for my entire life. Please take steps immediately to marry me!”
As Rukmini Devi expresses thus, it is now time for Bhagawan Krishna to step up the pedal and act. He has to act immediately as time is running out! What is Bhagawan Krishna going to do? Let us wait eagerly to find out in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 