The Indian Dharma

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In the previous episode, we witnessed how Bhagawan Krishna executed His “Plan of action” and foiled the bid of Rukmi and Sishupaala at the last moment. As we’ve witnessed, Bhagawan Krishna emerges quickly from the lawn behind the temple where the entire family was arriving to perform the customary worship of their family deity. He rushes towards Rukmini Devi, and as everybody were spectators to it, He grabs Rukmini Devi, and takes her away in His chariot! As all this happens within the wink of an eye, the entire family stood there flabbergasted! As Rukmi comes back to his senses, he realizes that someone has abducted his daughter at the last moment and swiftly follows Bhagawan Krishna’s chariot. Sishupaala too joins the fleet as he feels cheated and hurt by the entire fiasco. As the caravan surrounds Bhagawan Krishna, a huge fight erupts and Bhagawan Krishna singlehandedly defeats all of them! Not only does Bhagawan Krishna defeat them, He also insults and makes fun of them on purpose – Just like rubbing a tinch of salt to a wound! This irritates Sishupaala, Jaraasandha and Rukmi all the more, and Bhagawan Krishna has a rapturous laughter upon looking at all of them!

As this conspires, Sishupaala takes a pledge to seek revenge for all what has happened. But at the moment, he had to go back empty-handed because he was rendered totally useless! Sishupaala was literally made to be looking like a joker in front of everyone and he couldn’t take that insult. Thus, he hurried off from his place with his head hanging in shame! Leaving that place thus, Bhagawan Krishna continues His journey towards Dwaaraka, taking Rukmini Devi along with Him. As they were travelling, Rukmini Devi quips Bhagawan Krishna as to why didn’t He kill Sishupaala and Co. and for which, Bhagawan Krishna “smartly” replies that He didn’t want to kill His in-laws! Bhagawan Krishna explains to Rukmini Devi that they should get married immediately before someone else comes and wreaks havoc again.

It is to be noted here that the type of “Vivaaha” (Marriage) that Bhagawan Krishna is doing along with Rukmini Devi is classified as “Raakshasa Vivaaha”. In fact, there are eight classifications of “Vivaaha” that our Sanaatana Dharma talks about. One of the most important classification of “Vivaaha” is the “Deva Vivaaha”, wherein the entire family is convinced and the marriage happens with the blessings of all the elders in the family of both the boy and the girl. This is something ideal, and in today’s scenario too, we try to get to this level. This kind of “Vivaaha” is considered to be of the highest level – Bhagawan Rama marrying Mother Sita is a classical example of “Deva Vivaaha”. We’ve already witnessed at length during our Ramayana project, how King Janaka and King Dasharata sit together, plan and finalize the marriage. It is only then Bhagawan Rama holds Mother Sita’s hand for the first time. Thus, this is an epitome of “Deva Vivaaha”.

Whereas on the other hand, if the boy and girl are the only stakeholders in the marriage and none of the elders in both families are interested in the marriage – And if the boy and girl “run away” and get married to each other, without the consent of parents and elders, it is called “Raakshasa Vivaaha”. Bhagawan Krishna’s case was going to be very similar to this here – However, at the last moment, Bhagawan Krishna thought to himself thus, “Oh! If I go on to marry Rukmini Devi in this fashion, the entire world is going to follow this as a bad example. From now on, the “Deva Vivaaha” concept would totally go for a toss. I’ve to prevent this from happening!” It is with this intention, Bhagawan Krishna decides to conduct the marriage ceremony in a grand manner, by inviting all the elders in Dwaaraka city. Bhagawan Krishna’s parents – Devaki and Vasudeva were also present for the marriage. It is thus, with the blessings of all the elders in the kingdom, is Bhagawan Krishna going to marry Rukmini Devi.

So for today, let us understand this important point and eagerly await the all-important marriage of Bhagawan Krishna with Rukmini Devi till the next episode! An absorbing discussion awaits us next! Stay tuned! 🙂

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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! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna arriving at the temple wherein Rukmini Devi was waiting eagerly for Him. She had actually come there with her friends to offer prayers before the marriage ceremony commences, as part of the practice and instruction of her father, Rukmi. As per Rukmini Devi’s instruction, Bhagawan Krishna hides himself amidst the lawn that was adjoining the temple premises and was eagerly waiting for the moment to take the next step. At the same time, as Rukmini Devi understands that Bhagawan Krishna has reached, her face lits up with joy and a beaming smile. Upon seeing this, her friends sensed something fishy. Till that point, Rukmini Devi was crying all the time and was so glum and sad. But all of a sudden, when the sound of the Paanchajanya goes off, Rukmini Devi’s face brightens like a dazzling sun. With this, her friends also come to know that Bhagawan Krishna has arrived in the scene. They were very curious to know how He looks and where is He! They go around the premises searching for Him and with the advice of the messenger, they come to the lawn.

Finally after a bit of search here and there, Bhagawan Krishna appears from behind some bushes in the lawn. Upon seeing Bhagawan Krishna’s appearance, the friends were so astonished! All the facial features including eyes, ears, nose, smile, etc. were so handsome and charming. They exclaim with surprise and awe and say to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan! All your facial features, body language, etc. are similar to those of Rukmini Devi’s!” Bhagawan Krishna in turn was surprised to hear this from them! He replies thus, “Oh friends! What are you saying? Am I looking like Rukmini Devi or she’s looking like me? Clarify now!” Listening to this, the friends muster up some courage and jokingly reply to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Krishna! How can you compare your features with the extraordinary beauty of Rukmini Devi? Indeed, you’re very fortunate that you’re going to marry her! You do not have any sort of beauty in any way, as compared to our Rukmini! So please consider yourself lucky that Rukmini Devi has fallen in love with you!”

Upon hearing this from her friends, Bhagawan Krishna was utterly speechless! He was so overwhelmed and happy to hear words about Rukmini Devi and this made Him so eager to see her as quickly as possible. However, Bhagawan Krishna knows within himself that Goddess Mahalakshmi is more beautiful as compared to Him in every way possible and in fact, He’s extremely happy. He replies to the friends thus, “Oh dear friends! I totally accept your points. However, please do one thing – If you keep roaming around like this in my vicinity, Rukmini’s father would understand that something is fishy here at the lawn. Hence, maintain some distance for now. We shall talk in detail after everything is over. For now, please do not come this side for sometime. Let this entire operation be secretive and a surprise for everyone!”

Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna sends all the friends off that place and now He’s waiting alone for the right time to click. As time would have it, Rukmini Devi and her entire caravan now starts towards the temple for the “Family Deity” Puja. Bhagawan Krishna is waiting for Rukmini Devi and here she comes to the temple with all her dazzling beauty, in front of Bhagawan Krishna! As Rukmini Devi comes to that particular place, Bhagawan Krishna starts His “Plan of action”. He suddenly appears in front of Rukmini Devi within a whisker, grabs her by surprise, lifts her, places her in His chariot, and started riding it thick and fast towards Dwaaraka! As everybody looks around with awe, all of this happens within just a split of a second! This takes people totally unaware and within a moment, Rukmini Devi disappears from that spot – Once and forever! Bhagawan Krishna thus, has the last laugh! He planned all of this in a beautiful sequence and executes it with perfection!

As father Rukmi realizes what has happened, he was extremely angry and terrified. Sishupaala himself makes his way to the temple, only to find Rukmini Devi being “taken away” by Bhagawan Krishna! He was extremely angry as well, got on to his chariot, and starts chasing Bhagawan Krishna! All this happens in a dramatic style and as people including Rukmi and Jaraasantha come against Him, Bhagawan Krishna is now compelled to wage a huge battle with all of them put together! They’re not going to let Bhagawan Krishna escape just like that. It is going to go down with a huge encounter and a test of strength! The entire army of Rukmi, Sishupaala and Jaraasandha circle Bhagawan Krishna and are trying to intimidate Him into a fight!

Now what happens next? Is Bhagawan Krishna going to kill all of them? What is going to conspire now? Let’s wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂

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We’re at a critical juncture wherein Rukmini Devi had issued an “ultimatum” to Bhagawan Krishna to somehow come to her place and take her away. She was terrified by the fact that her father, Rukmi was trying to marry her off to Sishupaala, who was a Raakshasa. Of course, evern without that, Rukmini Devi was deep-rooted to Bhagawan Krishna and she was steadfast of marrying Him at any cost. She was so stubborn that she was even ready to sacrifice her life for Him! Upon understanding thus, Bhagawan Krishna quickly readies a plan of action and commences His journey along with the messenger, who had brought this news to Him. Both of them get into Bhagawan Krishna’s chariot and are travelling as fast as they can. Meanwhile, Rukmini Devi is all tensed and waiting eagerly for Bhagawan’s arrival.

As the duo were travelling in the chariot, Bhagawan Krishna looks at the messenger and says thus, “Oh Brahmin pandit! I never knew that your leader (Rukmini Devi) would be such a stubborn person!” Upon hearing thus from Bhagawan, the messenger got angry! He replies to Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Initially when I came to your place, you scolded me and doubted me whether I’m really a Brahmin or not. You put me to test and thus accepted me. Now, you’re scolding and underestimating my leader, Rukmini Devi too! What’s up with you now? Why are you underestimating all of us again and again? In what way is she inferior to you? In fact, she is one step higher when it comes to expressing love and wish. You didn’t even take a single step to express your love to her, until this moment, isn’t it? Now tell me who is better?”

As the messenger speaks thus, Bhagawan Krishna responds to the messenger with tears in His eyes! He says thus, “”Oh Messenger! I think you’ve misunderstood my words. Why’re you always taking my words in the negative sense? Why don’t you see the positive appreciation that I gave for her? Yes, I agree that she took the lead in writing the letter to me. But know what? I’ve been trying to write to her for years now. Everytime I take the paper and pen to write to her, I’m engulfed into tears, and I’m pained deeply by my separation from her. This is what kept me away from writing to her all these days and years. I was just thinking of her every moment and I know that she’s undergoing innumerable sufferings and is waiting to see me desperately. Oh messenger! Please understand that both myself and Rukmini Devi are made for each other. It was just a matter of time that we met each other and start living together!” Upon hearing thus from Bhagawan Krishna, the messenger was satisfied and immediately apologized to Bhagawan Krishna for his harsh questions.

As the conversation goes this way, Dhaaruka drives the chariot in full speed and within just one night, both Bhagawan Krishna and the messenger arrive at Rukmini Devi’s place. They make their way to the temple lawn where Rukmini Devi was waiting eagerly. As per the instruction from Rukmini Devi, Bhagawan Krishna goes and hides Himself at some corner in the lawn. In order to announce His arrival, Bhagawan Krishna takes His “Paanchajanya” (Shankam) and blows it loud. Rukmini Devi gets the signal immediately from the sound of the Paanchajanya and understands that Bhagawan Krishna has arrived safely. The sound of Bhagawan’s Paanchajanya is so powerful that the entire world comes to a standstill for a moment.

It is also to be understood that it is this same “Paanchajanya” that Bhagawan Krishna blew loud and clear at the start of the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra. The moment Duryodhana and his hundred brothers heard the sound of Bhagawan’s Paanchajanya, they started shaking with fear then and there! In fact, they had even come to a conclusion that this war is going to be a useless one and is going to suck up all their lives and blood! Sage Veda Vyaasa explains this beautifully in the Mahabhaarata wherein Duryodhana was so stunned and afraid that he pre-decided the outcome of the war without even fighting for a single minute! Thus, we can understand from here as to how powerful was Bhagawan’s “Paanchajanya”! It is thus the same “Paanchajanya” that Bhagawan Krishna is blowing loud and clear here too. More than a signal of arrival to Rukmini Devi, the sound was a dealth knell for people who are trying to oppose Bhagawan Krishna’s pursuit of marrying her. It was a clear message for Sishupaala too, that his danger is arriving very soon.

As Rukmini Devi’s friends look at her face, she is shining bright like a dazzling sun! Immediately all her friends came to know that this “shine” in Rukmini Devi’s face is only because Bhagawan Krishna has arrived safely. Because, till that moment, her face was so dull and she was crying all the time. As her friends get the signal, they started going all around the lawn searching for Bhagawan Krishna! It is at this time that the Brahmin messenger comes across Rukmini Devi’s friends. As he comes in their way, they stop him and ask him a thousand questions! They want to know immediately where Bhagawan Krishna is! They were so eager to see Him, even more than Rukmini Devi! As the messenger was bombarded with questions, he replies in a simple sentence thus, “Oh friends! Bhagawan Krishna is in that lawn opposite to you. Please go there and search for yourself!” Saying thus, he quickly hurried off that scene.

As the messenger leaves, Rukmini Devi’s friends rush to the lawn immediately, eager to see who this Krishna is and who is this person whom Rukmini Devi is in mad love with! They’re so desperately waiting to have Bhagawan Krishna’s divine darshan and are searching here and there, all over the place! So for today, let us also wait along with these friends of Rukmini Devi to obtain Bhagawan Krishna’s divine darshan! We shall continue this absorbing “Charitra” in the next episode and witness how Bhaagwan Krishna appeared in front of all of them! 🙂 Stay tuned! 🙂

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed a critical juncture wherein Rukmini Devi’s proposal to Bhagawan Krishna is under “consideration”! 🙂 We’ve witnessed how Rukmini Devi had fallen in love with Bhagawan Krishna, just by listening to His divine “Leelas” and how she was deeply rooted to Bhagawan in all ways! We’ve also in the meanwhile witnessed how this is one of the highest levels of Bhakti, wherein we’ve witnessed few other examples of Aalwars, Aachaaryas, etc. who had pratised the “Naayika Bhaava” as a path to their devotion. We’ve also witnessed yesterday how Aandal was also love-stricken for Bhagawan Krishna and she was of a savage resolution that if at all she had to get married, it would only be to Bhagawan Krishna and nobody else. It is the same level of Bhakti that Rukmini Devi is also exhibiting towards Bhagawan Krishna here and we’ve witnessed that the messenger had handed over her letter to Bhagawan.

Upon seeing through the letter, Bhagawan Krishna’s heart melted for Rukmini Devi. He immediately acknowledged her true love for Him and shed tears of joy. Bhagawan Krishna wanted to see Rukmini Devi immediately and asks the messenger, what can be done now. The messenger replies to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Rukmini’s father, Rukmi has already fixed her marriage with your cousin brother, Sishupaala. The marriage is about to take place within the next two days. If you’ve to respond to Rukmini Devi’s call, you’ve to do it immediately. It’s now or never!” As Bhagawan Krishna hears this from the messenger, He gets tensed up. He had to do something immediately to stop this marriage with Sishupaala. And in the meanwhile, Sishupaala was already on his way for the grand event. Given this tricky situation, Bhagawan Krishna asks the messenger thus, “Oh Brahmin pandit! You’re a knowledgable person and you’ve been highly educated. With all your intellect, please suggest a way through which I can reach your place within a jiffy!”

Hearing thus from Bhagawan, the messenger didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry! He was wondering, how come Bhagawan would come down to his level and ask him for suggestions! Nevertheless, the messenger replies thus, “Oh Bhagawan! You’re all pervasive and you obviously know much better than I do! However, please understand that Rukmini Devi and family would come to their family deity temple for a small prayer, the day before the marriage ceremony starts. Perhaps, you can enter inside at that time and wreak havoc there. Things might be simpler that way. Also, during the prayer ceremony at that temple, there wouldn’t be much of a security problem for Rukmini Devi. There’s a huge lawn surrounding the temple. You can perhaps enter into that lawn, hide yourself in a corner and have a look at her. Then perhaps, things might fall in place one after the other!”

As the messenger explains thus, Bhagawan Krishna is so immersed into reading Rukmini Devi’s letter again and again. In fact, at the end of the letter, Rukmini Devi herself had given pretty much the same suggestion to Bhagawan. She had in fact gone one step further and explained a detailed “plan of action” thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Please hurry up and come to the temple’s lawn. Come in your chariot. Park your chariot near the temple and come inside the lawn. I shall be waiting for you at the temple. You can come to the temple and pick me up from there. Take me to the chariot and start riding fast towards Dwaaraka. Obviously there would be people who would come behind the chariot to stop you. They would try and unleash weapons on you. But I’m sure that you would be able to easily defeat all of them and take me safely to Dwaaraka!”

Upon seeing this, Bhagawan was astonished beyond words! In fact, Rukmini Devi was extremely smart too! This is where we understand that along with devotion, one has to be “smart enough” to attain Bhagawan’s proximity! Of course, this is just on the lighter side, but if we’re devoted to Bhagawan so much, smartness and the ways to attain Bhagawan would automatically open up for us. Afterall, these are all instituted by Bhagawan Himself to take us near Him, isn’t it? Afterall we’re all His children and if Bhagawan isn’t going to unleash all His “Leelas” on us, who else on earth is He going to unleash them on? Hence, we’ve to understand that if we’ve got the devotion in place, Bhagawan would automatically enter into our intellect and show us the path to attain Him! This is exactly what we’re witnessing in the case of Rukmini Devi as well here.

Further to this, Rukmini Devi, in her letter had mentioned the concluding note thus: “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! If by any chance, I’m unable to see you by tomorrow evening at the temple, you would not see me alive any further. I can never get married to a Raakshasa called Sishupaala. If you’re not going to protect me, there is no point of me being alive any further!” This is the sentence that made Bhagawan Krishna jump up immediately! He said to the messenger thus, “Oh Brahmin pandit! Come on, let’s start!” There was no looking back after this point! This is how Bhagawan Krishna responds to a devotee who had total surrender to Him! Rukmini Devi had exhibited this to Him isn’t it? This was enough! He immediately gets into the chariot along with the messenger and starts hurrying towards Rukmini Devi’s place.

So for today, let us stop with this point and in the next episode we shall witness how Bhagawan Krishna reached Rukmini Devi’s place, and what happened further! Did Bhagawan Krishna succeed in taking Rukmini Devi away from her? What was Sishupaala’s reaction? An absorbing and a dramatic discussion awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

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We’ve commenced our final event of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana – The “Rukmini-Kalyaana”. As mentioned previously, this event is actually supposed to be part of the tenth Skandha, but as per the customary practice, we reserve this event till the end of the “Charitra” and finish it with this. As part of this practice, we had witnessed in yesterday’s episode as to how Rukmini Devi fell in love with Bhagawan Krishna, with just hearing about Him through many sources. Even without looking at Him once, Rukmini Devi firmed up herself that if at all there’s a marriage scheduled for her in this birth, it should only be with Bhagawan Krishna and not with anybody else. Obviously Rukmini Devi was an incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi Herself, and in any case, she was destined to be divine consortium of Bhagawan Vishnu, who has incarnated in this world as Bhagawan Krishna. Hence, it is now just finding a way out to reach Bhagawan Krishna somehow.

As Rukmini Devi was thinking about Bhagawan Krishna all the time, her father, Rukmi never understood all of this. He was hell-bent in marrying Rukmini Devi to Sishupaala, who was a “Raakshasa” by nature. Sishupaala was extremely interested in Rukmini Devi and fell in love with her, the moment Rukmi came up with the marriage proposal. However, Rukmini Devi was least interested in Sishupaala and her mind, heart and soul were totally immersed in Bhakti towards Bhagawan Krishna. From this entire event, we can witness that this is not just another marriage and a love relationship that we would see today. This was one of the highest levels of Bhakti that is exhibited by an ardent devotee towards Bhagawan. Even if we witess the “Paasurams” (Hymns) of the Alwars and other Aachaaryas, many of their poetries would be of the “Naayikaa Bhaava”. It means that they would imagine themselves as women / lovers, longing for the presence of their boy / husband, who is none other than Bhagawan, and sing in praise of Bhagawan in this “Bhaava”. This cannot be categorized as the romantic relationship that normal people like us have with each other. This is a relationship of divine love and bonding with Bhagawan, and this is one way to attain proximity to Him.

In fact, if we consider the life of “Aandaal”, it was of the same category. We can draw many parallels between Rukmini Devi and Aandal. Many of us might know who Aandal is. She is the author of the famous text called “Thiruppavai” in Tamil – A collection of 30 poetries, in praise of Bhagawan Krishna, which is normally sung during the Tamil month of “Maargazhi” every year. Aandal was also in divine love with Bhagawan Krishna at a place called Srivilliputhur in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Finally it is believed that Bhagawan Krishna was deeply moved by Aandal’s divine love towards Him, and He transcended to the earth, just to marry her and take her with Him to Vaikunta. Similar is the case here with Rukmini Devi too. She was so deeply in love with Bhagawan Krishna that whatever dress or ornaments or bangles that she wears on herself, she would see it in front of the mirror, and think whether Bhagawan Krishna would like all of this in her body. Even if she smiles, she would look into the mirror and check if Bhagawan Krishna would love it, if she smiles this way. Thus, in each and every action of hers, Rukmini Devi was so immersed in love with Bhagawan Krishna.

It is at this time, Rukmini Devi had drafted a “letter” to Bhagawan Krishna, expressing her love for Him and desire to get married to Him at any cost. She sends the letter via a Brahmin messenger, who travels all the way to Dwaaraka and delivers it in person to Bhagawan Krishna. In the letter, Rukmini Devi explains how Bhagawan Krishna has entered into her heart, even without having a glance at Him in person. She explains how she was moved deeply and immersed into His characteristics and significances. She explains how she has heard a lot of His divine “Leelas” from many people and how she fell for him by hearing all of it.

We can understand one important point from this accord here – How can we feel and understand Bhagawan? Obviously we cannot see Him in person and we cannot touch Him with our hands. So how do we still manage to experience Bhagawan? It is mainly through hearing a lot about Him.  The more and more we listen about Bhagawan and His significances, the more we would be attracted towards Him isn’t it? This is why we often emphasize that we should always be in the company of people who would constantly keep discussing about Bhagawan’s divine “Leelas”, debate upon them, bring out their significances and the deeper meanings attached to them, etc. By hearing all of this again and again, we slowly develop that interest to attain Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet. This process of attaining Bhagawan is called as “Shravanam” and this is one of the most important paths to attain “Moksha” according to our Sanaatana Dharma. We’ve witnessed how Prahlaada developed ardent devotion towards Bhagawan Narayana by constant listening to Sage Naarada’s accord, even when he was in his mother’s womb as a baby. It is only with this “Shravanam”, did Prahlaada develop into Bhagawan Vishnu’s most ardent devotee.

Similarly, we’re now witnessing Rukmini Devi’s accord here, and this too stresses on the importance of “Shravanam” or listening to Bhagawan’s “Charitra” over and over again. It is only because of this, we’re also spending lot of time in writing and reading this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text, isn’t it? The more we read, the more we listen to Bhagawan’s “Leelas”, the more we get immersed into devotion. So for today, let us understand this important point on “Shravanam” and let us wait till the next episode to witness how Bhagawan Krishna is going to respond to Rukmini Devi’s call! Stay tuned! 😊

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In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna giving a “special” “Darshan” to Maarkandeya, who was himself a great sage. We had witnessed that Maarkandeya had a wish that he should worship Bhagawan Krishna separately one-on-one, and Bhagawan Krishna fulfilled that wish of the ardent devotee in a beautiful way. With this, we virtually come to the end of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text, and now according to the customary practice, we shall formally call it the “end” with the witnessing of the all-important “Rukmini-Kalyaana” Charitra, wherein Bhagawan Krishna marries Rukmini Devi. This in fact, forms part of the tenth Skandha itself, but at that point, we had skipped this event to witness it towards the end. So now, we shall commence the Rukmini-Kalyaana episodes one after the other and we shall witness in detail how this marriage conspired.

It all starts with Rukmini Devi falling in love with Bhagawan Krishna, without even seeing Him in person once. Rukmini Devi has heard a lot about a young boy by name Krishna, who was very handsome and charming in appearance, and with that, she started to develop immense love for Him! As this was growing on and on every day, Rukmi, the father of Rukmini Devi started to think of his daughter’s marriage. Rukmi wanted to give his daughter in marriage to Sishupaala, one of Bhagawan Krishna’s cousin brothers. Wr’ve already witnessed in the tenth Skandha that Bhagawan Krishna had a number of cousin brothers, including the Paandavas. It is to be remembered by readers here that Kunthi, who was the mother of the Paandavas, was the sister of Vasudeva, who was Bhagawan Krishna’s father. Kunthi’s original name was Prutha. This is the reason why Arjuna is often referred to as “Paartha” in the Bhagawad Gita by Bhagawan Krishna. Similarly, Bhagawan Krishna had another cousin brother by name Sishupaala. It is to this Sishupaala did Rukmi desire to give his daughter Rukmini Devi in marriage.

We’ve already witnessed who this Sishupaala was. Readers might remember that this Sishupaala was a Raakshasa by birth and follows the “Jaya-Vijaya” tradition of birth. We’ve seen that these two people were the gatekeepers at Vaikunta and Sages Sanaka and Sanatkumaara had cursed them that they would be born as Raakshasas in this world thrice, only to be liberated back to Vaikunta by Bhagawan Vishnu. In that way, we’ve witnessed that Jaya and Vijaya had taken birth as Hiranyaksha & Hiranya Kashibu, Ravana & Kumbakarna and now in the Dwaapara Yuga, they were Kamsa and Sishupaala. Thus, this Sishupaala was supposed to be Rukmini Devi’s fiancé. However, Rukmini Devi was least interested in him. All her thoughts and feelings were deeply rooted towards Bhagawan Krishna only. Whenever she thought of decorating herself with garlands, bangles, etc. she always had Bhagawan Krishna in her mind and dressed according to His wish and liking! More than just a love feeling, this also pertains to be the highest level of devotion that a Bhakta (Ardent devotee) can express towards Bhagawan.

As Rukmini Devi was thus deep-rooted in her thoughts for Bhagawan Krishna, her father Rukmi had other intentions. He was steadfast in his attempt to marry her to Sishupaala. In fact, the entire set of people were very happy that Rukmini Devi was in love with Bhagawan Krishna, except Rukmi. As things were going from bad to worse at Rukmini Devi’s place, she decided to take an initiative to make a move on. She realized that if she’s going to sit dumb, Rukmi is going to execute his plan quite easily. Hence she took a small piece of wood, wrote a set of seven slokas in praise of Bhagawan Krishna and sent it to Dwaaraka through a messenger. Rukmini Devi calls an aged Brahmin, hands over the letter to him and says thus, “With due respects, please hand this over to Bhagawan Krishna, who is the king of Dwaaraka! Let’s wait and see what his reaction would be! Normally it should be the other way round – The boy should give letters to the girl, but here it is vice versa. Anyways, if I have the fortune and luck in this birth, I shall be able to get a positive reply from Bhagawan Krishna!”

Saying thus, Rukmini Devi hands over the letter to the Brahmin messenger. He takes it all the way to Dwaaraka, as quickly as possible. Even though he was aged, he managed to travel swiftly across plains, mountains, rivers, etc. to reach Dwaaraka in lightning speed. Upon seeing an aged Brahmin walking towards His palace, Bhagawan Krishna welcomes him inside with all the due respects to be paid. Bhagawan Krishna hand-holds the Brahmin and makes him sit comfortably in a chair. As the Brahmin messenger is comfortable, Bhagawan Krishna slowly asks him thus, “Oh respectable person! Are you really a Brahmin by birth?” This question shocked the messenger to bits! The Brahmin replies thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Why do you ask a question like this? Can’t you see my appearance and conclude it for yourself?” Bhagawan Krishna replies, “I can do that. But, looking at the way you’ve come here, I thought that you’ve come with some expectation from me! A person who expects something from others can never be a Brahmin. That’s why I had asked you that question!”

Upon hearing thus from Bhagawan Krishna, the Brahmin got angry! He replies thus, “Oh Bhagawan! I’ve not come here to obtain anything from you! I’ve come here to give you something! Here is a letter that was given to me by my boss! She had asked me to give this letter to you on her behalf!” So, please read this and do the needful!” As Bhagawan Krishna looks on, the messenger hands over the letter to Him. Bhagawan Krishna was surprised to receive this letter, opens it and starts reading it!

What is Bhagawan’s reply going to be? Is He going to feel happy for Rukmini Devi, or is He going to reject her proposal? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness!! Stay tuned!! 🙂

• 

The previous episode saw the all-important event wherein King Parikshit attaining “Mksha”, with snake “Takshaka” making his way into King Parikshit’s palace. As the time nears by, King Parikshit gets bitten by the snake and as all people witness, King Parikshit’s “Atman” departs from his physical body once and for all and starts its journey like a flame, all the way to reach Vaikunta! From this important event, we can clearly understand that if one listens to this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text with ardent devotion and respect, Bhagawan Krishna ensures that he / she has a “clear path” towards attaining “Moksha” without a doubt. We’ve witnessed earlier, how King Parikshit was cursed by the son of a sage who was in deep penance. King Parikshit had accidently thrown a dead snake around the sage’s neck and as a result, the sage’s son got angry over that. As the curse is inflicted upon him that within the next seven days, his life is going to come to an end, initially King Parikshit was panicking and didn’t know what to do. It is at this time, Sage Sukhaachaarya entered into King Parikshit’s palace and gave him this entire sacred text. It is only with this, King Parikshit attains enormous clarity on how the “Atman” is entirely different from the “Deham” (Physical body) and that, death can never confer itself on anybody if one understands the clear difference between these two important parameters. As Sage Sukhaachaarya leaves the palace after the seven-day recital, King Parikshit’s fear of death is totally gone and is out of question now! Even when the snake bit him, he was unperturbed and happily accepted the end of his human birth, and thus, attained the highest “Moksha” with the divine grace of Sage Sukhaachaarya and Bhagawan Krishna together.

With this, we come to the fag end of this great text and in today’s episode, we would witness in brief, how Bhagawan Krishna gives His divine darshan to Maarkandeya. Post this, we would directly go into the “Rukmini-Bhagawan Krishna-Kalyaana” and with that, we would finish this project. Moving on thus, with the Maarkandeya episode, once upon a time, Maarkandeya has a special desire to witness Bhagawan Krishna’s divine darshan. Many of us might know who Maarkandeya was, and so, I’m not going into the description about it at the moment. As Maarkandeya expresses his wish of having a “special darshan”, Bhagawan Krishna laughs and replies from Vaikunta thus, “Oh Maarkandeya! You’re such a great realized soul! Why should you want a “special darshan” of mine? What happened all of a sudden?” Upon hearing this from Bhagawan, Maarkandeya replies thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Nothing has happened! It’s just my wish that I see you one-on-one! That’s it. I leave it to you, as to how “special” you want to give a “Darshan” for me!”

Saying thus, Maarkandeya leaves the choice and decision to Bhagawan Krishna as to how, when and where does He want to give the darshan. Listening to this, Bhagawna Krishna was extremely pleased with Maarkandeya’s total surrender and thus, Bhagawan immedialtely appeared before him with all His charm, compassion and His enormous physical form. Upon seeing this, Maarkandeya was extremely pleased and was having tears in his eyes. He did not expect Bhagawan to pay heed to his request so quickly like this! However, as we all know, Bhagawan is an embodiment of compassion towards His ardent devotees – He never delays things even for a second. If an ardent devotee prays to Bhagawan sincerely, Bhagawan’s heart melts in joy and compassion. This is the perfect example to underscore and reiterate this point here. Thus, the lesson to be learnt for all us from the Maarkandeya’s episode is that, it is upto us to develop that ardent devotion towards Bhagawan and with that, He would definitely shower and bestow His divine grace on each and every one of us.

With this, we come to the end of this small episode, and we’re now left with the all-important “Rukmini-Kalyana”. We shall wait till the next episode to witness this interesting event from the tenth Skanda. Stay tuned! 😊

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Sukhaachaarya leaving King Parikshit’s palace in a jiffy, as soon as he ensured that King Parikshit has understood all what he has said in elaborate detail. Unlike many others who might stay on to witness what happens next, Sage Sukhaachaarya leaves off immediately once his work is over. This is the ultimate level of detachment one should ideally have, as a “Guru” or a “Spiritual Master”. All what is important for the spiritual master is to know if the disciple has been enlightened or not. After the enlightenment, there is nothing that the spiritual master has to do. Once the job is over, Sage Sukhaachaarya thus leaves King Parikshit immediately, even though he could have stayed a bit longer to witness his path to Moksha. King Parikshit, being his ardent disciple, has learnt all the important aspects of “Dharma” with all the due respect from his end, and thus, his fear of being bitten by a snake has completely vanished with Sage Sukhaachaarya’s elaborate explanation.

Moving on thus, King Parikshit is awaiting the inevitable and this is where Takshaka, the snake makes its way into King Parikshit’s palace. As King Parikshit was sitting in his seat, the snake bites him and with that, the posion of the snake starts getting into his body. As the poison enters, King Parikshit’s body starts glowing like fire, due to the intensity of the poison. With this, King Parikshit’s “Atman” separates from the physical body and travels towards the “Moksha-maarga”. Upon seeing this, all people around King Parikshit were both happy and sad. They were happy because their king had obtained an extremely fortunate end to his human birth, with the divine grace of Sage Sukhaachaarya and Bhagawan Krishna. Of course, all of them were sad that they’re sacrificing a righteous king who stood for “Dharma” till the end of his lifetime.

Thus, King Parikshit’s Atman travels towards the “Brahman” and merges with Bhagawan’s Vaikunta, wherein it starts experiencing the real bliss. We can hereby understand what one can obtain, by listening to this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana with ardent devotion. Just like how King Parikshit had the divine opportunity to attain the highest “Moksha” by listening to Sage Sukhaachaarya’s golden words of wisdom, we would also obtain this divine opportunity if we too exhibit the same kind of respect and devotion in listening to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana.

With this, we come to the end of how King Parikshit attains Moksha by listening to Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. It is in fact, this story with which we started the entire text from Episode one! We’ve witnessed how King Parikshit was cursed by a Sage’s son for putting a dead snake around his father’s neck, while being amidt a deep penance. It was with this curse that King Parikshit worried and afraid. This is where Sage Sukhaachaarya appeared in front of him and gave this golden treasure to him as a consolation that his “Atman” is never going to be destroyed and is destined to attain “Moksha”. Now having said thus, before we end the long marathon Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana project, we shall witness a small story of how Bhagawan Krishna gave divine darshan to Maarkandeya, and henceforth we’ve to witness an important event that we’ve not seen till now – Bhagawan Krishna’s marriage with Rukmini Devi. We’ve witnessed this event in brief during our discussion in the tenth Skanda, but now we’ve to witness it in detail. With this, we would come to the end of our mega project.

We shall thus, wait till the next episode to witness how Bhagawan Krishna gave His divine darshan to Maarkandeya. An interesting story awaits us! Stay tuned! 🙂

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Sukhaachaarya concluding his “marathon” discussion of all the twelve “Skandhas” of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana put together, within a span of seven days. King Parikshit was totally absorbed in listening to Sage Sukhaachaarya’s golden words of wisdom and towards the end of the discussion, he feels that all his doubts have been cleared. He replies to Sage Sukhaachaarya and thanks him upfront for spending seven days of quality time with him in making him understand the important points that are necessary for him to attain Moksha. It is to be remembered that King Parikshit was cursed by a sage that his end would come within the next seven days due to a snake bite. We’re now at the verge of the seventh day ending and with this, Sage Sukhaachaarya has also concluded his accord. Now, King Parikshit is totally alleviated from the fear of death due to the snake, and proclaims to Sage Sukhaachaarya that by listening to this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text fully, he has clearly understood that the “Atman” and “Deham” are totally different entities by nature and that, there is absolutely nothing called “death” that is going to bestow upon him. This is because, the Atman is permanent and has no destruction of any sorts. It is only the “Deham” or the “physical body” that is going to get destroyed, which, he’s going to take another physical body after this. Hence, King Parikshit thanks Sage Sukhaachaarya for the long “eye-opener” and for making him understand the essence of our Sanaatana Dharma within seven day.

As Sage Sukhaachaarya listens to King Parkshit’s reply thus, he responds, “Oh Parikshit! I’m very happy that you’ve understood the essence correctly. For this, I had employed 18,000 slokas!” King Parikshit replies thus, “Oh Sage Sukhaachaarya! You chanting 18,000 slokas might not be a big thing for yourself, but it is something huge for a “zero” like me! Seven days before, I was trembling with fear and depression after receiving the curse, and now with your divine and profound grace, you’ve transformed me completely with these 18,000 slokas. Thus, it might not be a great achievement for you, but for me, it is a great achievement of transformation. With all the spiritual maturity and the power of penance, you can chant not only 18,000 slokas, but even 10 times more than that. For people like me who are zeroes in terms of spiritual knowledge, this is a huge accomplishment! Within seven days thus, you have succeeded in transforming me from what I was to what I am today. Now, I’m extremely happy and I’ve clearly understood the fact that death can never bestow upon me forever. I’m indeed waiting for that moment of the snake bite, so that I can attain the highest “Moksha” with your divine grace and blessings!”

Saying thus, King Parikshit stands up, folds his hands in respect and pays tribute to Sage Sukhaachaarya. Receiving all the respects from King Parikshit, Sage Sukhaachaarya immediately leaves the palace! We might wonder why Sage Sukhaachaarya left immediately, leaving his ardent disciple alone to fend for himself! If we might have been in that state, we would have waited for King Parikshit to attain Moksha, see how he’s being bitten by the snake, mourn his death, etc. But Sge Sukhaachaarya never even waited for any of this to happen. He immediately leaves the palace by saying that there are many other disciples of his, who are waiting to listen to this sacred Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text. We should understand here that had he sat there for few more minutes, the effect of all what he had discussed for the past seven days, would be totally neutralized. Once King Prikshit explains that he has understood all the important points, the job of Sage Sukhaachaarya is over then and there! It was only because King Parikshit was unable to understand these points, did Sage Sukhaachaarya explain everything in detail. However, the moment King Parikshit understood that the “Atman” and “Deham” are not the same, Sage Sukhaachaarya doesn’t even stop there for a moment and he hurries away from that spot. This is the level of detachment a Guru should have to his Sishya (Disciple).

Normally, Sage Sukhaachaarya was a person who doesn’t even stand at one place continuously for two minutes. For instance, as a Sage, when he goes to each house to obtain “Bhiksha” for his meal, if the householder doesn’t come within the next two minutes to offer him the “Bhiksha”, he wouldn’t stand there for the third minute itself! He would just walk off from that place thinking that Bhagawan wants him to fast on this particular day! Such was Sage Sukhaachaarya’s detachment level! If such a detached Sage should stay with King Parikshit for seven full days and give all the important knowledge and wisdom, whose fortune it is? It should be both King Parikshit’s fortune and the world’s fortune as a whole – To obtain such a valuable text from a great sage!

Now that Sage Sukhaachaarya leaves the scene, King Parikshit is now waiting for the inevitable incident to happen. It is at this time, “Takshaka”, the snake makes his way to King Parikshit’s palace, searching for him. So for today, let us stop with this point, and we shall wait till the next episode to witness King Parikshit attaining “Moksha” through the snake bite! Stay tuned! 🙂