Shreemad Bhagavat Mahapuran- Canto: 10: Chapters: 60-62
One day, Shree Krishna was resting upon a beautiful bed in Rukminiji’s palace. With deep love and humility, Rukminiji personally served her beloved husband, accompanied by her companions, gently fanning Him with a chamar. Seeing her complete devotion and exclusive love for Him, Shree Krishna became very pleased. Smiling softly, He began to speak to her in a playful and teasing mood.
He said, “Princess, many great kings, equal to the guardians of the heavens in wealth, power, beauty, and splendour, desired your hand in marriage. Your father and brothers also wished to give you to one of them. Mighty warriors like Shishupal longed to marry you. Then why did you choose someone like Me as your husband, who in no way appears worthy of you?
“Look at Me. Out of fear of powerful kings like Jarasandh, we have hidden ourselves within the sea and made our home in Dwarika. We are surrounded by enemies on every side, and we do not even possess a secure claim to a royal throne.”
Shree Krishna continued, saying that He had no interest in worldly pleasures, wealth, prestige, or charming women. He was detached, without possessions, and indifferent to material life. Therefore, wealthy and proud people did not value Him. Marriage, He said, is usually suitable between those of equal family, status, and wealth. Perhaps, without proper consideration, she had accepted Him. If she wished, she could still choose a great kshatriya prince more suited to her.
Krishna further remarked that His carrying her away was merely to humble arrogant kings such as Shishupal, Jarasandh, and Rukmi. In truth, He said, He remained detached from wife, children, wealth, and worldly relationships, being fully self-satisfied and merely a witness to everything.
Shukadevji tells Parikshit that because Rukminiji constantly received Shree Krishna’s affection and company, a subtle pride had arisen within her heart, “Surely, I am Krishna’s most beloved.” Wanting to remove that slight trace of pride, Shree Krishna spoke these playful words, then fell silent.
But when Rukminiji heard such harsh and unexpected words from Krishna, words she had never heard before, she trembled within. Her heart began pounding violently. Tears streamed from her eyes as she sank into an ocean of unbearable anxiety. The mere thought of separation from Krishna made her body weak and lifeless. Overwhelmed by fear, sorrow, and anguish, she lost all awareness. The chamar slipped from her hand, and she fell unconscious upon the ground, her hair dishevelled, her entire body helpless and still.
The moment Krishna saw that Rukminiji had not understood His playful humour and had become truly distressed due to the depth of her love, He immediately rose from the bed. Manifesting His four-armed form, He gently lifted her, arranged her scattered hair, wiped away the tears from her eyes with His cool lotus-like hands, and drew her lovingly to His chest.
Seeing how deeply shaken she had become, Krishna softly consoled her.
“Beloved princess of Vidarbha, do not take My words to heart. I know very well that you belong entirely to Me. I only wished to hear your loving replies and witness the sweet beauty of your loving anger.
“I wanted to see how your lips would tremble, how your eyes would redden, and how beautiful your face would appear when your brows curved in loving displeasure. Dear one, the greatest joy of household life is when husband and wife share such moments of love, laughter, and playful affection together.”
Rukminiji replied with folded hands, “Lotus-eyed Lord, You are infinite, the master of all virtues and the Lord of all devas. How can I ever be equal to You? You are the Supreme Soul, beyond the three modes of material nature, while I am bound within material nature itself.
“You said that You dwell within the sea out of fear of worldly kings, but those words carry a deeper meaning. In truth, You are opposed not to earthly rulers, but to the uncontrolled senses and the delusions of Maya.
“I did not choose You out of confusion or ignorance. Hearing of Your glories from saints and sages, I knowingly surrendered myself completely unto You. The splendour of Brahma, Indra, and all worldly kings is insignificant before You.
“You say that those who follow You suffer hardship, yet kings such as Anga, Prithu, Bharat, and Yayati abandoned their kingdoms and found supreme joy in Your devotion alone. Then what wise woman would reject You and instead choose mortal men trapped in suffering and impermanence?
“My only desire is that, birth after birth, I may remain sheltered at Your lotus feet. Apart from You, I desire no other man, no wealth, and no worldly happiness.”
Hearing her words, Shree Krishna smiled gently and said, “I only spoke in jest to hear the depth of your love. Every meaning you have drawn from My words is completely true. You are My most beloved, and your love for Me is pure, unwavering, and free from selfish desire.”
Description of Krishna’s Sons and Grandsons
Shukadevji says that each of Shree Krishna’s queens gave birth to ten sons, all equal to their father in beauty, strength, and noble qualities. Every queen felt that Krishna stayed only with her and loved her more than all the others. Yet none could fully comprehend His limitless divine nature.
The queens remained enchanted by Krishna’s beauty, sweet smile, loving glances, and gentle speech. Through their grace, affection, and loving gestures, they tried to captivate Him, but Shree Krishna, who is completely self-satisfied, was never controlled by the senses.
Even Brahma and the other devas cannot fully understand the true nature of Bhagwan, yet these queens attained the fortune of serving Him as their husband. Their joy in life was to lovingly welcome Him, wash His feet, apply sandal paste and perfumes, fan Him, feed Him, and serve Him with complete devotion.
Among Krishna’s many sons, those born to His eight principal queens became especially famous.
- Rukmini: Pradyumna, Charudeshna, Sudeshna, Charudeha, Sucharu, Charugupta, Bhadracharu, Charuchandra, Vicharu, and Charu.
- Satyabhama: Bhanu, Subhanu, Svarbhanu, Prabhanu, Bhanuman, Chandrabhanu, Brihadbhanu, Atibhanu, Shribhanu, and Pratibhanu.
- Jambavati: Samba, Sumitra, Purujit, Shatajit, Sahasrajit, Vijay, Chitraketu, Vasuman, Dravid, and Kratu.
- Satya: Veer, Chandra, Ashvasen, Chitragu, Vegavan, Vrish, Ama, Shanku, Vasu, and Kunti.
- Kalindi: Shrut, Kavi, Vrish, Veer, Subahu, Bhadra, Shanti, Darsh, Purnamas, and Somak.
- Lakshmana: Praghosh, Gatravan, Singh, Bal, Prabal, Urdhvag, Mahashakti, Sah, Oj, and Aparajit.
- Mitravinda: Vrik, Harsha, Anil, Gridhra, Vardhan, Annad, Mahash, Pavan, Vahni, and Kshudhi.
- Bhadra: Sangramjit, Brihatsen, Shoor, Praharan, Arijit, Jay, Subhadra, Vam, Ayu, and Satyak.
Apart from these, Krishna also had sixteen thousand one hundred other queens, and each of them gave birth to ten sons as well.
Pradyumna, the son of Rukmini, later married Rukmavati, the daughter of Rukmi. From them was born the mighty Aniruddha. In this way, Shree Krishna’s dynasty expanded enormously, and the number of His sons and grandsons grew into the millions.
King Parikshit expresses surprise and asks how Rukmi, despite the humiliation he had suffered at Krishna’s hands, agreed to marry his daughter Rukmavati to Krishna’s son Pradyumna, while still secretly harbouring resentment against Krishna.
Shukadevji explains that Pradyumna was extraordinarily handsome and virtuous. During her svayamvara, Rukmavati herself placed the garland around his neck. Afterwards, Pradyumna defeated all the assembled kings and carried her away.
Although Rukmi’s hatred toward Krishna and the pain of his humiliation had not disappeared, he still arranged his daughter’s marriage with his nephew Pradyumna in order to please his sister Rukmini.
Besides her ten sons, Rukminiji had an extraordinarily beautiful daughter named Charumati, who married Bali, the son of Kritavarma.
Later, to further please Rukmini, Rukmi gave his granddaughter, Rochana, in marriage to Aniruddha, Rukmini’s grandson. Krishna, Balaramji, Rukminiji, Pradyumna, Samba, and many residents of Dwarika travelled to Bhojkat for this grand wedding.
Balaramji Slays Rukmi
After the wedding celebrations ended, arrogant kings, such as the king of Kalinga, provoked Rukmi to challenge Balaramji to a game of dice. They knew that although Balaramji enjoyed gambling, He was not especially skilled at it.
Rukmi invited Balaramji to play. In the beginning, he won wagers of one hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand gold coins. Seeing his victories, the king of Kalinga burst into loud laughter and mocked Balaramji, causing anger to rise within Him.
Then a wager of one hundred thousand coins was placed, and this time Balaramji won. But Rukmi refused to accept defeat. Afterwards, Balaramji placed an enormous wager of ten million coins, and once again He emerged victorious. Yet Rukmi deceitfully claimed victory.
At that very moment, a divine voice from the sky declared that according to righteousness, Balaramji alone had truly won. Even then, puffed up with arrogance and encouraged by the wicked kings around him, Rukmi refused to accept the truth.
Mocking Balaramji, he sneered, “You cowherds wander through forests. Dice and warfare are games fit for kings, not for people like you.”
Hearing these insulting words and seeing the surrounding kings laugh in mockery, Balaramji became furious. Right there in the assembly, He seized a mace and struck Rukmi dead.
The king of Kalinga, who had laughed so loudly before, now fled in terror. But Balaramji caught him and smashed his teeth. The other kings were also punished. Wounded, bloodied, and trembling with fear, they fled from the assembly.
The Love Story of Banasur’s Daughter Usha and Krishna’s Grandson Aniruddha
Shukadevji narrates that the mighty Banasur was the eldest son of the great daitya king Bali. He was a devoted worshipper of Bhagwan Shiva, generous, intelligent, and firm in his vows. He ruled from Shonitpur and, by Shiva’s grace, had become extraordinarily powerful. He possessed one thousand arms, and even the devas served him.
Once, during Shiva’s Tandav dance, Banasur delighted Him by playing many musical instruments simultaneously with his thousand arms. Pleased by his devotion, Shiva offered him a boon. Banasur requested that Shiva Himself reside in his city and protect it.
But with time, Banasur became intoxicated with pride in his strength. He complained to Shiva that despite possessing a thousand arms, he could find no warrior equal to himself, and his arms longed for battle. Boasting arrogantly, he declared that even mighty elephants fled in fear of him and that he had shattered mountains with his power.
Seeing his arrogance, Shiva became displeased and declared, “The day your banner falls broken to the ground, you shall face a warrior equal to Me, one who will crush your pride.”
Foolishly, Banasur took even this warning as a matter of glory and eagerly awaited that future battle.
Banasur had a daughter named Usha. One night, she saw an extraordinarily beautiful youth in a dream and instantly became deeply attached to him. When she awoke, her heart burned with longing, and she sat among her companions, overwhelmed with shyness and restlessness.
Her dear friend Chitralekha, the daughter of Banasur’s minister Kumbhand, noticed her condition and asked the reason for her distress. Usha described the dark-complexioned, lotus-eyed youth dressed in yellow garments whose beauty had completely stolen her heart.
Chitralekha assured her, “If your beloved exists anywhere within the three worlds, and if you can recognise him, I shall surely find him for you.”
Then Chitralekha began painting the portraits of devas, gandharvas, siddhas, daityas, yakshas, and countless human princes. When she painted the members of the Vrishni dynasty, including Shoor, Vasudevji, Balaramji, Krishna, and others, Usha became shy upon seeing Pradyumna’s portrait. But the moment she saw Aniruddha’s image, she lowered her head in embarrassment and softly smiled.
“It is him,” she whispered. “He is the one… my beloved.”
Chitralekha possessed great yogic mystic powers. Understanding that the youth from Usha’s dream was none other than Aniruddha, Krishna’s grandson, she travelled through the sky by yogic power to Dwarika during the night. There, she mystically carried the sleeping Aniruddha from His bed and brought Him to Shonitpur.
Seeing her beloved before her, Usha’s heart overflowed with joy. Within the safety of her private chambers, she spent her days lovingly with Aniruddha. Day by day, their affection deepened. Aniruddha, too, became so absorbed in Usha’s love that he lost all awareness of time itself.
Eventually, the guards of the palace grew suspicious of Usha’s behaviour and informed Banasur. Furious and alarmed, he rushed to her chambers.
There he saw the radiant Aniruddha seated beside Usha, dressed in yellow garments, dazzling with extraordinary beauty. The son of Pradyumna shone with irresistible charm as he happily played dice with her.
The moment Aniruddha saw Banasur entering with armed soldiers, he seized a massive iron club and fearlessly stood against them. He fought like Yamaraj himself, wielding the rod of death.
Whoever advanced to capture him was struck down. Under the force of his blows, soldiers’ heads, arms, and legs were shattered, and the terrified warriors began fleeing in panic.
But when Banasur saw his army collapsing, he became enraged and finally bound Aniruddha with a serpent noose.
Seeing her beloved tied and helpless, Usha broke down in grief and began weeping bitterly.
Summary: JKYog India Online Class- Shreemad Bhagavat Katha [Hindi]- 22.05.2026
