By Purushottama Nitai Dasa

Rukmini Devi, a gentle, polite and submissive wife of Krishna, always wanted to give the best joy to the Lord of her heart. However, one day, Krishna who is always willing to fulfil the desires of his beloved devotees, had a desire to see the angry face of Rukmini. He wanted Rukmini, who is the epitome of gentleness, to quarrel with him. So, to fill her heart with anger, Krishna began to tease her. But the words spoken by Krishna jokingly pierced the tender heart of Rukmini Devi.

Krishna said to Rukmini, “You committed a big mistake by marrying me. There were many great kings who were eager to marry you. In fact, your marriage was fixed with Sisupala who is rich, powerful, heroic and also a king. But mistakenly you chose me. I am not a king. I am merely a cowherd man. Also, I am not heroic. I fled the battlefield when Jarasandha attacked me. I abandoned the city of Mathura and took shelter of the ocean. Now with my family members and friends, I am living in Dwarka away from Mathura. In Dwarka, I am not the king. Ugrasena is the ruler and I follow his order. Moreover, being satisfied within myself, I do not have attraction for wife, children and wealth. In fact, those who worship me are materially poor. The beggars adore me, and the rich are indifferent to me. Why do you want to be the wife of someone whose friends are poor?”

Rukmini always thought that amongst all of Krishna’s wives she was his most beloved. But when she heard these words from Krishna, she thought that Krishna has not accepted me whole heartedly. Her thoughts did not just end there. She feared that there could be a possibility that her beloved Krishna may abandon her. This put her in great anxiety. Krishna teased Rukmini to make her angry but instead she became horrified. She could not bear the thought of being separated from Krishna even for a moment. We conditioned souls do not feel the pain of separation from Krishna. But pure devotees cannot even think of living without Krishna even for a moment. As the thought of separation from Krishna overwhelmed her, Rukmini fell on the ground and fainted. Krishna realized that Rukmini did not get his joke; in fact she completely misunderstood him.

When Krishna saw that Rukmini has become unconscious, he immediately got down from the bed and lifted her and caressed her. With pleasing words, he consoled her and said that the greatest pleasure that a husband enjoys is when he jokes with his wife. A husband enjoys light-hearted banter with his wife in her private quarters, and when the wife becomes angry then husband enjoys great pleasure later in consoling her.

Rukmini’s Answer To Krishna

Krishna’s words pacified Rukmini. She now began smiling. But she was angry too because of Krishna’s words. Or we can say that she started countering Krishna in an angry mood because Krishna wanted to see her angry. And Rukmini as per her nature does what pleases Krishna.

She said, “I know, I am not qualified to be your wife because no one can be equal to you. You are most glorious and most lovable. I am not the best match for you but what can I do? I got attracted to you. In fact, anyone who hears about you quickly becomes mad for you. This is what happened with me. And this is your fault, not the fault of those whom you drive mad. As soon as I heard about you, I decided to marry you and no one else. You praised the kings saying that they are the rulers of the kingdom, are rich and powerful. But the truth is that they are not the kings because they are always under the control of the three modes of material nature and the powerful time. Not just that, they are worthless puppets who are always under the control of women. They are no better than dogs and assess. An intelligent woman should not even think of marrying such unfortunate men.”

“O infallible Krishna, let each of the kings You named become the husband of a woman whose ears have never heard Your glories, which are sung in the assemblies of Siva and Brahma. After all, in the households of such women these kings live like asses, oxen, dogs, cats and slaves.” (Bhagavatam 10.60.44)

She further said, “You say you are poor, but you are the proprietor of this universe. The first being of this creation, Lord Brahma, comes from your navel. He is your devotee. Lord Siva is your devotee. And your devotees are not at all poor. Many times, they choose to be materially poor because they want to relish the spiritual wealth. Always absorbed in thinking about you, they are always blissful. Your devotees are most fortunate, and they always aspire to be with you. I also have the same desire. I always want to be with you. I never look at anybody even for a moment other than you, not even Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. I only want you. I only desire you. You are the most wonderful person in the entire creation. You cannot be compared with anyone. If I would have failed to get you in this life then I was ready to extend my austerity to next life but I would have never accepted anyone other than you as my husband.”

Never Choose Anyone Else

Rukmini Devi is teaching an important lesson to all the devotees of Krishna: We should never choose anyone other than Krishna. Even if it takes many lifetimes, we should patiently wait for Krishna to come and accept us. Just like Rukmini is a chaste wife of Krishna, we should be a chaste devotee of Krishna.

We should always say, “Krishna, I only desire you. Please come and accept me.”

Rukmini wanted Krishna only, so she ultimately got Krishna. Krishna shows that if the desire of a devotee is too strong, then he also cannot resist fulfilling that desire. Krishna responds to the quality of our devotion, our service and our eagerness to have him. The quality of Rukmini’s devotion was so strong that Krishna immediately responded and accepted her as his wife.

Purushottama Nitai Dasa is a member of congregation at ISKCON Newtown, Kolkata. He writes at https://discoverursupersoul.com/