What is the story of Nataraja (the dancing god) in Hinduism?

 Mourning the death of Sati, Shiva roamed about the world with no sense of the outer world. He was Digambara, and many people were disgusted at the sight of Him, although His Bhaktas realised His power, and fell at His feet. He did not care though and continued strolling. The eternal penance He did made Him so handsome and the nonchalant way in which He carried Himself was charismatic to all who saw Him.

One day, Shambhu had walked into a Yagnashala, in which a couple of Rishis and their wives were commencing a Yaga. Once the ladies set eyes on Shiva though, they melted under His powerful form and the gaze which looked straight forward. They could not focus on the Yaga, but rather wanted to go fall at this mysterious Yogi’s feet and serve Him for the rest of their lives!

The Rishis weren’t oblivious to this. They were enraged at the sight of Shiva, and began to evoke terrible creatures from the fire to destroy this distraction in the form of the Yogi. First from the fire, came a ferocious tiger, which pounced on to the Lord. Without a second glance, Shambhu grabbed the tiger by its throat with a strong hold and killed it, granting its soul Kailasha-Moksha. He then proceeded to skin the tiger, and wrap the skin around His waist. Following the tiger, a cobra came, and Shiva caught it and wrapped it around His right wrist.

The Rishis weren’t outdone yet. Next from the fire came an elephant, which Shiva also killed easily and adorned its hide as His upper garment. The demon which came afterwards was defeated and the annoyed Eeshwara started to dance on his back. This demon is Apasmaara, the demon of ignorance, which represented the Rishis’ mindsets as they chose to ignore the powerful aspects of the Lord, and instead attempt to bring Him down. Shambhu’s long tresses came loose and spread out behind His back, jumping elegantly as an accompaniment to His energetic dance!

To end this war, Shiva grabbed the fire from the Yaga, which had now taken such a wrong turn (!), and held it firmly in His left hand, so as to use at the correct time and for beneficial purposes only.

The pose He chose to stand on, as Nataraja, has Him with four hands, in a spectacular and mesmerising leg position, where the left leg is raised above the knee of the bent right leg, and the lower left hand is bent downwards towards the foot of the right leg, beckoning His Bhaktas to surrender at His feet, the Abhaya mudra giving out reassurance!

The smiling of the face shows Nataraja as one who is undisturbed by His surroundings.

Nataraja is widely worshipped in Shaiva temples around South India, Thillai Chidambaram being the main one, as it is also referred in Shaivism as Bhuloka Kailasham, or the Kailasham visible on Earth!

Jai Bhavani Shankar!

What happened to the gods after the Samudra Manthan ended?

 At the end of the Samudra Manthan, Lord Vishnu appeared from the Milky Ocean as Lord Dhanvantari, holding the Amrita Kalasha. As Lord Dhanvantari emerged from the Milky Ocean, a tear of joy fell from Lord Dhanvantari’s eyes. This tear of joy was known to be as Tulasi.

This Tulasi is none other than Lakshmidevi Herself. The devatas bowed to Lord Dhanvantari. But the demons had their sight on the Amrita Kalasha. They came and snatched the Amrita Kalasha from Lord Dhanvantari’s hands. Lord Dhanvantari did this to show the deceitful and greedy mindset of the demons.

Therefore, the same Dhanvantari as Vishnu assumed the form of Mohini. This Mohini was very enchanting. She was dark-complexioned and had the color of a blackish-blue lotus. Her curly hair dangled around Her forehead. Her eyes were like the petals of a lotus, and eye brows of the shape of bow. She had a nose ring in Her nose, which shone radiantly.

She wore earrings which were glittering like lightning during the rains. And that shine was reflecting on Her cheeks. Her smile was so beautiful that even the biggest of the yogis, who did penance for 1000s of years and controlled their senses, too, got bewildered by Her one smile. Her lips were red as a pomegranate. Her teeth were as white as pearls.

Her face was so beautiful that Her one sight itself was enough to attract the whole world. She wore Kumkuma Tilaka on Her forehead and had dangling curly hair near Her cheeks. She had dark black hair, which was tied and decorated with fragrant jasmine flowers. She wore a lot of ornaments that shone like molten gold and lightning during the rains. She was wearing a yellow saree, which was glittering. She had a slender belly. Her limbs were the shape of an elephant’s trunk, and She walked like an elephant. Her hands were full of bangles, shining like all the stars concentrated at the same spot. Her skin was so soft that even if you touched Her with a lotus petal, there would be a scratch on the skin.

She was wearing Her divine anklets that made a ‘chhin chhin chhin chhin’ sound out of it. On seeing this Mohini roopi Lord Vishnu, Lakshmidevi said, “The Mohini roopa of Lord Vishnu is even more beautiful than me. In this case, does He even need a beautiful lady?” The demons were bewildered by Her enchanting beauty. They left the pot of Amrita and went towards Mohini and said, “O enchanting lady! We both (asuras and devatas) are the sons of Sage Kashyapa and hence are brothers.

But we are fighting for this Amrita. So, please can you become the arbitrator and distribute the Amrita among us fairly?” Mohini, on hearing this, said, “O sons of Sage Kashyapa! Why are you placing your trust in a woman like me? Wise individuals who seek higher goals should never blindly trust a wayward woman who roams independently, for her affection is fickle.”

Mohini further clarified, “I have a condition. If you all want me to distribute this Amrita, then you will have to promise me that you won’t oppose any of my actions, even if they are unfair. If you break your promise, I will stop distributing the Amrita.”

But since these asuras were deluded by Srihari’s maaya, they didn’t listen to Her and insisted that She distribute the Amrita. Mohini took that Amrita and then started distributing it among the devatas and the asuras. The devatas and demons sat in parallel rows facing each other. Now, Mohini came dancingly near the devatas and gave them the Amrita.

On seeing this, as the Asuras were about to say, ‘Hey-’ Mohini saw them with Her side-glance, with one eyebrow raised and a sly, half-smile curling at the corner of Her lips, and the demons kept staring at Her with their jaws dropped in bewilderment. Her every blink of the eye itself increased the heartbeats of the demons. She gave them sweet, assuring words and came to the devatas in a specific dancing rhythm and gave them the Amrita. The devatas knew that Mohini was Bhagavan.

Now, as Mohini was coming towards the end of the devatas, here in the line of the demons, there was a demon by the name of Svarbhaanu. Suspecting the deception, he came disguised as a devata and sat between Surya and Chandra. Mohini, though, knew that he was a demon and poured Amrita into his hands. As he drank the Amrita, Surya and Chandra recognized him as Svarbhaanu.

Mohini, using Her Sudarshana Chakra, cut off the head of Svarbhaanu. But since he had drunk Amrita, he was alive even though he was beheaded. The head is known as Rahu and is one of the Navagraha. After the last devata drank Amrita, Mohini assumed Her original four-armed Vishnu form and then rode on Garuda and went to Vaikuntha.

But then, the demons, on realizing the deception, re-attacked the devatas. But now, the devatas were immortal by drinking Amrita. Therefore, the devatas fought with the demons. There too, Lord Vishnu appeared and defeated all the demons and drove them to Paataala loka. Thus, this is what happened to the devatas after the Samudra Manthan.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriDhanvantari roopi Narayana Abhinna ShriMohini roopi Narayana Abhinna ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

What are some lesser known/interesting stories in Mahabharata?

 Well, When we hear Mahabharata, we usually think about Kurukshetra, Krishna, Arjuna, Karna and Draupadi.

But the Mahabharata is much bigger than the war. There are many small stories hidden inside it which are equally fascinating and sometimes teach us more about life than the main story itself let's see few of them :

1. Kacha and Devayani

Kacha went to Shukracharya to learn the secret of Mrita-Sanjivani, the knowledge that could bring the dead back to life. Devayani fell in love with him, while the Asuras repeatedly tried to kill Kacha.

In the end, Kacha learned the secret, but rejected Devayani because he considered himself like her brother. Their story eventually ended with curses from both sides.

2. Yayati and Puru

King Yayati became old because of a curse but still wanted to enjoy his youth. He asked his sons if anyone would exchange their youth with his old age.

Everyone refused except Puru.

Yayati eventually realized that desire cannot be satisfied simply by fulfilling more desires. He returned his youth to Puru and accepted old age.

3. Nala and Damayanti

Nala and Damayanti fell in love even before meeting each other. They eventually married, but Nala lost his kingdom because of gambling and went into exile with Damayanti.

Their story became one of separation, suffering and reunion. Interestingly, this story is narrated to Yudhishthira during his own exile, almost as a reminder that he wasn't the only king to lose everything because of gambling.

4. Savitri and Satyavan

Savitri knew that Satyavan was destined to die, but she still chose to marry him.

When Yama came to take Satyavan's life, Savitri followed him and continued talking to him with remarkable wisdom. Impressed by her, Yama granted her several boons.

Through her intelligence, Savitri eventually brought Satyavan back to life.

5. Yaksha Prashna

During the Pandavas' exile, Yudhishthira encountered a mysterious Yaksha who asked him difficult questions about life, death, happiness and Dharma.

Unlike his brothers, Yudhishthira listened instead of ignoring the warning.

His answers impressed the Yaksha, who was later revealed to be Dharma himself, testing Yudhishthira.

And this is probably what I love most about Mahabharata.

It isn't just a story about a war between two families. It's a collection of stories about human nature.

Sometimes the most interesting lessons are hidden in the stories we don't hear very often.

Mahabharat war - Krishnan and Arjun

What is the story of Udupi Krishna?

 The story of Udupi SriKrishna is very interesting. Before Udupi Krishna, let’s learn how Udupi got the name ‘Udupi.’ Long ago, Chandra had 27 nakshatras as His wives. Among them, Rohini was Chandra's favorite wife. Because Krishna appeared in the Rohini Nakshatra, Rohini was His favorite wife. So, the other wives of Chandra were very disappointed by this and came to their father, Daksha Prajapati. Daksha Prajapati threatened Chandra to curse Him. Frightened, Chandra came to this kshetra and did penance to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, pleased by Chandra’s penance, appeared there and blessed Him, and assured Him that Daksha would not do anything to Him. Saying thus, Lord Shiva took Chandra and put him on His jataa. That’s why He came to be known as Chandramauleshwara and got installed there as Sri Chandramouleshwara Linga. And Udupa means ‘The husband of the nakshatras’. Since the husband of the nakshatras had done penance there, this kshetra was known as Udupi.

There is another temple in Udupi, which is SriAnanteshwara Temple. There, it is Srihari’s Parashurama roopa in the form of a Linga.

Now, coming to the story of Udupi SriKrishna. After killing Kamsa, Krishna was in Mathura. But Jarasandha attacked Mathura 18 times, and 18 times he was defeated by Krishna. Krishna, for the security of the people of Mathura, instructed Vishvakarma to construct Dwaraka in the middle of the ocean. Now, after that, Krishna married Rukmini, Satyabhama, and all 16,108 queens. Once, Devaki said to Krishna, “O Krishna! I couldn’t see your baalaleelas, as I was in the capture of Kamsa. Now that I am free, could you please show me your baalaleelas?” At this SriKrishna agreed and transformed into His baalaroopa. He sat on Devaki’s lap and played with Her, and gave Her joy. Rukmini was seeing all this.

Rukmini was very attracted to this beautiful form of Lord Krishna. She requested Krishna to give Her a vigraha of the same Krishna, as He looked in His childhood. Krishna immediately called Vishvakarma and instructed Him to make an idol of Krishna. The idol must look exactly as Krishna used to look during His childhood. Following Krishna’s instructions, Vishvakarma created a Saligrama idol of Krishna. It was a very beautiful idol. Krishna, in His baalaroopa as a 5-year-old boy, was holding the milk-churning stick (it is known as Kadagolu in Kannada) in one hand and the other hand on His thigh, holding the rope tied to Him by Yashoda Devi during His Vrindavana pastimes. He was standing and had three jatas on His head. He had curly hair falling on His forehead, giving Him a very handsome look.

This idol was worshipped by Rukmini Devi in Dwaraka. After the Krishnavatara ended, this idol, along with another idol, was covered in a big lump of Gopi Chandana. Now, in Kaliyuga, SriMukhyaprana Vayudeva, in order to spread the true purport of the Vedas, incarnated on this earth as SriMadhvacharya, was once coming for a samudra snaana. After the snaana, He saw a ship coming. The ship was in trouble due to the storms and all. SriMadhvacharya waved His hand once, and the ship reached the shore. The captain of the ship was very happy and thanked SriMadhvacharya for helping Him. He asked SriMadhvacharya to ask for anything, because he was highly impressed and was happy with Him. SriMadhvacharya saw the two rocks of sandalwood on the ship. He said, “I want those two rocks of sandalwood.”

When those rocks of sandalwood were broken, SriMadhvacharya saw the idol of Lord Janardana in the first rock, and in the other rock, He found the Krishna worshipped by Rukmini Devi in Dwaraka. SriMadhvacharya brought it to Udupi and did the pratishtha of the idol of Krishna in Udupi. He worshipped Krishna as Omkaara Shabdavaachya Krishna, or the Krishna whose name is Omkaara. Thus, pleased by the utmost devotion of SriMadhvacharya, Krishna from Dwaraka came through the samudramaarga to SriMadhvacharya. This is the Bhakti of SriMadhvacharya. While doing pooja of Krishna, SriMadhvacharya used to do the chintana of the Paramatma, who is known by the syllable ‘Om’, and the Paramatma, who is all-pervading and is everywhere and in everyone.

In Udupi, there is the presence of the trinity itself. SriMadhvacharya, being Hanuman Himself, who is the future Brahmaji. Then, Lord Vishnu is Krishna and Ananteshwara Himself. And Lord Shiva is the Chandramouleshwara Himself. That’s the speciality of Udupi Kshetra.

The Udupi Krishna’s dhyaana shloka says:

कृष्णं वन्दे मन्थपाशधरं दिव्यार्भकाकृतिम् ।
शिखाबन्धत्रयोपेतं भैष्मी मध्व करार्चितम् ॥

I bow to Lord Krishna, who holds the churning rod and rope, who possesses the form of a divine child, who has three tufts of hair (shikhas), and who is worshipped by Rukmini (Bhaishmi) and Sri Madhvacharya.

Even today in Udupi, just as in Puri Lakshmidevi Herself cooks, in the same way in Udupi, it is Bheemasena who is cooking the food. Even today, during the time of Naivedya to Krishna, Swamiji comes out of the main shrine, or the Garbhagruha, and does japa outside. In the Garbhagruha, Rukmini Devi Herself comes and shows the bhog to Lord Krishna, and disappears.

Now, why is Krishna holding a churning rod and a rope? There is a message in it. The message is: When you are churning the milk known as the Vedas, Vedanta, Puranas, and Itihasas, only one butter comes out as a result, and that is Krishna, who is the Supreme Parabrahman. Or another thing is, like the samudra manthana, how there was Mandarparvata; in the same way, there is the churning of the big parvata named Vedanta. The Brahma Sutras are ropes for churning. The correct shaastras are the devatas, whereas the duragamas or agyaana are the raakshasas. Both the correct knowledge (devatas) and the false knowledge (asuras) are churning the milky ocean named Krishna. And from that milky ocean comes the Amrita, by the name of Krishna’s supremacy.

Another thing is that Krishna holds the rope in the other hand. This shows that if you worship Him, He will remove the rope of Samsara and free you from it and will take you to His abode, Vaikuntha. So, this is why Krishna is holding the churning rod and the rope in His hands. Here, only the Swamijis of the Ashtamathas are allowed to do the pooja of Krishna inside the main shrine. Swamiji from each Matha comes to Udupi and performs Krishna pooja for 2 years. This period is known as Paryaayaa. Currently, the Shiroor Matha seer SriVedavardhana Tirtha Sripadangalavaru is performing the pooja of Krishna in Udupi.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

What is Lord Ganesh’s birth story according to the Vedas?

 Not according to the Vedas, but there are two stories of the birth of Lord Ganesha. One is from the Skanda Purana, and another is from the Brahmavaivartha Purana.

STORY FROM SKANDA PURANA:

This is the famous story known to everyone. Umadevi took out some of the Pruthvi tattva from Her body, made an idol of clay, and gave the idol life. The idol transformed into a living, handsome boy. After that, Umadevi asked Him to guard Kailasa and not to let anyone in. After saying this, Umadevi went to have a bath. Now, Lord Shiva came there. He saw that handsome boy and asked Him to let Him in. The boy refused, saying that, He was obeying His mother’s orders, and hence cannot let Lord Shiva enter.

Enraged by this, Lord Shiva beheaded the boy with His trishoola. Umadevi, and all the devatas came there. On seeing all that, Umadevi was very disappointed. She requested Lord Shiva to restore their son. Lord Shiva instructed His ganas to go and bring the head of anyone who was lying facing the northern direction. The Shiva Ganas, led by Nandishwara, went to bring the head.

They saw that an elephant was sleeping, facing towards the north direction. They cut its head and brought it to Kailasa. Now, why did they take that head? There are two reasons behind it. One is: This elephant had once crushed the Hari Nirmalya with its feet. That’s why, as a punishment, its head was cut off and brought. The second one, I will tell you later. Now, the Shiva Ganas came and gave the elephant head to Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva attached that head to the boy. Now, this boy was Gajamukha and had an elephant head.

He was named Ganesha since He was the leader of the Ganas. He is also called Ganapati because of that. Since He fought with Lord Shiva, His father Himself, He was known as Heramba. Since, He has an elephant face, He is known as Gajamukha, or Gajanana. He is known as Vighneshwara, or Vinayaka, because He removes all our obstacles. Srihari declared that Ganesha would be worshipped first before starting any auspicious task. Since He is very handsome, He is known as Sumukha. He has sharp, big ears; that’s why He is known as Shoorpakarna. He has chandra on His head, therefore known as Bhaalachandra. He has a curved trunk; that’s why He is known as Vakratunda. He has black eyes; that’s why He is known as Krishna Pingaaksha. He has a large belly; that’s why He is known as Lambodara. Since He has an unusual and unique form (an elephant head and a human body), that’s why He is known as Vikata.

BRAHMA VAIVARTHA PURAANA
This story is not known to many people. And this is completely different from the story which I mentioned earlier. What happened is, Umadevi had performed Santaana Gopalakrishna Vrata. In this, She did the pooja, daana, and everything. Now, with the grace of SantanaGopala roopi Lord Narayana, She obtained a male child. The child was looking very beautiful and was full of auspicious lakshanas.

Now, She named the baby Ganesha. Now, the devatas came to see Ganesha. At that time, Shanideva too had come to see Ganesha. Umadevi called Shanideva, but Shanideva refused to come and see the baby. The reason was: Earlier, when Shanideva was doing dhyaana of Srihari, His wife came and saw that Shanideva ignored Her, even though She called Him many times. Enraged by this, She cursed Shanideva that if He saw anyone, then may their head be cut off.

Shanideva told Umadevi about the curse and refused to see Ganesha, but Umadevi still insisted Him to come and see Ganesha. The moment Shanideva saw Ganesha, Ganesha’s head was cut off, and he disappeared. Umadevi was astonished and was very disappointed about that. She prayed to Srihari to bring Her child back to life. Srihari, listening to Umadevi’s prayer, appeared there. He took His Sudarshana Chakra and cut off the head of the elephant. This elephant was the elephant that crushed the Hari-Nirmalya earlier. So, as a punishment, Srihari cut off its head and attached the elephant head to the baby.

Thus, the baby Ganesha obtained an elephant face. This is in the short story of Ganesha’s birth from two Puranas. Ganesha is Raktavarna (red in color), likes Raktapushpa (Hibiscus), wears Raktambara (red garments), and loves Raktagandha, as the Ganapati Atharvashirsha itself says.

SECOND REASON WHICH I WAS ABOUT TO TELL…

Now, I would tell you the second reason why Ganesha obtained the Gajamukha. See, Ganesha is the upaasaka, or the worshipper of the Vishvambhara roopa of Lord Vishnu. As per the Maandukya Upanishad, Lord Vishnu has 4 forms, namely Vishva, Taijasa, Turiya, Praajna. This Vishva roopi Narayana is the Vishvambhara roopi Narayana, who is the presiding deity for the Jaagrata avastha, or the awakened state. He resides in our eyes and makes us see all these worlds. Vishvambhara means ‘All-pervading’. Since Ganesha worships this form of Lord Vishnu, who is all-pervading, He is the presiding deity for the all-pervading Aakaasha Tattva.

Now, we come to the important point. Lord Vishvambhara has 19 faces. Out of those, the central face is of an elephant. Rest 18 faces are male human faces. For easier visualization, you can bring Krishna’s vishvaroopa. Replace the central face with an elephant face, and the rest of the faces with human faces. Now, Lord Vishvambhara has a broad chest and strong arms reaching to the knees. In both hands, He is holding Vara and Abhaya Mudra. In the other two hands, He is holding Shankha and Chakra. He has a slender belly and is shining with a radiance before which 1000 suns are also not sufficient. He is white in color and is prasanna mukha. Additionally, whatever you think of Bhagavan, you will become that only, as per your competence. If you think Bhagavan is great, you will become great as per your competence; if you think Bhagavan is full of knowledge and is happy, you will also get great knowledge and happiness as per your competence. Now, let’s keep this as the stage for reason number 2.

[Image of Lord Vishvambhara form of Lord Vishnu]

Now, Ganesha intensely contemplated the Gajamukha of this Vishvambhara roopi Narayana, due to which He obtained the Gajamukha. Sri Madhvacharya mentions this in His Maandukya Upanishad Bhaashya. So, as per the Skanda Purana story, Lord Shiva knew that this Ganesha is the Vishva roopi Narayana’s upasaka, and hence asked His ganas to bring the face of an animal that was sleeping towards the north, and as per Srihari’s will, it was that of an elephant. Even if you see the Brahma Vaivartha Purana Katha, then there too Srihari knew very well that this Ganesha was the upasaka of His Vishvambhara form. And hence, He too attached the head of an elephant to Ganesha. Plus, it is due to the Vishvambhara roopa only that Ganesha is Prathama Poojya and Vighna Nivaaraka. That’s why, in the Vishnu Sahasranama, Vishva is the first name of Lord Vishnu, which destroys obstacles.

This is as per the tattva of Ganesha. These two stories are different and come from different Puranas. But these can be considered Kalpa Bheda, because in different Kalpas the same stories repeat in different ways. For example, in one Kalpa, in the Vaamana Avatara, Trivikrama lifted His left leg upwards. Whereas in another Kalpa, Trivikrama lifted His right leg upwards. Similarly, in one Kalpa, Narasimha appeared from the pillar, and in another Kalpa, He appeared in the forest to kill Hiranyakashyapu. This is known as Kalpa Bheda. These two accounts from the Skanda Purana and the Brahma Vaivarta Purana can also be considered a Kalpa Bheda.

Wishing all of you a very happy Ganesha Chaturthi. May Ganesha, who is Vighnaraja, who destroys all the obstacles, bless all of us with pure knowledge, devotion, humility, abundance, good qualities, happiness, satisfaction, and fulfill all our noble desires!😊🙏✨🌸

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
SriSiddhivinayaka Antargata SriBhaarati Ramana Mukhyaprana Antargata SriVishvambhara Abhinna SriKrishnarpanamastu!

Can you share the story of Rukmini Haran and how it inspired your devotion to Maa Rukmini?

 Krishna had defeated Jarasandha 18 times in Mathura. Because Krishna had killed Kamsa, Jarasandha's son-in-law of Jarasandha, his daughters and wives of Kamsa, who were Asti and Praapti, became widows. Boiling in the heat of revenge, Jarasandha decided to attack Mathura. He invaded Mathura, but was defeated by Krishna 18 times. The last time, Krishna left the battle and went to the Gomantaka Parvata. Later, defeating Jarasandha there too, Krishna constructed Dvaraka in the middle of the ocean.

Now, coming to Vidarbha, in Maharashtra, there was a king by the name of Bhishmaka. He had 4 sons and one daughter. The sons were: Rukmi, Rukmakesha, Rukmangada, Rukmabahu, and the daughter was Rukmini. Rukmini was the youngest among all, and Rukmi was the eldest of all. But the interesting thing is, the youngest Rukmini had great devotion to Krishna, whereas the eldest Rukmi used to hate Krishna. Why? Because Rukmi was a disciple of Jarasandha, and Jarasandha always taught them to hate Krishna. Along with Rukmi, Shishupaala, and Dantavakra were also disciples of Jarasandha.

Rukmini was the princess of Vidarbha; that’s why She is known as Vaidarbhi. She is the daughter of Bhishmaka, therefore known as Bhaishmi. Plus, She was Lakshmidevi Herself, who had incarnated on the earth to accompany Krishna. She was a great devotee of Krishna. Sage Narada used to come and praise Krishna in front of Rukmini. Now, Rukmini had come to an age where She was eligible for marriage. But Rukmini loved Krishna. Whereas Rukmi didn’t like Rukmini’s choice. He wanted Her to marry his friend Shishupaala. Even King Bhishmaka could oppose Rukmi, because Rukmi was a disciple of Jarasandha, and opposing Rukmi would be like opposing Jarasandha, which was very dangerous.

Rukmini’s marriage with Shishupaala was decided. But this was like fitting gold with copper, which is not at all a good choice. Rukmini didn’t like this. She decided to write a letter to Krishna. This wasn’t a love letter. This was a letter of surrender that Rukmini wrote. She wrote a letter to Krishna, praising His auspicious attributes, His charming, handsome form, and requested Him to kidnap Her, like how a lion kidnaps the meat from among the group of jackals. She said that when She would come for the Gowry pooja, Krishna should kidnap Her. She even told in the letter that if Krishna doesn’t kidnap Her then She would do dehatyaaga. She sent a Brahmin with the letter to Dwaraka. The Brahmin gave the letter to Krishna. Krishna welcomed the Brahmin, worshipped him with great devotion, and then He read the letter and said, “Even I am in love with Rukmini. From the time I heard of Rukmini from Sage Narada, I have fallen in love with Her, and I am not even able to sleep at night properly in Her thoughts.” And thus, Krishna decided to kidnap Rukmini.

Here, Krishna worshipped the Brahmin to tell the whole world how to worship the knowledgeable and worship-worthy jnaanis. As it is said, “Martyaavataare Hi tu Martyashikshanam”, which means “In the human incarnation, Bhagavan teaches the human, humanity and good conduct, by Himself acting as a human.”

He came to Vidarbha along with the Brahmin. Rukmini was waiting for the Brahmin to come. She was very much frightened as to what if the Brahmin didn’t come. Krishna came along with the Brahmin in Vidarbha, and the Brahmin came towards the palace. Rukmini, on seeing him, was very happy. Now, along with Krishna, the Yadavas too had come, led by Balarama. Now, King Bhishmaka had organized the Swayamvara of Rukmini. But, due to politics over there, it was pre-decided by Rukmi and Jarasandha that Rukmini was to be married to Shishupaala. Now, Krishna came to the Svayamvara. Jarasandha and Rukmi decided to humiliate Krishna by not giving Him any seat. By that, Krishna would have to sit below them as a commoner, and hence would be humiliated.

But then, Indra saw this from heaven. He sent Vayudeva to present an excellent throne for Krishna. Vayudeva brought the throne for Krishna and made Krishna sit there. Thus, Krishna was respected and worshipped by Indra. Seeing all this, Bhishmaka was happy to see Krishna being worshipped, but was sad about the behaviour of Rukmi and Jarasandha, and was disappointed that he couldn’t stop them from trying to insult Krishna. On seeing Krishna being worshipped, Jarasandha and Rukmi were awestruck and were even more enraged with hatred. Actually, here, King Bhishmaka also had to agree to the marriage of Rukmini to Shishupaala, because being forced by Rukmi and Jarasandha.

Now, King Bhishmaka and Krishna had a silent meeting, away from these evil people. Bhishmaka was very much disappointed by his son’s behaviour. Krishna consoled Bhishmaka and said, “Your daughter Rukmini is not an ordinary girl, but is Svayam Mahalakshmi Devi Herself. Even before, She was born as Lakshmi, as the daughter of the Milky Ocean, and Samudra Raja gave Her to me. In Treta Yuga, the same Lakshmi was born as Sita, and King Janaka gave Janaki to me. Now, when the same Janaki is born as Rukmini, you cannot marry Her to Shishupaala. Now, I will show you the universal form of Rukmini.” By saying this, Krishna showed the universal form of Lakshmi, who was the greatest devotee of Krishna.

In that form, Lakshmi was there. There were infinite incarnations of Lakshmi, like Sita, Jayanti, Dakshina, Ramaa, Buddhi, Jayaa, Maaya, Kruti, Shaanti, etc. There was Rukmini too, as a form of Lakshmidevi. All these incarnations were non-different from Lakshmidevi. Lord Vishnu has infinite incarnations. Along with all these incarnations, Lakshmidevi is always accompanied by Her infinite incarnations. Seeing all this, King Bhishmaka decided to marry Rukmini to Krishna, because Rukmini was Mahalakshmidevi and Krishna was Narayana. Now, Rukmini, as per the plan, came for the Gowry pooja. Gowry was Her Kuladevi.

Now, as She was coming, She was looking very beautiful. Her anklets on Her feet were jingling and making the ‘chhin chhin chhin chhin’ sound. Her lotus feet were decorated with various ornaments. She had Her legs like the trunk of an elephant. She had a slender belly, which made Her look more beautiful. Her slender waist appeared delicate beneath the graceful fullness of Her breasts. She was wearing Shvetaambara (white clothes) and was decorated with ornaments made of Jaambunada gold. This is the gold that is used in Devaloka for making the ornaments of the devatas, and it is very different from the gold that is used here to make ornaments. It’s a very high-quality gold. She had a gentle smile on Her face, and had lips the color of a pomegranate, and teeth shining like pearls. She had eyes resembling the blooming lotus. Her face was like the moon in the month of Sharad. The moon we see has spots on it. When Chandra attains Mukti at the end, He doesn’t have these spots. That Chandra is fully bright white in color.

Such infinite moons can also not surpass the beauty of Rukmini’s moon-like face, which was spotless and was more beautiful even than these moons. She was decorated with golden bangles on Her hands, which jingled and shone like lightning, and made jingling sounds. She wore Kumkuma Tilaka on Her forehead. Her hair was dark, dense, and naturally curling over Her forehead. The shade and texture of Her locks were like dark rain clouds reflecting a subtle bluish hue under the sunlight. She had braids in Her hair, looking like a serpent that had opened its hoods. The braid was like the serpent’s tail, and the head was like the snake with opened hoods. She was walking through the Raajamaarga towards the Kuladevi pooja. She was walking like an elephant walking. On seeing Her, the devatas, led by Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, Indra, etc., bowed to Her. Whereas these kings, who were seeing Her coming down, fainted in the street itself. They were so bewildered and attracted towards Her beauty that they fainted.

Now, as She was coming in the Raajamaarga, Krishna came in His chariot. Krishna carried Her in His chariot, as a lion elopes the deer from the group of jackals. Rukmini was now with Krishna. Rukmi got to know about this and then chased Krishna. Krishna cut all His weapons, and then finally disfigured him and was about to kill Rukmi, but Rukmini pleaded with Krishna not to kill him on the day of Her marriage. Therefore, Krishna left Rukmi and went with Rukmini to Dwaraka. Now, Krishna was along with Lakshmidevi and was known as ‘Lakshmipati’. The couple, who are eternally married and eternally inseparable, were now getting married just for the welfare of the world. That’s why, for them, the mantra is:

Maangalyam Tantunaanena Jagajjeevanahetuna |
Kanthe badhnaami subhage tvam jeeva sharadaam shatam ||

Thus, Rukmini and Krishna got married. All the devatas, led by Brahma, Shiva, Indra, etc., came to attend that grand, divine marriage. The Pandavas too came to attend the marriage of Krishna and Rukmini. Krishna and Rukmini sat in the Vivaaha Mantapa, and Rukmini garlanded Krishna with Varamaala and stood on the left side of Krishna. Krishna tied the Mangalasootra to Rukmini. When the same Rukmini emerged from the Milky Ocean as Lakshmi, She was already wearing the Mangalasootra in Her conch-shell-shaped neck. Now, for the welfare of all of us, Krishna tied the Mangalasootra to Rukmini Lakshmidevi. At that time, She, in the middle of the devatas, chose Lord Vishnu. Now, that same Lakshmi, now as Rukmini, chose Her eternal husband, Krishna, as Her husband.

Shishupala and Dantavakra were Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu. In Satya Yuga, Hiranyaksha tried to kidnap Bhudevi and Lord Varaha killed him. In Treta Yuga, Ravana tried to kidnap Sitadevi and was killed by Rama. Now, here, Shishupaala tried to make Rukmini Devi his wife, but failed. Now, gold (Rukmini) was perfectly fitted with blue sapphire (Krishna). Rukmini Devi and Bhagavan SriKrishna are an eternally wedded couple. By reading this auspicious story, unmarried people who wish to marry will receive a husband or wife, as per their wish, and will be eligible for the full grace of Lord SriKrishna and Rukmini Devi.

It inspired me to devote myself not only to Rukmini, but also to Krishna. Rukmini is Jaganmaata. She gave a very nice message by writing a letter to Krishna. By this She says to all of us, who are Her sons, “If you want Krishna to hold your hand, you also have to write a letter to Krishna, as I wrote.” Thus, Jaganmaata Rukmini Devi taught us how to approach Krishna. We, in the form of stotras and keertanas, can write a letter to Krishna, and thus, Krishna will also hold our hands and will accept us.

Victory to Lord Krishna! Victory to Devi Rukmini!
Victory to the auspicious Srihari, who always blesses His devotees!
Victory to the king of the whole universe, Krishna! Victory to the husband of Sridevi!
Victory to the embodiment of auspiciousness! Victory to the embodiment of auspiciousness!

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
Jay Sri Rukmini Rukmineesha Krishna!
ShriRukminiKrishnarpanamstu!😊🙏✨🌸