The Adi Purush, as referred to by Lord Brahma, is none other than Lord Krishna, who is considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Around 5000 years ago, Lord Krishna appeared on earth and manifested His eternal spiritual pastimes. He was born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison cell of His demoniac maternal uncle, Kansa. To fulfill His divine mission, Vasudeva escaped from Kansa’s prison shortly after Krishna’s birth and exchanged Him with the newborn daughter of Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda in Gokul. Thus, Krishna was brought up in the cowherd community under the care of His foster parents. He was a mischievous boy who loved to steal milk and butter from the Vraja gopis’ houses, but despite His teasing and harassment, everyone adored Him. As He grew up, Krishna left Vrindavan and went to Mathura, where He became the leader of the Yadus. Lord Krishna had a total of 16,108 wives, out of which eight were considered his principal wives or “Ashta Bharya”. The names of these eight wives of Krishna were Rukmini, Jambavati, Mitravinda, Satyabhama, Nagnajiti, Bhadra, Kalindi, and Lakshmana. Each wife gave birth to ten sons, making Lord Krishna the father of 80 children. Lord Krishna had rescued 16,100 women from the control of the evil demon Narakasura, who had been keeping them forcibly. However, when these women returned to their families, none of them were accepted back. As a result, Lord Krishna married them to provide them with social and economic security. In this article we shall discuss about the enchanting wives of Krishna and their legendary marriages.
Wives of Krishna and their marriage
Rukmini
Rukmini devi was the daughter of Bhishmaka, the King of Vidarbha. She is the eldest wife of Lord Krishna. The story of Krishna and Rukmini’s marriage is fascinating. Although Rukmini wanted to marry Krishna and her other relatives approved of it, Rukmi, her brother, became an obstacle. Rukmi was envious of Krishna and hence wanted Rukmini to marry Sishupala, Krishna’s arch enemy. Finally, on Rukmini’s request, Krishna had to elope with Rukmini. The army of the yadavas, led by Lord Balarama fought and defeated the army of Jarasandha, who tried to stop Krishna. Rukmi however did not lose hope and single handedly attacked Krishna. Krishna defeated Rukmi and humiliated him by shaving bits and pieces of his hair with His sword. Lord Krishna took Rukmini to His capital at Dwarka and married her.
Jambavati and Satyabhama
Satrajit, the possessor of the Syamantaka jewel obtained it from Surya and refused to relinquish it to Krishna, who had requested it, despite the assurance of its safety with him. In Dvaraka, Satrajit placed the gem on a special altar in his home where it produced a large amount of gold every day and ensured that no calamity could occur wherever it was properly worshiped. Once, while hunting, Satrajit’s brother Prasena was killed by a lion while wearing the jewel. Jambavan killed the lion and passed the jewel to his son. However, Satrajit falsely accused Krishna of killing Prasena for the gem.
To clear his name, Krishna set out to retrieve the jewel and found it in Jambavan’s cave. Jambavan mistook Krishna for an intruder and fought him for 28 days until he finally realized him to be Rama and surrendered. In remorse, Jambavan offered the jewel and his daughter Jambavati’s hand in marriage to Krishna. Although Krishna accepted Jambavati as his spouse, he returned the gem to Satrajit, who apologized for his false accusation and offered his daughter Satyabhama to Krishna in marriage. Despite accepting Satyabhama as his wife, Krishna refused to keep the jewel.
Kalindi
Krishna and Arjuna were on a hunting trip in the forest when they came across a charming young maiden while bathing in the Yamuna River. At Krishna’s request, Arjuna approached the girl and asked her identity. The maiden introduced herself as Kalindi, the daughter of the sun-god. She had been performing severe austerities in the hopes of attaining Lord Vishnu as her husband, and would accept no one else. Kalindi had made her home in a house built by her father in the Yamuna and would remain there until Lord Vishnu married her. After Arjuna informed Krishna of Kalindi’s story, the all-knowing Lord took Kalindi onto His chariot, and the three of them returned together. Later He married Kalindi at Dwarka.
Nagnajiti
There was a pious king named Nagnajit who lived in Ayodhya. He had a beautiful daughter named Satya or Nagnajiti, who was of marriageable age. The girl’s family had set a condition that any man who could conquer a group of seven ferocious bulls would win her hand in marriage. Upon learning about this, Krishna went to Ayodhya with a large group of soldiers. The king welcomed him warmly and worshiped him with various offerings. Satya immediately fell in love with Krishna upon seeing him, and her father, aware of her feelings, expressed his desire to Krishna that they should be married. The king told Krishna that he was the only suitable match for his daughter, and if he could subdue the seven bulls, he could marry her.
Krishna manifested himself in seven forms and overpowered the seven bulls. The king then gave his daughter to Krishna along with a large dowry of gifts. Krishna took Satya on his chariot and began the journey back to Dvaraka. However, at that moment, the kings who had been defeated by the bulls attempted to attack Krishna, but Arjuna easily repelled them. Krishna and Satya then proceeded to Dvaraka.
Bhadra
Bhadra, who hailed from the Kaikeya kingdom, was the daughter of Lord Krishna’s paternal aunt Srutakirti. Her brothers, led by Santardana, offered her hand to Lord Krishna, and the Lord accepted the proposal and married her.
Lakshmana
The Lord then married Lakshmana, who was the daughter of the King of Madra. At her swayamvara ceremony, Krishna appeared alone and took her away, similar to how Garuda once took the nectar of the demigods.
Krishna marries 16100 women
Indra informed Lord Krishna in Dwaraka about Narakasura’s wrongdoing, which included stealing Lord Varuna’s umbrella, Aditi’s earrings, and Mani parvata, the demigods’ playground. Upon hearing about the demon’s misdeeds, Lord Krishna and Queen Satyabhama traveled to Narakasura’s capital on Garuda. After defeating Mura and his seven sons on a field outside the city, Lord Krishna decapitated Narakasura. Prthivi, the earth-goddess, approached Him and gave back the items Narakasura had stolen. The Lord also pacified the demon’s scared son.
Inside Narakasura’s palace, Lord Krishna found sixteen thousand one hundred young women who all wished to become His wives. The Lord sent them with abundant treasures to Dvaraka and then went with Queen Satyabhama to Indra’s abode. There, Lord Krishna returned Aditi’s earrings and received worship from Indra and his wife, Saci devi.