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Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!

 

According to the Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Krishna had 8 principles wives known as Ashta-Bharyas.

  • Rukmani : Her father Bhishmaka was in the process of marrying Rukmini with Shishupal forcefully against her wishes.. Since Rukmini was deeply in love with Krishna, she sent a confidential emissary with a note to Krishna asking him to rescue her or she would end her life. Krishna kidnapped Rukmini with her consent on her wedding day and got married to her in Dwarka.
  • Satyabhama: She is considered to be the reincarnation of Sri Radha and is the internal energy of the Lord.
  • Jambavati: Since Jamabavati was a devoted disciple of Lord Rama, she was gifted to Krishna by her father Jambavan.
  • Kalindi: The goddess Yamuna, she is regarded as the Pata Rani of Sri Krishna.. She went into a deep meditation to fulfill her desire of marrying Lord Krishna.
  • Mitravrinda: Princess of Avantipura who had been performing penance for a long time to attain Krishna as her husband .
  • Nagnajiti: Princess of Kosala kingdom who had set her mind to marry the Lord
  • Bhadra: Relationship wise, she was a cousin but she chose Krishna as her husband in her Swayamvar (self-selection) ceremony.
  • Lakshana: Krishna competed with many warriors including his good friend Arjuna and Duryodhana in an archery competition to marry her.

The story of 16100 wives

In the age of Dwapara, there was a formidable and evil demon called Narakasura or Bhaumasura who presided over the land known as Pragajyotishpura – believed to be Guwahati, Assam.  He was extremely powerful and a master of the black arts. He had attacked rulers all over the globe and kidnapped thousands of kings, queens and princesses and kept them imprisoned in his dungeons.  Narakasura was considered unconquerable due to his impenetrable fortress and magical powers. No king could hope to rescue his captured family members.

Krishna accompanied by Satyabhama went to the kingdom of Narakasura after overcoming several arduous tests to rescue the prisoners captured by him.  After destroying Narakasura, Krishna had all the prisoners released.  He informed them that they were free to return to their homes.  The imprisoned women conferred amongst themselves and told the Lord, “we will not be accepted by our families anymore as we have been held captive for years in the demon’s kingdom.  We are considered as polluted.  Therefore, O Lord of the Universe, we pray to you to accept us as your maidservants.  Espouse us and save us from a life of ignominy.”

All 16100 princesses reminded Krishna of Kshatriya dharma which says that if any warrior rescues any woman, that woman belongs to that warrior until his death. So they pleaded with Krishna to accept them because nobody else would marry them and if he wouldn’t accept them, they would end their lives en-masse. Considering all aspects, Shri Krishna accepted all the women as his lawfully wedded wives so that they could live an honorable life and nobody dared to exploit them.

  • Krishna 16108 wives were not ordinary women-All these princess who became Krishna’s wives were certainly not ordinary women, because it requires millions of birth, single-minded penance and austerity to have the Supreme Lord as a husband. Some stories say that they were saints who wanted to be part of Lord's incarnation on earth. The eight primary queens were expansions of Sri Maha Lakshmi. The remaining are regarded as apsaras or celestial nymphs who desired to be wedded to Lord Vishnu and whose wish was granted in Dwapara yuga as Krishna is the original Vishnu.

  • Krishna treated all the princesses equally- All the wives of Krishna loved him with all their heart and souls.  They regarded Krishna as a perfect obedient husband who was quite attached to them but actually Krishna is atma-rama, self-satisfied, always dwelling in his own Self and no one can be either dear or inimical to him as He is the Supreme Soul and all living entities are His infinitesimal parts.

  • Krishna didn't marry 16,100 wives for sexual pleasure-All princesses of lord Krishna were extremely beautiful, qualified and were deeply attracted to Krishna’s beauty. When the Lord descends to play the part of a human being, He plays a role either as a husband, son, friend or enemy, in full perfection. As such, when He was playing as the perfect husband of the queens, He enjoyed conjugal love in complete perfection.

According to Vedic culture, although polygamy is allowed, none of the wives should be ill-treated. In other words, one may take many wives only if he is able to satisfy all of them equally as an ideal householder; otherwise it is not allowed. Lord Krishna is the world-teacher; therefore, even though He had no need for a wife, He expanded Himself into as many forms as He had wives, and He lived with them as an ideal householder, observing the regulative principles, rules and commitments in accordance with the Vedic injunctions and the social laws and customs of the time. For each of His 16,108 wives, He simultaneously maintained different palaces, different establishments and different atmospheres. Thus the Lord, although one, exhibited Himself as 16,108 ideal householders.

Each of 16108 wives of Krishna had golden palaces with huge gardens full of bright colorful flowers. This is symbolic and means that he who weds the supreme soul (one who attains self-realization) will have all the gold (siddhis, psychic powers), palace, beauty (satisfactions) that he wishes for. It is of importance to know Shakyamuni Buddha symbolized the enlightened mind to a golden palace. He called liberation as pure land/ golden land. Lord Jesus also used the symbology of wedding when referring to Self-Realization (Parable of the Ten Virgins).

Many ancient stories are told in a symbolic manner so as to benefit the reader and the listener. These are not to be taken literally like when it is said Ravana had 10 heads, it does not mean he actually had ten physical heads. It symbolizes his extraordinary cleverness and intelligence, the power of ten brains.

Similarly, it is said the human body has 7 mystical chakras or energy centres and 16,100 important nadis or nerve channels in the human body through which energy flows. Krishna being the Supreme God with full divine powers has complete control over the seven chakras and nadis and the power to manifest anything out of thin air.

It is possible to do so only when one has absolute power to manipulate the 5 basic elements of creation i.e., earth, water, fire, air and ether. When that happens all the nadis are in your own control. So when it is said he had 16,000 wives, it could also mean that he had control over 16,000 nadis of his body.

There is a popular saying that one should follow Shri Rama’s actions and Sri Krishna’s words. Not vice versa.  It is humanly impossible to imitate Krishna.  Only his Bhagavat Gita is to be followed.

 

Bhakta Vatsala Bhagavan ki Jai !

Jai Jai Shri Radhey !