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He sent for Akrira, shewed him every respect, and smilingly addressed him thus:—"O lord of giving (Danapati), Satadhanu must have left the Syamantaka jewel with thee. I knew this from before. Satrajit left no son. His daughter’s son is therefore his true heir. But it is not so easy to keep the jewel. Thou dost keep the observances well. So let it be with thee. But in the matter of this jewel, even my brother does not believe me. Therefore shew it once and give peace to your friends." Akrara made over the jewel to Sri Krishna. He shewed it to his clansmen, in order to remove the stain of suspicion against him. He then returned it to Akrira. THE OTHER WIVES OF SRI KRISHNA. SKANDHA X. CHAP. 58-59. Sri Krishna went to see the Pandava brothers at Hastinapura. They gave him a most devoted reception. One day Krishna and Ar- juna went on a hunting excursion to the side of the Yamuna. They saw there a most beautiful girl. Arjuna asked who she was. The girl replied:—"I am daughter of the Sun-god. Desiring Vishnu to be my husband, I have performed great Tapas. I shall have no other husband. Let that friend of the friendless be pleased with me. My name is KALINDI. I am to reside in the waters of the Yamuna in the abode built by my father till I see Achyuta." Krishna placed the girl on his chariot and took her to Yudisthira. It was at this time that Krishna got a town built by Visvakarman at the request of Arjuna and the Khandava forest was burnt by the Fire-god. The rains over, Krishna went to Dvaraka and there duly married Kalindi. Vinda and Anuvinda, two princes of Avanti, were followers of Duryodhana. Their sister MITRA VINDA wanted to marry Krishna but they dissuaded her. So Krishna carried away the girl by force and married her. She was the daughter of his father’s sister Rajadhi-devi. In Ko-sala, there was a virtuous prince named Nagnajit. He had 352 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana a daughter named SATYA, also called NAGNAJITI after her father. No one could marry her who had not overcome seven fierce bulls. Krishna went to Kosala with a large retinue and he was received well by the prince. The girl prayed to the Fire-god to have Krishna as her bridegroom. Krishna overcame the bulls and married the girl. Krishna then married BHADRA of Kekaya, the daughter of her aunt (father’s sister) Sruta-kirti. He also carried away by force LAK- SHANA, the daughter of the king of Madra. Naraka, son of the Earth, deprived Aditi, mother of Indra, of her ear-rings, Varuna of his umbrella and Indra of his seat at Mani Parvat (Mountain of jewels). Indra complained to Krishna. He went with his wife Satyabhama to Prakjyotisha, the town of Naraka. That town was well fortified and it was protected by the Daitya Mura and his meshes. Krishna forced his passage through all obstacles and had a fight with Mura whom he slew with his Chakra. The seven sons of Mura,—Tamra, Antariksha, Sravana, Vibhavasu, Vatu, Nabhasvat and Varuna,—under the lead of one Pithha also attacked Krishna, but they were all killed. Naraka then himself fought with Krishna and was killed by him. The Goddess Earth then approached Krishna and, after adoring him, said:— "This Bhagadatta, son of Naraka, takes Thy shelter. Please pass Thy hand round his head." Krishna gave assurances of safety and he then entered the house of Naraka. Naraka had carried away 16 THOUSAND GIRLS by force. Krishna sent away these girls and much treasure to Dvaraka. He then went with Satyabhama to the place of Indra and there restored the ear-rings to Aditi. At the request of his wife, Krishna uprooted the Parijata tree and placed it on the back of Garuda. The Devas resisted, but Krishna defeated them all. The Parijata tree was planted in the quarters of Satyabhama and it spread its fragrance all round. Krishna married the 16 thousand girls at one and the same moment by assuming as many forms. KRISHNA AND RUKMINI. SKANDHA X. CHAP. 60. Krishna and Rukmini were once sitting together, when, turning to his wife with a smile, Krishna spoke the following words: Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 353 "Princess, thou wert coveted by great and powerful kings. Thy brother and thy own father offered thee to Sisupala and others. How is it then thou didst accept me who am not thy equal? See how we have taken shelter in the sea being afraid of the kings. Having pow- erful enemies, we can hardly be said to occupy our kingly seats. O thou with beautiful eyebrows, woe to those women who follow such men as have unknown and uncommon ways of their own. Poor as we are, wealthy people hardly seek us. It is meet that they should marry or make friendship with each other, who are equals in wealth, birth, power and beauty. It is through ignorance and shortsightedness that thou hast married one who is void of all Gunas (good qualities) and who is praised only by Bhikshus (beggars). Therefore do thou seek some Kshatriya king who will be a match for thee. Sisupala, Salva, Jarasandha, Danta Vakra and other kings and even thy own brother Rukmin, blindfolded by pride, shewed hostility to me. For the repres- sion of their pride, I the punisher of evil men brought thee here. But we are indifferent to the body and the house, void of all desires, fixed in self, all full, the light within, without actions." (Without anticipating our general study of the Dvaraka Lila, it is sufficient to mention here that Rukmini is the spiritual energy of Mula Prakriti, or rather the light of Purusha, as reflected on Prakriti. The gist of what Krishna says is that there is an essential difference between Prakriti and Purusha. Purusha is void of Gunas, while the Gunas form the essence of Prakriti. Coming from Prakriti, Rukmini must follow the Prakritic elements. And if Krishna wrested her away from the hands of the material energies of Prakriti and even from her own Prakritic basis (her brothers and father), it was because the ma- terial energies had asserted themselves too much. This was done in the Seventh Manvantara, when the spiritual ascent was a Kalpic ne- cessity. Was Rukmini to remain wedded to Krishna for the remaining period of the Kalpa, or was she to go back to her brothers and their friends?). Rukmini replied:— "O Lotus eyed! even so it is as thou sayest. I am quite unlike thee, the Great Bhagavat. Lord of even Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, Thou art plunged in Thy own greatness. What am I to Thee, the Gunas form- ing my essence? It is only ignorant people who worship me. (For fear 354 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana of kings, thou hast taken refuge in the sea.) But the kings are the Gu- nas, (Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, and Smell which compose the object world.) For fear of them, as it were, thou hast taken refuge in the in- ner ocean of the heart, and there thou dost manifest Thyself, as pure Chaitanya. The object-seeking Indriyas are no doubt thy constant en- emies. But when thou speakest of giving up kingly seats, why even thy votaries give them up, as darkness itself. The ways of even Munis who worship Thy Lotus feet are unknown; what of thine own? When their ways are uncommon, what of thine? Thou art poor indeed, for there is nothing besides thee, (and so nothing can form Thy wealth.) But thou dost receive the offerings of others and they seek thee. It is not through ignorance, but knowing that thou art the Atma of the Universe, that I have sought Thee. The flow of Time that arises from Thy eyebrow swallows up the desires of even Brahma and others. I did not even seek them for Thy sake. What speakest thou of others? As the lion carries away his share by force from other animals, so thou didst carry me away from amongst the kings. How can I believe that thou didst take shelter in the Sea from fear of such kings? Anga, Prithu, Bharata, Yayati, Gaya and other jewels of kings gave up their kingdoms and sought thee in the forests. Did woe befall them that thou talkest of woe to me? The Gunas have their resting place in thee. Thou art the home of Lakshmi. Moksha is at Thy feet. What foolish woman shall follow others, neglecting Thee? I have accepted thee, the Lord and soul of the Universe, the giver of all blessings here and hereafter. Let thy Moksha-giving feet be my shelter. Let those women have the kings for their husbands, those asses, bullocks, dogs, cats, and servants who have not heard of Thee. "(What is man without Atma?) Those that have not smelt the honey of Thy Lotus feet seek the dead body, though it seems to be alive, consisting of flesh, blood, bone, worms, excrement, phlegm, bile and gas, covered over with skin, hair and nails." (Mula Prakriti in the Universe, or Budhi in man, is wedded to Atma, represented by Sri Krishna. The kings represent here the followers of material elements in the Universe or in man.) Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 355 THE SONS OF KRISHNA. SKANDHA X. CHAP. 61. The wives of Krishna had each ten sons. The Sons of Rukmini were.—Pradyumna, Charudeshna, Sudeshna, Charudeha, Sucharu, Charu Gupta, Bhadra Charu, Charu-Chandra, Vicharu and Charu. The ten sons of Satyabhama were.—Bhanu, Subhanu, Svarbhanu, Prabhanu, Bhanumat, Chandra-bhanu, Vrihat-bhanu, Ati-bhanu, Sribhanu and Prati-bhanu. jFambavati had ten sons.—Samva, Sumitra, Purujit, Satajit, Sahas- rajit, Vijaya, Chitraketu, Vasumat, Dravida, and Kratu. Nagnajiti had ten sons.—Vira, Chandra, Asva-sen, Chitragu, Veg- avat, Vrisha, Ama, Sanku, Vasu and Kunti. Kalindi had ten sons.—Sruta, Kavi, Vrisha, Vira, Suvahu, Bhadra, Santi, Darsa, Pirna Masa and Somaka. Madri had ten sons.—Praghosha, Gatravat, Sinha, Bala, Prabala, Urdhaga, Mahasakti, Saha, Ojas and Aparajita. Mitravinda had ten Sons.—Vrika, Harsha, Anila, Gridhra, Vard- hana, Annada, Mahansa, Pavana, Vahni and Kshudhi. Bhadra had ten Sons.