Hare krsna dear friends!
Most of you must be reacting like Ohh love letter!! .. well most of you might have written it or might have receive it. but What is a love letter? Wikipedia says A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. & Wikipedia also talks about the first love letter found in the world. It is in India, yes you can check it. and this letter finds mention in the Puranas. i was amazed to know love letters started from Indian Vedic era. And this first loveletter was written to the most attractive personality of the world, Sri Krsna by a beautiful girl of vidarbha the princess Rukmini.
And Today is her appearance day she wrote the love letter as a marriage proposal. & the most interesting part is that she had never seen krsna in her life.Then the question arises how did she develop the love for Him?? There was no facebook, no whatsapp then how??
Actually Rukmini was a vidarbh kanya. Vidarbh region of maharashtra.Her father bhishmak would invite so many saint sages and they would sing the glories of krsna all his qualities, heroic stories, his attractive personality and thus princess Rukmini got attracted, just by hearing she lost her heart & accepted Krsna as her husband.
But She was aware that her brother rukmi keenly wanted her to get married with shishupal. Both rukmi and shishupal were envious of krsna. Rukmini knew it. She became upset. But Rukmiṇī was a king’s daughter, courageous and bold, and furthermore she would rather die than lose Kṛṣṇa. Considering all this, she wrote a frank, explicit letter, begging Kṛṣṇa to come and take her away. She sent this letter to Krsna through a Brahman messenger.
When the Brahmin reaches. Krishna welcomed him with the appropriate rituals of washing his hands and feet. Krishna made him seat & politely enquired him about the purpose of his visit. Then that time he revealed Rukmini’s message to Krishna.
It began thus:
Oh Most Beautiful Person in the entire World!, I have heard from people about your beauty, sweetness, high character and noble nature. When a person hears about your qualities, these virtues enter the heart through our ears, and all our physical agitations are quietened. I know that to anyone who has eyes, the very sight of your charming form bestows all the four aims of life: namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. A glimpse of you is sufficient to fulfil all our aspirations. Hence my mind shamelessly enters into you.
One may say how shameless is Rukmini she is writing a letter like this, this is shamelessness, characterless. Princess Rukmini says you may blame me writing a letter like this 50% i am to be blamed writing a letter like this but 50 % you are also responsible as there is no one beautiful and attractive in the creation like you.Your attractiveness is so enchanting that it makes people shameless.
Rukmini Ji further says:
O Mukunda, You are equal only to Yourself in lineage, character, beauty, knowledge, youthfulness, wealth and influence. O lion among men(Nara-Simha), You delight the minds of all mankind. What aristocratic, sober-minded and marriageable girl of a good family would not choose You as her husband when the proper time has come?
So far Krsna has enjoyed the pastimes in vrindavan then in mathura now he is in dwarika & so far he is unmarried & this is the first time a proposal for marriage has came in this form & therefore Rukminidevi is afraid that Krsna may respond like so far i had many relationships, but i did not have the burden of marriage & a serious responsibility where i was bounded by rules & regulations where i have to go back home & report & someone is overseeing my activities, & i ll always have to answer Rukmini, why i came early why i became late all my locations will be traced. I may loose the law of independence so thinking like this Rukmini thought she will lose Krsna so she says you are Narsimha, when you appeared as Narsimha even laxmidevi couldn’t control your ferocious form she surrendered so don’t worry no one can control you i cannot control you even after marriage you continue being a free bird you can do whatever you like but marry me :p
Therefore, my dear Lord, I have chosen You as my husband, and I surrender myself to You. Please come swiftly, O almighty one, and make me Your wife. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, let Śiśupāla never touch the hero’s portion like a jackal stealing the property of a lion.
If I have sufficiently worshiped the Supreme Personality of Godhead by pious works, sacrifices, charity, rituals and vows, and also by worshiping the demigods, brāhmaṇas and gurus, then may Gadāgraja come and take my hand, and not Damaghoṣa’s son or anyone else.
The ācāryas comment as follows on this verse: “Rukmiṇī felt that no one could obtain Lord Kṛṣṇa by the efforts of a single lifetime. Therefore she earnestly pointed out the pious activities she had performed in that life and previous lives, hoping to convince Śrī Kṛṣṇa to come.”
O unconquerable one, tomorrow when my marriage ceremony is about to begin, You should arrive unseen in Vidarbha and surround Yourself with the leaders of Your army. Then crush the forces of Caidya and Magadhendra and marry me in the Rākṣasa style, winning me with Your valor.
There are 7 styles of marriage & this type of marrige is where Kshatriya go, kidnap the girl & marry is called rakshasa style.
Prabhuji adds this type of marriage was applicable in previous yugas only. :D
Further princess Rukmini says
Since I will be staying within the inner chambers of the palace, You may wonder, “How can I carry you away without killing some of your relatives?” But I shall tell You a way: On the day before the marriage there is a grand procession to honor the royal family’s deity, and in this procession the new bride goes outside the city to visit Goddess Girijā.
At the end simple hearted Rukminidevi says,
O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Śiva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavour, I may obtain Your mercy.
Thus the letter ends in 7 verses
Now what after that see krsna is so blushing seeing the prem patra. What will he do now.. Surely he has accepted princess Rukmini’s proposal. Krsna disguises himself & enters the vidarbha kingdom
There Rukmini is so anxious desperately waiting for Brahmana’s arrival. She is in anxiety The day before marriage rukmini goes outside palace for doing worship of mother Ambika known as Girija there, and when she was returning from the temple all kings were there, shishupal was also there. And then all of sudden Krsna jumps out picks up the princess Rukmini places in the chariot & departs before even Shishupal figures it out what's happening.
&
Krsna had lot of experiences of stealing in vrindavan braje prasiddam navanit choram right you cant beat him in that He just stole the Rukmini, wow :D
Now that time comes when his chariot was facing the huge army by shishupal and rukmi krsna gives the reins in the hand of Rukmini she is fearful, krsna says oh beautiful eyed Rukmini dont be afraid all the armies of Rukmi and Sishupal will be routed and destroyed
By whom??
Krsna points out at the army headed by Balarama and says Rukmini here are your armies. Goodness!! :)
Acharya says krsna had connected to Rukmini just few minutes ago but within few minutes Krsna has transferred all the rights to Rukmini. Krsna don’t say my army will defeat them but he says your army will defeat!! Krsna is so eager to give everything to anyone who want to connect with him.
After defeating the opposite army Krsna marries the princess Rukmini in a lavish way.
Thank you very much! :)
ys,
Nritya Gopika Devi Dasi
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