*SKANDHA X. CHAP. 60.*
Krishna and Rukmini were once sitting together, when, turning to his
wife with a smile, Krishna spoke the following words:
"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 powerful 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 repression 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 material energies
had asserted themselves too much. This was done in the Seventh
Manvantara, when the spiritual ascent was a Kalpic necessity. 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?).