Book V. Chapter Xxviii
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"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
p. 578
Chap. Xxviii.
Wives of Krishna. Pradyumna has Aniruddha: nuptials of the latter. Balarma beat at dice, becomes incensed, and slays Rukmin and others.
Rukmin bare to Krishna these other sons, Chrudeshna, Sudeshna, Chrudeha, Sushena, Chrugupta, Bhadrachru, Chruvinda, Suchru, and the very mighty Chru; also one daughter, Chrumat. Krishna had seven other beautiful wives, Klind, Mitravrind, the virtuous Ngnajit, the queen Jmbavat; Rohin, of beautiful form; the amiable and excellent daughter of the king of Madra, Mdr; Satyabhm, the daughter of atrujit; and Lakshman, of lovely smiles 1. Besides these, he had sixteen thousand other wives 2.
p. 579
The heroic Pradyumna was chosen for her lord, at her public choice of a husband, by the daughter of Rukmin; and he had by her the powerful and gallant prince Aniruddha, who was fierce in fight, an ocean of prowess, and the tamer of his foes. Keava demanded in marriage for him the granddaughter of Rukmin; and although the latter was inimical to Krishna, he betrothed the maiden (who was his son's daughter) to the son of his own daughter (her cousin Aniruddha). Upon the occasion of the nuptials Rma and other Ydavas attended Krishna to Bhojakata, the city of Rukmin. After the wedding had been solemnized, several of the kings, headed by him of Kalinga, said to Rukmin, "This wielder of the ploughshare is ignorant of the dice, which may be converted into his misfortune: why may we not contend with him, and beat him, in play?" The potent Rukmin replied to them, and said, "So let it be:" and he engaged Balarma at a game of dice in the palace. Balarma soon lost to Rukmin a thousand Nishkas 3: he then staked and lost another thousand; and then pledged ten thousand, which Rukmin, who was well skilled in gambling, also won. At this the king of Kalinga laughed aloud, and the weak and exulting Rukmin grinned, and said, "Baladeva is losing, for he knows nothing of the game; although, blinded by a vain passion for play, he thinks he understands the dice." Halayudha, galled by the broad laughter of the Kalinga prince, and the contemptuous speech of Rukmin, was exceedingly angry, and, overcome with passion, increased his stake to ten millions of Nishkas. Rukmin accepted the challenge, and therefore threw the dice. Baladeva won, and cried aloud, "The stake is mine." But Rukmin called out as loudly, that he was the winner. "Tell no lies, Bala," said he: "the stake is yours; that is true; but I did not agree to it: although this be won by you, yet still I am the winner." A deep voice was then heard in the sky, inflaming still more the anger of the high-spirited Baladeva, saying, "Bala has rightly won the whole sum, and Rukmin speaks falsely: although he did
p. 580
not accept the pledge in words, he did so by his acts (having cast the dice)." Balarma thus excited, his eyes red with rage, started up, and struck Rukmin with the board on which the game was played, and killed him 4. Taking hold of the trembling king of Kalinga, he knocked out the teeth which he had shewn when he laughed. Laying hold of a golden column, he dragged it from its place, and used it as a weapon to kill those princes who had taken part with his adversaries. Upon which the whole circle, crying out with terror, took to flight, and escaped from the wrath of Baladeva. When Krishna heard that Rukmin had been killed by his brother, he made no remark, being afraid of Rukmin on the one hand, and of Bala on the other; but taking with him the newly wedded Aniruddha, and the Ydava tribe, he returned to Dwrak.
Footnotes
578:1 The number specified, however, both in this place and in c. 32, is nine, instead of eight. The commentator endeavours to explain the difference by identifying Rohin with Jmbavat; but in the notices of Krishna's posterity, both in this work and in the Bhgavata, she is distinct from Jmbavat. She seems, however, to be an addition to the more usually specified eight, of whose several marriages the Bhgavata gives the best account. In addition to the three first, respecting whom particulars are found in all, Klind, or the Yamun, is the daughter of the sun, whom Krishna meets on one of his visits to Indraprastha, and who claims him as the reward of her penance. His next wife, Mitravind, is the daughter of his maternal aunt, Rjdhidev (p. 437), and sister of Vinda and Anuvinda, kings of Avant: she chooses him at her Swayambara. The Hari Vana calls her Saudatt, daughter of ivi; and she is subsequently termed aivy by our text. Ngnajit or Saty, the next wife, was the daughter of Nagnajit, king of Kausla, and was the prize of Krishna's overcoming seven fierce bulls, whom no other hero had encountered with success. Bhadr, princess of Kekaya, also Krishna's cousin, the daughter of rutakrtti (p. 437), was his next: and his eighth wife was Mdr, the daughter of the king of Madra; named, according to the Bhgavata, Lakshan; and to the Hari V., Saubhm; distinguishing, as does our text, clearly Lakshman from Mdr, and like it having no satisfactory equivalent for Bhadr. The Hari Vana does not name Rohin, but specifies other names, as Vrihat, &c. In the life of Krishna, taken from the Bhgavata through a Persian translation, published by Maurice, there is a curious instance of the barbarous distortion of Sanscrit names by the joint labours of the English and Persian translators: the wives of Krishna are written, Rokemenee (Rukmin), Seteebhavani (Satyabhm), Jamoometee (Jmbavat), Kalenderee (Klind), Lechmeena (Lakshman), Soeta (Saty?), Bhedravatee (Bhadr), Mihrbenda (Mitravinda).
578:2 These, according to the Mahbhrata, p. 579 di P., were Apsarasas, or nymphs. In the Dna Dharma they become Krishna's wives through a boon given him by Um.
579:3 The Nishka is a weight of gold, but according to different authorities of very different amount. The commentator here terms it a weight of four Suvarnas, each about 175 grains troy.
580:4 The Bhgavata and Hari Vana, which both tell this story, agree in the death of Rukmin; but in the Mahbhrata he appears in the war, on the side of the Pandavas. The occurrence is a not very favourable picture of courtly manners; but scenes of violence have never been infrequent at the courts of Rajput princes.
"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
p. 578
Chap. Xxviii.
Wives of Krishna. Pradyumna has Aniruddha: nuptials of the latter. Balarma beat at dice, becomes incensed, and slays Rukmin and others.
Rukmin bare to Krishna these other sons, Chrudeshna, Sudeshna, Chrudeha, Sushena, Chrugupta, Bhadrachru, Chruvinda, Suchru, and the very mighty Chru; also one daughter, Chrumat. Krishna had seven other beautiful wives, Klind, Mitravrind, the virtuous Ngnajit, the queen Jmbavat; Rohin, of beautiful form; the amiable and excellent daughter of the king of Madra, Mdr; Satyabhm, the daughter of atrujit; and Lakshman, of lovely smiles 1. Besides these, he had sixteen thousand other wives 2.
p. 579
The heroic Pradyumna was chosen for her lord, at her public choice of a husband, by the daughter of Rukmin; and he had by her the powerful and gallant prince Aniruddha, who was fierce in fight, an ocean of prowess, and the tamer of his foes. Keava demanded in marriage for him the granddaughter of Rukmin; and although the latter was inimical to Krishna, he betrothed the maiden (who was his son's daughter) to the son of his own daughter (her cousin Aniruddha). Upon the occasion of the nuptials Rma and other Ydavas attended Krishna to Bhojakata, the city of Rukmin. After the wedding had been solemnized, several of the kings, headed by him of Kalinga, said to Rukmin, "This wielder of the ploughshare is ignorant of the dice, which may be converted into his misfortune: why may we not contend with him, and beat him, in play?" The potent Rukmin replied to them, and said, "So let it be:" and he engaged Balarma at a game of dice in the palace. Balarma soon lost to Rukmin a thousand Nishkas 3: he then staked and lost another thousand; and then pledged ten thousand, which Rukmin, who was well skilled in gambling, also won. At this the king of Kalinga laughed aloud, and the weak and exulting Rukmin grinned, and said, "Baladeva is losing, for he knows nothing of the game; although, blinded by a vain passion for play, he thinks he understands the dice." Halayudha, galled by the broad laughter of the Kalinga prince, and the contemptuous speech of Rukmin, was exceedingly angry, and, overcome with passion, increased his stake to ten millions of Nishkas. Rukmin accepted the challenge, and therefore threw the dice. Baladeva won, and cried aloud, "The stake is mine." But Rukmin called out as loudly, that he was the winner. "Tell no lies, Bala," said he: "the stake is yours; that is true; but I did not agree to it: although this be won by you, yet still I am the winner." A deep voice was then heard in the sky, inflaming still more the anger of the high-spirited Baladeva, saying, "Bala has rightly won the whole sum, and Rukmin speaks falsely: although he did
p. 580
not accept the pledge in words, he did so by his acts (having cast the dice)." Balarma thus excited, his eyes red with rage, started up, and struck Rukmin with the board on which the game was played, and killed him 4. Taking hold of the trembling king of Kalinga, he knocked out the teeth which he had shewn when he laughed. Laying hold of a golden column, he dragged it from its place, and used it as a weapon to kill those princes who had taken part with his adversaries. Upon which the whole circle, crying out with terror, took to flight, and escaped from the wrath of Baladeva. When Krishna heard that Rukmin had been killed by his brother, he made no remark, being afraid of Rukmin on the one hand, and of Bala on the other; but taking with him the newly wedded Aniruddha, and the Ydava tribe, he returned to Dwrak.
Footnotes
578:1 The number specified, however, both in this place and in c. 32, is nine, instead of eight. The commentator endeavours to explain the difference by identifying Rohin with Jmbavat; but in the notices of Krishna's posterity, both in this work and in the Bhgavata, she is distinct from Jmbavat. She seems, however, to be an addition to the more usually specified eight, of whose several marriages the Bhgavata gives the best account. In addition to the three first, respecting whom particulars are found in all, Klind, or the Yamun, is the daughter of the sun, whom Krishna meets on one of his visits to Indraprastha, and who claims him as the reward of her penance. His next wife, Mitravind, is the daughter of his maternal aunt, Rjdhidev (p. 437), and sister of Vinda and Anuvinda, kings of Avant: she chooses him at her Swayambara. The Hari Vana calls her Saudatt, daughter of ivi; and she is subsequently termed aivy by our text. Ngnajit or Saty, the next wife, was the daughter of Nagnajit, king of Kausla, and was the prize of Krishna's overcoming seven fierce bulls, whom no other hero had encountered with success. Bhadr, princess of Kekaya, also Krishna's cousin, the daughter of rutakrtti (p. 437), was his next: and his eighth wife was Mdr, the daughter of the king of Madra; named, according to the Bhgavata, Lakshan; and to the Hari V., Saubhm; distinguishing, as does our text, clearly Lakshman from Mdr, and like it having no satisfactory equivalent for Bhadr. The Hari Vana does not name Rohin, but specifies other names, as Vrihat, &c. In the life of Krishna, taken from the Bhgavata through a Persian translation, published by Maurice, there is a curious instance of the barbarous distortion of Sanscrit names by the joint labours of the English and Persian translators: the wives of Krishna are written, Rokemenee (Rukmin), Seteebhavani (Satyabhm), Jamoometee (Jmbavat), Kalenderee (Klind), Lechmeena (Lakshman), Soeta (Saty?), Bhedravatee (Bhadr), Mihrbenda (Mitravinda).
578:2 These, according to the Mahbhrata, p. 579 di P., were Apsarasas, or nymphs. In the Dna Dharma they become Krishna's wives through a boon given him by Um.
579:3 The Nishka is a weight of gold, but according to different authorities of very different amount. The commentator here terms it a weight of four Suvarnas, each about 175 grains troy.
580:4 The Bhgavata and Hari Vana, which both tell this story, agree in the death of Rukmin; but in the Mahbhrata he appears in the war, on the side of the Pandavas. The occurrence is a not very favourable picture of courtly manners; but scenes of violence have never been infrequent at the courts of Rajput princes.
