Skip to main content

ŚB 10.52.18

Devanagari

श्रीराजोवाच
भगवान् भीष्मकसुतां रुक्‍मिणीं रुचिराननाम् ।
राक्षसेन विधानेन उपयेम इति श्रुतम् ॥ १८ ॥

Text

śrī-rājovāca
bhagavān bhīṣmaka-sutāṁ
rukmiṇīṁ rucirānanām
rākṣasena vidhānena
upayema iti śrutam

Synonyms

śrī-rājā uvāca — the King (Parīkṣit Mahārāja) said; bhagavān — the Supreme Lord; bhīṣmaka-sutām — the daughter of Bhīṣmaka; rukmiṇīm — Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī; rucira — charming; ānanām — whose face; rākṣasena — called Rākṣasa; vidhānena — by the method (namely, by kidnapping); upayeme — He married; iti — thus; śrutam — heard.

Translation

King Parīkṣit said: The Supreme Lord married Rukmiṇī, the beautiful-faced daughter of Bhīṣmaka, in the Rākṣasa style — or so I have heard.

Purport

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī quotes the following smṛti statement: rākṣaso yuddha-haraṇāt. “A Rākṣasa marriage takes place when the bride is stolen from one’s rival suitors by force.” Similarly, Śukadeva Gosvāmī himself has already said, rājñaḥ pramathya: Kṛṣṇa had to beat down opposing kings to take Rukmiṇī.