Kṛṣṇa Kidnaps Rukmiṇī
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When King Bhūṣmaka learned that Damaghoṣa and his party were arriving, he left the city to receive them. Outside the city gate there were many gardens where the guests were welcomed to stay. In the Vedic system of marriage, the bride's father receives the large party of the bridegroom and accomodates them in a suitable place for two or three days until the marriage ceremony is performed. The party led by Damaghoṣa contained thousands of men, among whom the prominent kings and personalities were Jarāsandha, Dantavakra, Vidūratha and Pauṇḍraka. It was an open secret that Rukmiṇī was meant to be married to Kṛṣṇa but that her elder brother, Rukmī, had arranged her marriage to Śiśupāla. There was also some whispering going on about a rumor that Rukmiṇī had sent a messenger to Kṛṣṇa; therefore the soldiers suspected that Kṛṣṇa might cause a disturbance by attempting to kidnap Rukmiṇī. Even though they were not without fear, they were all prepared to give Kṛṣṇa a nice fight in order to prevent the girl from being taken away. Śrī Balarāma received the news that Kṛṣṇa had left for Kuṇḍina accompanied only by a  brāhmaṇa ; He also heard that Śiśupāla was there with a large number of soldiers. Suspecting that they would attack Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma took strong military divisions of chariots, infantry, horses and elephants and arrived at the precinct of Kuṇḍina.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, Rukmiṇī was expecting Kṛṣṇa to arrive, but when neither He nor the  brāhmaṇa  who took her message appeared, she became full of anxiety and began to think how unfortunate she was. "There is only one night between today and my marriage day, and still neither the  brāhmaṇa  nor Śyāmasundara has returned. I cannot ascertain any reason for this." Having little hope, she thought perhaps Kṛṣṇa had found reason to become dissatisfied and had rejected her fair proposal. As a result, the  brāhmaṇa  might have become disappointed and not come back. Although she was thinking of various causes for the delay, she expected them both at every moment.
Rukmiṇī further began to think that demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the goddess Durgā might have been displeased. It is generally said that the demigods become angry when they are not properly worshiped. For instance, when Indra found that the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were not worshiping him (Kṛṣṇa having stopped the Indra-yajña), he became very angry and wanted to chastise them. Thus Rukmiṇī was thinking that since she did not worship Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā very much, they might have become angry and tried to frustrate her plan. Similarly she thought that the goddess Durgā, the wife of Lord Śiva, might have taken the side of her husband. Lord Śiva is known as Rudra,