53 / Kṛṣṇa Defeats All the Princes and Takes Rukmiṇī Home to Dvārakā
All the princes led by Jarāsandha became very angry at Kṛṣṇa’s kidnapping Rukmiṇī. Struck by the beauty of Rukmiṇī, they had fallen from the backs of their horses and elephants, but now they began to stand up and properly arm themselves. Picking up their bows and arrows, they began to chase Kṛṣṇa on their chariots, horses and elephants. To check their progress, the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty turned and faced them. Thus terrible fighting between the two belligerant groups began. The princes opposing Kṛṣṇa were led by Jarāsandha, and they were all very expert in fighting. They began to shoot their arrows at the soldiers of Yadu just as a cloud splashes the face of a mountain with torrents of rain. Gathered on the face of a mountain, a cloud does not move very much, and therefore the force of rain is much more severe on a mountain than it is anywhere else.
The opposing princes were determined to defeat Kṛṣṇa and recapture Rukmiṇī from His custody, and they fought with Him as severely as possible. Rukmiṇī, seated by the side of Kṛṣṇa, saw arrows raining from the opposing party onto the faces of the soldiers of Yadu. In a fearful attitude, she began to look on the face of Kṛṣṇa, expressing her gratefulness that He had taken such a great risk for her sake only. Her eyes moving, she appeared to be very sorry, and Kṛṣṇa could immediately understand her mind. He encouraged her with these words: “My dear Rukmiṇī, don’t worry. Please rest assured that the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty will kill all the opposing soldiers without delay.”
As Kṛṣṇa was speaking with Rukmiṇī, the commanders of the Yadu dynasty’s soldiers, headed by Lord Balarāma, who is also known as Saṅkarṣaṇa, as well as by Gadadhara, not tolerating the defiant attitude of the opposing soldiers, began to strike their horses, elephants, and chariots with arrows. As the fighting progressed, the princes and soldiers of the enemy
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