Krṣṇa Defeats All the Princes
365
sister Rukmiṇī, understanding that this time Krṣṇa would not excuse her brother, fell down at the lotus feet of Krṣṇa and in a very grievous tone, trembling with great fear, began to plead with her husband.
Rukmiṇī first addressed Krṣṇa as “Yogeśvara.” Yogeśvara means one who is possessed of inconceivable opulence and energy. Krṣṇa possesses inconceivable opulence and energy, whereas Rukmiṇī’s brother had only limited military potency. Krṣṇa is immeasurable, whereas her brother was measured in every step of his life. Therefore, Rukmī was not even comparable to an insignificant insect before the unlimited power of Krṣṇa. She also addressed Krṣṇa as the God of the gods. There are many powerful demigods, such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Indra, and Candra; Krṣṇa is the Lord of all these gods, whereas Rukmiṇī’s brother was not only an ordinary human being, but was, in fact, the lowest of all because he had no understanding of Krṣṇa. In other words, a human being who has no conception of the actual position of Krṣṇa is the lowest in human society. Rukmiṇī also addressed Krṣṇa as “Jagatpati,” the master of the whole cosmic manifestation. In comparison, her brother was only a ordinary prince.
In this way, Rukmiṇī compared the position of Rukmī to that of Krṣṇa and very feelingly pleaded with her husband not to kill her brother just before the auspicious time of her being united with Krṣṇa, but to excuse him. In other words, she displayed her real position as a woman. She was happy to get Krṣṇa as her husband just at the moment when her marriage to another was to be performed, but she did not want it to be at the loss of her elder brother, who, after all, loved his young sister and wanted to hand her over to one who was, according to his own calculations, a better man. While Rukmiṇī was praying to Krṣṇa for the life of her brother, her whole body trembled, and because of her anxiety, her face appeared to be dried up, her throat became choked, and, due to her trembling, the ornaments on her body loosened and fell scattered on the ground. Lord Krṣṇa immediately became compassionate and agreed not to kill the foolish Rukmī. But, at the same time, He wanted to give him some light punishment, so He tied him up with a piece of cloth and snipped at his moustache, beard and hair, keeping some spots here and there.
While Krṣṇa was dealing with Rukmī in this way, the soldiers of the Yadu dynasty, commanded by Balarāma Himself, broke the whole strength of Rukmī’s army just as an elephant in a tank discards the feeble stem of a lotus flower. In other words, as an elephant breaks the whole construction of a lotus flower while bathing in the reservoir of water, so the military