38
Krṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
say such things. Simple as she was, her anxiety was increasing more and more at the thought of separation from Krṣṇa.
Krṣṇa continued: “After all, you have to prepare yourself for your next life. I therefore advise that you select someone who can help you both in this life and the next life, for I am completely unable to help. My dear beautiful princess, you know that all the members of the princely order, including Śiśupāla, Śālva, Jarāsandha, Dantavakra and even your elder brother Rukmī, are all My enemies; they do not like Me at all. They hate Me from the core of their hearts. All these princes were very much puffed up with their worldly possessions, and they did not care a fig for anyone who came before them. In order to teach them some lessons, I agreed to kidnap you according to your desire; otherwise I actually have no love for you, although you loved Me even before the marriage.
“As I have already explained, I am not very much interested in family life or love between husband and wife. By nature, I am not very fond of family life, wife, children, home and opulences. As My devotees are always neglectful of all these worldly possessions, I am also like that. Actually, I am interested in self-realization; that gives Me pleasure, and not this family life.” After submitting His statement, Lord Krṣṇa suddenly stopped.
The great authority Śukadeva Gosvāmī remarks that Krṣṇa almost always passed His time with Rukmiṇī, and Rukmiṇī was a bit proud to be so fortunate that Krṣṇa never left her even for a moment. Krṣṇa, however, does not like any of His devotees to be proud. As soon as a devotee becomes so, by some tactic He cuts down that pride. In this case also, Krṣṇa said many things which were hard for Rukmiṇī to hear. She could only conclude that although she was proud of her position, Krṣṇa could be separated from her at any moment.
Rukmiṇī was conscious that her husband was not an ordinary human being. He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the three worlds. By the way He was speaking, she was afraid of being separated from the Lord, for she had never heard such harsh words from Krṣṇa before. Thus she became perplexed with fear of separation, and her heart began to palpitate. Without replying to a word of Krṣṇa’s statement, she simply cried in great anxiety, as if being drowned in an ocean of grief. She silently scratched the ground with the nails of her toes, which were reflecting reddish light on the ground. The tears from her eyes were pink, mixed with the black cosmetic ointment from her eyelids, and the waters were dropping down, washing the  kuṅkuma  and saffron from her breasts. Choked up on account of great anxiety, unable to speak even a word, she kept her head downward and remained standing just like a stick. Due to