Krsna Defeats All the Princes 365

sister Rukmini, understanding that this time Krsna would not excuse her
brother, fell down at the lotus feet of Krsna and in a very grievous tone,
trembling with great fear, began to plead with her husband.

Rukmini first addressed Krsna as “Yogesvara.”” YogeSvara means one
who is possessed of inconceivable opulence and energy. Krsna possesses
inconceivable opulence and energy, whereas Rukmini’s brother had only
limited military potency. Krsna is immeasurable, whereas her brother was
measured in every step of his life. Therefore, Rukmi was not even com-
parable to an insignificant insect before the unlimited power of Krsna. She
also addressed Krsna as the God of the gods. There are many powerful
demigods, such as Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Indra, and Candra; Krsna is
the Lord of all these gods, whereas Rukmin?’s brother was not only an
ordinary human being, but was, in fact, the lowest of all because he had
no understanding of Krsna. In other words, a human being who has no
conception of the actual position of Krsna is the lowest in human society.
Rukmini also addressed Krsna as “Jagatpati,” the master of the whole
cosmic manifestation. In comparison, her brother was only a ordinary
prince.

In this way, Rukmini compared the position of Rukmi to that of
Krsna and very feelingly pleaded with her husband not to kill her brother
just before the auspicious time of her being united with Krsna, but to
excuse him. In other words, she displayed her real position as a woman.
She was happy to get Krsna 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 calcula-
tions, a better man. While Rukmini was praying to Krsna 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 Krsna immediately became compassionate and agreed not to
kill the foolish Rukmi. 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 Krsna was dealing with Rukmi in this way, the soldiers of the
Yadu dynasty, commanded by Balarama Himself, broke the whole strength
of Rukmi’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
