ACK-016: Krishna and Rukmini; & ACK-017: Manduka- The Lucky Astrolger

In Hinduism, Rukmini (other names: Ruciranana, Vaidarbhi) is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request* (described in the Bhagavata Purana). Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent. Rukmini is also considered to be an avatar of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune.

The first son of Queen Rukmini was Pradyumna, and also born of her were Charudeshna, Sudesna and the powerful Charudeha, along with Sucharu, Charugupta, Bhadracharu, Charuchandra, Vicharu and Charu, the tenth (SB 10.61.8-9). Of them, Pradyumna was the crown prince of Dwaraka.

*Message of Rukmini¹

O the infallible and the most handsome One! Having heard Your qualities, which enter through the path of ears and absolve away the pains of life, and having heard about Your handsome appearance, which is the only asset of the eyes of living beings with eyes, my heart is accepting You as a consort leaving behind shyness.||1||

O Mukunda, the lion (best) among men! Given a chance, which composed girl from a good lineage will not wish for You as a consort; You, Who is the happiness of the minds of people, Who is the happiness of the world, and Who is incomparable from any viewpoint — be it lineage, nature, beauty, knowledge, energy, wealth, or abode.||2||

Therefore, O Lord! I have indeed accepted You as a consort and I have submitted myself to You. O lotus-eyed Krishna! Please arrive here [and accept me]; so that the prince of Cedi (Sisupala) does not takes away the property of brave You — just like a jackal should not take away the prey of a lion.||3||

If I have revered the all pervading Paramatman by social welfares (digging wells), oblations, obeying rules, penance, and serving demi-gods, saints, and preceptor, then O Gadagraja (Krishna)! You accept me after holding my hand — instead of anyone else like the son of Damaghosa (Sisupala).||4||

O Lord, Who is unconquered! Arrive secretly in Vidarbha one day before my marriage. Then after defeating all the army-commanders from the regions of Cedi and Magadha (Sisupala and Jarasandha), marry me with the ways of demons by showing Your valor and conquering power.||5||

If You are wondering that how will you conquer me without killing the women and relatives inside my palace, then I am telling You a way out. As per an old tradition, there is a grand fair before the marriage, during which the bride goes out to the temple of Girija for prayers.||6||

O lotus-eyed Krishna! If I don’t achieve the dust of Your feet, which is sought after by incomparable Ones like Umapati (Siva), then I will destroy my life. If the service of Your feet is not achieved in this life, then I will take hundreds of birth and do penance; I am sure I will achieve Your lotus feet some day.||7||

Notes:

¹This letter was sent to Krishna by Rukmini. It is a beautiful eulogy in which love for the divine is evident. The letter was carried by a Brahman, who was a trustee of Rukmini. The eulogy appears in tenth-book and fifty-second chapter of the Bhagavat Purana.

(Source:Bhagavat Purana)

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Many many thanks to “Ajnaabi” for providing ACK scan.

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An out of print ACK

Kathasaritsagara is a famous 11th century AD collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales by Somadeva. It means in Sanskrit The ocean of the streams of stories.

It consists of 18 books of 124 chapters and more than 21,000 verses in addition to prose sections. The principle tale is the narrative of the adventures of Naravahanadatta, son of the legendary king Udayana. A large number of tales are built into this central story to make it the largest collection of Indian tales.

Not much is know about him except that his father's name was Rama and he composed his work (probably during the years 1063-81 AD) for the entertainment of the queen Suryamati, a princess of Jalandhara and wife of King Ananta of Kashmir. The queen it is said was quite distressed as it as time when the political situation was 'one of discontent, intrigue, bloodshed and despair'.

Though he was a Shaiva Brahmin, he was respectful of Buddhism and some of the tales in the Kathasaritsagara show Buddhist influences.

Somadeva, its author, is said to have included in this tome many stories which he had heard from others and which, in fact, had their origin in folk-literature. The Kathasaritsagara, which may justly be called a treasure of folk tales, has had considerable influence on countries which were in close touch with India during the Middle Ages. The Katha-sarit-sagara claims to be a mainly based on Gunadhya's Brhat-katha written in Paisachi dialect from the south of India. But the Kashmirian Brhat-katha from which Somadeva used material maybe quite different from the Paisachi one as there exist two versions of the Brhat-katha in Kashmir, in addition to Brhatkatha-sloka-samgraha of Buddhasvamin from Nepal. Like the Panchatantra, tales from this (or its main source book Brhat-katha) travelled to many parts of the world.

"Although its dates have not been conclusively established, the Kathasaritsagara is said to have been compiled b a Kashmiri Saivite Brahmin called Somadeva in AD 1070. Legend has it that Somadeva composed the Kathasaritsagara for queen Suryavati wife of King Anantadeva who ruled Kashmir in the eleventh century. The stories in this book are retold from ten of the eighteen books of the original Kathasaritsagara. The main narrative, or frame story, deals with the adventures of Naravahanadatta. The most remarkable feature of the Kathasaritsagara is that unlike other classics of the time, it offers no moral conclusions, no principles to live by and is throughout a celebration of earthly life...it is also an exhilarating anthology of stories. Thus we have promiscuous married women and clever courtesans; imbecile Brahmins and incompetent kings; and men and women who are cursed and granted boons and experience exciting adventures..."

R.K.Lakxman

Enjoy this ACK which is based on two stories from Kathasaritsagara.

Many many thanks to “Ajay Misra” for providing rare ACK scan.