Verse Text
yathā vā śrī-daśame–
tvaṁ nyasta-daṇḍamunibhir gaditānubhāva
ātmātmadaś ca jagatām iti me vṛto ’si |
hitvā bhavad-bhruva udīrita-kāla-vega-
dhvastāśiṣo ’bja-bhavanākapatīn kuto ’nye ||143||
Translation
From the Tenth Canto: Knowing that great sages who have renounced all attachments proclaim Your glories, that You are the Supreme Soul of all the worlds, and that You are so gracious that You give away even Your own self, I chose You as my husband, rejecting Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the rulers of heaven, whose aspirations are all frustrated by the force of time, which is born from Your eyebrows. What interest, then, could I have in any other suitors? SB 10.60.39
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
This is a response of Rukmiṇī to Kṛṣṇa’s statement in SB 10.60.16. You have said that you are praised only by beggars. But being praised by the beggar renunciates is most praiseworthy. That is explained in this verse by Rukmiṇī. Those who have become meek, renouncing the rod, are called bhikṣu. Your powers are praised by the bhikṣus. You are the soul of all beings, the most dear to all beings. Thus glorifying You is not useless. If you say that glorifying you is useless, that statement alone is useless. You give yourself (ātmada) to those in the universe who worship You. Knowing this, I have accepted You as my husband. You have said that I chose You out of ignorance. However, that statement shows that you do not know my knowledge. I have accepted you, rejecting Brahmā and others whose benedictions are destroyed by the force of time, which emanates from Your eyebrow—what to speak of rejecting the most inferior kings. You have said I am short-sighted. But you have said this, not knowing my foresight.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Rukmiṇī speaks this verse, exploring her own nature of “churning of the milk ocean to produce nectar.” Nyasta-daṇḍa (renouncing the staff) means “devoid of all material possessions and desires.” Rukmiṇī raises this example of detached sages in order to show that what she has concluded has also been concluded by great authorities previously. The dangers of association and desire are illustrated in verses such as saṅgāt saṁjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate. (BG 2.62)
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
In the Tenth Canto, Sixtieth Chapter, verse 39, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is an account of Rukmiṇīdevī’s writing a letter to Kṛṣṇa requesting Him to kidnap her before her marriage to another person. At that time the specific attachment of Rukmiṇī for Kṛṣṇa was expressed by Rukmiṇī as follows: “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, Your transcendental glories are chanted by great sages who are free from material contamination, and in exchange for such glorification You are so kind that You freely distribute Yourself to such devotees. As one can elevate oneself simply by Your grace, so also by Your direction alone one may be lost to all benedictions, under the influence of eternal time. Therefore I have selected Your Lordship as my husband, brushing aside personalities like Brahmā and Indra—not to mention others.” Rukmiṇī enhanced her love for Kṛṣṇa simply by thinking of Him. This is an instance of thoughtfulness in ecstatic love.