SB 10.53.25 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

दुर्भगाया न मे धाता नानुकूलो महेश्वर: देवी वा विमुखी गौरी रुद्राणी गिरिजा सती ॥ २५ ॥

Verse text

durbhagāyā na me dhātā nānukūlo maheśvaraḥ devī vā vimukhī gaurī rudrāṇī girijā satī

Synonyms

durbhagāyāḥ — who is unfortunate ; na — not ; me — with me ; dhātā — the creator (Lord Brahmā) ; na — not ; anukūlaḥ — favorably disposed ; mahā — īśvaraḥ — the great Lord Śiva ; devī — the goddess (his consort) ; vā — or ; vimukhī — turned against ; gaurī — Gaurī ; rudrāṇī — the wife of Rudra ; giri — jā — the adopted daughter of the Himālayan mountain range ; satī — Satī, who, in her previous life as the daughter of Dakṣa, chose to give up her body .

Translation

I am extremely unfortunate, for the creator is not favorably disposed toward me, nor is the great Lord Śiva. Or perhaps Śiva’s wife, Devī, who is known as Gaurī, Rudrāṇī, Girijā and Satī, has turned against me.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

I am extremely unfortunate, for the creator is not favorably disposed toward me, nor is the great Lord Śiva. Or perhaps Śiva's wife, Devī, who is known as Gaurī, Rudrāṇī, Girijā and Satī, has turned against me. KB 10.53.25 Rukmiṇī further thought that demigods such as Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Goddess Durgā might have been displeased. It is generally said that the demigods become angry when not properly worshiped. For instance, when Indra found that the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana were not worshiping him (Kṛṣṇa having stopped the Indra-yajṣa), he became angry and wanted to chastise them. Thus Rukmiṇī thought that since she did not worship Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā very much, they might have become angry and tried to frustrate her plan. Similarly she thought that Goddess Durgā, the wife of Lord Śiva, might have taken the side of her husband. Lord Śiva is known as Rudra, and his wife is known as Rudrāṇī. Rudrāṇī and Rudra refer to those who are accustomed to putting others in distress to cry forever. Rukmiṇī was thinking of Goddess Durgā as Girijā, the daughter of the Himalaya Mountains. The Himalaya Mountains are very cold and hard, and she thought of Goddess Durgā as hardhearted and cold. In her anxiety to see Kṛṣṇa, Rukmiṇī, who was after all still a child, thought this way about the different demigods. The gopīs worshiped goddess Kātyāyanī to get Kṛṣṇa as their husband; similarly Rukmiṇī was thinking of the various types of demigods not for material benefit but in respect to Kṛṣṇa. Praying to the demigods to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa is not irregular, and Rukmiṇī was fully absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that Rukmiṇī might have thought, “Even if Kṛṣṇa wanted to come, He might have been stopped on the path by the creator, Brahmā, who is not favorably inclined toward me. But why should he be unfavorable? Perhaps it is Maheśvara, Lord Śiva, whom on some occasion I did not properly worship and who thus became angry with me. But he is Maheśvara, the great controller, so why would he be angry with such an insignificant and foolish girl as me? “Perhaps it is Śiva’s wife, Gaurīdevī, who is displeased, though I worship her every day. Alas, alas, how have I offended her so that she has turned against me? But after all, she is Rudrāṇī, the wife of Rudra, and her very name means ‘one who makes everyone cry.’ So perhaps she and Śiva want me to cry. But seeing that I am so miserable, about to give up my life, why don’t they soften their attitude? The reason must be that Goddess Devī is Girijā, an adopted daughter, so why should she be soft-hearted? In her incarnation as Satī she gave up her body, so perhaps she now wants me to give up my body also.” Thus the ācārya, with realized poetic sensitivity, interprets the various names used in this verse.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse Rukmini speaks with great anxiety again. The creator is not favorable to me, for he has created some obstacle on Krsna’s path. Why he is displeased with me I cannot understand. Siva is angered perhaps by not receiving my worship sometime. But since his full of such great powers, he would not become angry with an insignificant girl like me. Though I worship her daily, Durga devi has rejected me. What offense have I done to her that she would reject me? Is this perhaps her very nature? She is the wife of Rudra (Rudrani). Rudra makes people cry. So perhaps she too is making me cry. Seeing my suffering, even to the extent that I will give up my life, why does her heart not melt? There must some fault in her heritage. Being the daughter of a mountain (girija), how could her heart melt, being so stone-like? She will make me give up my body I am certain, just as she gave up her body in her previous life (Sati).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

She thinks of another cause of her misfortune, not considering that the faultless Lord sees faults in her. Though I have worshipped Brahmā and Śiva, they do not favor me. But one should receive good fortune from worshipping Brahmā and Śiva. She then thinks of another reason. Though Durgā is our family deity, she does not favor me since I have not worshipped her properly. Because she is so indifferent, Brahmā and Śiva are also unfavorable to me. She thinks of another cause, since Durgā is dependent on her husband. Though dependent on Śiva (rudrāṇi), she was born again (girijāḥ). First she was born as Satī, the daughter of Dakṣa, and later as Girijā, from the Himalayas. Hearing her husband was insulted, she gave up her life. It is suitable that I give up my life on not attaining Kṛṣṇa. Another version has giriśa: one who did austerities of sleeping on a mountain. She then began weeping profusely. This is understood from the next verse.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

I am most unfortunate because the Lord and Śiva do not favor me. They have the power to remove obstacles. Devī is our family deity. She is golden but previously was black. By undergoing great austerities, she became golden. She is fully devoted to Śiva. Or as Rudrāṇī she is pure, devoid of faults like hardness. She knows the pain that a girl undergoes to obtain a husband. She had two births. She was born from the mountain (girijā). Another version has girīśā. Being similar to Śiva, she is affectionate to the devotees. As Satī she has all good qualities. She cried profusely since later it is said aśru-kalākule.