Devanagari
तां रूपिणीं श्रियमनन्यगतिं निरीक्ष्य
या लीलया धृततनोरनुरूपरूपा ।
प्रीत: स्मयन्नलककुण्डलनिष्ककण्ठ-
वक्त्रोल्लसत्स्मितसुधां हरिराबभाषे ॥ ९ ॥
Verse text
tāṁ rūpiṇīṁ śrīyam ananya-gatiṁ nirīkṣya
yā līlayā dhṛta-tanor anurūpa-rūpā
prītaḥ smayann alaka-kuṇḍala-niṣka-kaṇṭha-
vaktrollasat-smita-sudhāṁ harir ābabhāṣe
Synonyms
tām
—
her
;
rūpiṇīm
—
appearing in person
;
śrīyam
—
the goddess of fortune
;
ananya
—
having no other
;
gatim
—
goal
;
nirīkṣya
—
seeing
;
yā
—
she who
;
līlayā
—
as His pastime
;
dhṛta
—
of Him who assumes
;
tanoḥ
—
bodies
;
anurūpa
—
corresponding
;
rūpā
—
whose forms
;
prītaḥ
—
pleased
;
smayan
—
smiling
;
alaka
—
with locks of hair
;
kuṇḍala
—
earrings
;
niṣka
—
neck ornament
;
kaṇṭha
—
on her throat
;
vaktra
—
face
;
ullasat
—
bright and happy
;
smita
—
smile
;
sudhām
—
nectar
;
hariḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa
;
ābabhāṣe
—
spoke .
Translation
As He contemplated her, the goddess of fortune herself, who desires only Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa smiled. The Lord assumes various forms to enact His pastimes, and He was pleased that the form the goddess of fortune had assumed was just suitable for her to serve as His consort. Her charming face was adorned with curling hair, earrings, a locket on her neck, and the nectar of her bright, happy smile. The Lord then spoke to her as follows.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As He contemplated her, the goddess of fortune herself, who desires only Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa smiled. The Lord assumes various forms to enact His pastimes, and He was pleased that the form the goddess of fortune had assumed was just suitable for her to serve as His consort. Her charming face was adorned with curling hair, earrings, a locket on her neck, and the nectar of her bright, happy smile. The Lord then spoke to Her as follows.
KB 10.60.9
When we take account of her beautiful face, it appears that the curling hair on her head, the beautiful earrings on her ears, her smiling mouth and her necklace of gold all combined to shower rains of nectar, and thus it was definitely proved that Rukmiṇī was none other than the original goddess of fortune, who is always engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Nārāyaṇa.
The pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī in Dvārakā are accepted by great authorities as manifestations of those of Nārāyaṇa and Lakṣmī, which are of an exalted opulence. The pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana are simple and rural, distinguished from the polished urban characteristics of those of Dvārakā. The characteristics of Rukmiṇī were unusually bright, and Kṛṣṇa was very much satisfied with her behavior.
Kṛṣṇa had experienced that when Rukmiṇī was offered a pārijāta flower by Nārada Muni, Satyabhāmā had become envious of her co-wife and had immediately demanded a similar flower from Kṛṣṇa. In fact, she could not be pacified until she was promised the whole tree. And Kṛṣṇa actually fulfilled His promise: He brought the tree down to the earth planet from the heavenly kingdom. After this episode, Kṛṣṇa expected that because Satyabhāmā had been rewarded with a full tree of pārijāta, Rukmiṇī would also demand something. Rukmiṇī did not mention anything of the incident, however, for she was grave and simply satisfied in her service. Kṛṣṇa wanted to see her a bit irritated, and therefore He schemed to see the beautiful face of Rukmiṇī in an irritated condition. Although Kṛṣṇa had more than 16,100 wives, He used to behave with each of them with familial affection; He would create a particular situation between Himself and His wife in which the wife would criticize Him in the irritation of love, and Kṛṣṇa would enjoy this. In this case, because Kṛṣṇa could not find any fault with Rukmiṇī, for she was very grave and always engaged in His service, He smilingly, in great love, began to speak to her just to provoke her loving anger.
Purport
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has quoted an interesting verse, spoken by Śrī Parāśara in the
Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
devatve deva-deheyaṁ
manuṣyatve ca mānuṣī
viṣṇor dehānurūpāṁ vai
karoty eṣātmanas tanum
“When the Lord appears as a demigod, she [the goddess of fortune] takes the form of a demigoddess, and when He appears as a human being, she takes a humanlike form. Thus the body she assumes matches the one Lord Viṣṇu takes.”
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī adds that as Lord Kṛṣṇa is even more beautiful than the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s consort Rukmiṇī-devī is even more attractive than the goddess of fortune in the Vaikuṇṭha world.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Seeing her, with beauty greater than that of Laksmi in Vaikuntha, Krsna spoke.
The reason is given: she had assumed a form corresponding to the form of the Lord for pastimes. Parasara has said, "When the Lord assumes the form of a deva, Laksmi assumes a devi form, and when he assumes a human form, she also assumes a human form. She will assume a form suitable to the form that the Lord assumes." As Krsna is more beautiful than the lord of Vaikuntha, so Rukmini is more beautiful than Laksmi. Krsna smiled slightly, thinking, "It is proper that Rukmini has assumed a form appropriate to my form. I will now joke with her, and hear what she will say." She had a sweet smile on her face which illuminated the directions, being decorated with curling locks of hair, earrings and throat ornaments.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Rukmiṇī (rūpinīm) had beauty and qualities superior to Lakṣmī and others in Vaikuṇṭha. The ending on the word (rūp--inīm) indicates praise. The reason for her beauty is explained. She had a form suitable for his form that he uses in his pastimes. It is said of Kṛṣṇa:
yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagarddheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam
Kṛṣṇa possesses that form suitable for human pastimes to show the full capacity of his yoga-māyā. That form astonishes even the lord of Vaikuṇṭha. It is the pinnacle of auspicious qualities and enhances the beauty of his ornaments. SB 3.2.12
Similarly she appeared with the most exceptional beauty among all the Lord’s consorts. He was pleased with her with intense emotions (prītaḥ). He smiled because of her joking words and since she was dedicated only to him (ananya-gatim), spoke to her with special play on words (ā-babhāṣe), because he steals the composure of his dear devotees by his jokes (hariḥ). Or, he spoke so that every word she lamented (ā—babhāṣe). He should not have spoken in that way since such words were unsuitable for her.