Wives of Krishna – Story Behind 16108 Wives of Lord Krishna

Wives of Krishna

The Story about the 16108 Wives of Krishna

Generally, people wonder about How many wives did Lord Krishna have. According to various sources of Krishna stories raging from 300 BCE to 1300 BCE, Lord Krishna, who is an avatar of Lord Vishnu, had eight principle wives, also referred as (The Asha-Bharyas or Ashtabharya). The eight principle wives are Rukmini of Vidarbha, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Bhadra of Kekeya, Mitravinda of Avanti, Satya of Kosala and Lakshmana of Madra.

Lord Krishna also had 16100 junior wives.  The story of the junior Wives of Krishna is like this. Actually, Narakasura, the asura king had enslaved 16,100 women from all over the world, including nymphs, kings, princesses, and goddesses. ‘Where will we go? Narakasura insulted our decency and tarnished our reputation’, they cried after Krishna killed Narakasura and freed the women. Their families never welcome them and that is the reason Lord Krishna married them. ‘

Krishna primarily marries them all to protect their honour by elevating them to the status of junior queens. ‘As the Wives of Krishna, you will live with me in Dwaraka with honour and integrity.’

‘How would Krishna meet the requirements of 16,108 junior wives and eight senior wives?’ wondered Narada, the celestial sage. As a result, he intended to travel to Dwaraka. During His visit to Dwaraka, Narada discovered 16,108 beautiful palaces in the city of Dwaraka. Lord Krishna was everywhere. He discovered a queen in the castle. Krishna was dice-rolling with some queens and swinging with others. In some palaces, he ate bread, while in others, he bathed. With some queens, he was discussing children, and with others, he was discussing state affairs. Narada was reminded once more that Krishna was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who is omnipresent, when he found Krishna in different locations simultaneously, fulfilling the needs of all his wives.

Arguments go that this is not possible and completely metaphorical, but then all of mythology is metaphorical, a set of symbols communicating complex psychological ideas, even the idea of Krishna itself.

The Harivamsa gives different names for some of the wives of Krishna than the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana.

When glimpsing into Lord Krishna’s personal life, it is known that He was highly respectful towards women. His nobility is exemplified by his marriages with the goddesses Rukmini and Mitravinda. Lord Krishna had commandeered them from Swayamvara, a common practice of selecting a spouse from among a variety of bridegrooms while honouring their wishes.

Names of the 8 Primary Wives of Krishna

Rukmini, Lord Krishna’s first wife and Vidarbha’s princess

When we are looking at the primary Wives of Krishna, Rukmini is the first wife. Goddess Laxmi’s most beautiful incarnation and Lord  Krishna’s very first wife. She was the head-queen, and therefore the most significant individual in Krishna’s eyes. Vidarbha’s King Bhishma had a daughter named Rukmini. Lord Krishna’s brother Rukmini was adamantly reluctant to her marrying him. They were forced to flee and marry in the end. They had ten sons as a result of their marriage.

Queen Satyabhama (Satrajit’s daughter) 

Krishna returned the jewel to Satrajit, who was relieved to receive it after learning the fundamental facts about the circumstances. He expressed regret for accusing Krishna of murder. Satrajit thus gave Krishna his daughter Satyabhama’s hand in marriage. “You may have been raised by cowherds, but your deeds are princely. I would like to see you as my son-in-law.”

Jambavati: Jambava’s daughter 

Jambavati was Jamvant Ji’s daughter. Lord Krishna was accused of stealing Mani, a valuable stone. To disprove the argument, he began searching for the gem. Then he discovered that the man was with one of his previous birth’s devotees, Jamvant. Jamvant unrecognized Lord Krishna for someone else and fought with him in disguise. During the brawl, incarnated as Lord Rama, and on this account, Jamvant returned the mani while also announcing his daughter’s official marriage to Lord Rama as Jamvanti (Lord Krishna).

Queen Kalindi (river nymph) 

Once upon a time, Krishna and Arjuna were hunting and resting along the Yamuna’s coast. They came across a young girl walking along the riverbanks, and Krishna asks Arjuna to find out her identity. ‘I am the daughter of the Sun god, the river nymph Yamuna, also known as Kalindi,’ she stated. I have been heartbroken since Krishna left Vraja. I have been searching for Krishna all over the world. I can’t imagine my life without him.’ Krishna was unable to refuse the woman who had accompanied him to Dwaraka. So, after Rukmini, Jambavati, and Satyabhama, he married Kalindi for the fourth time.

Bhadra of Kekaya is also one of the eight Wives

Shutakirti, Vasudev’s sister, had married Kekaya’s king and had a daughter named Bhadra. Shutakirti wanted her daughter to marry Krishna, and she got her to wish. Kekaya’s king consented to the marriage. Bharda was actually His cousin.

Mitravinda, the Princess of Ujjain

She was Lord Krishna’s sixth wife. Vind and Anuvind, the illustrious kings of Ujjain, had a sister. Duryodhana was worshipped by both of them. The Swayamvara planned her wedding; she wanted to marry Lord Krishna, but Vind and Anuvind wouldn’t allow her for marriage. Lord Krishna then snatched Mitravinda from Swayamvara’s clutches.

Nagrajiti, Kosala’s Princess

Nagrajiti, also known as Satya. Nagrajiti was King Nagrajit’s daughter. For her daughter’s wedding, King Nagrajit arranged an arduous Swayamvara. He already knew that Lord Krishna was the only one who could do it. The condition for defeating Swayamvara was unusual and difficult: the person who could control seven furious oxen in his dominion could marry his daughter, Satya. Lord Krishna achieved his goal by winning the Swayamvara and marrying Satya.

Madra’s Lakshmana 

The reward for Brihatsena of Madra’s archery competition was his daughter Lakshmana’s hand in marriage. While standing on the pans of a scale, the competitors had to shoot the eye of a fish attached to a spinning wheel suspended from the ceiling by looking at its reflection in an oil vessel mounted on the floor. Krishna stood on the scale, raised his bow, bowed his head, saw the fish’s reflection in the oil, and shot the fish’s eye with ease, thus winning Lakshmana’s hand and becoming his eighth and final wife.

Radha and Krishna

Then we know about Radha, who has no mention in early Puranas, but has a lot of reference in folk literature and later Puranas. Radha has been referred to as His true cosmic wife, even though She never marries Him on earth.

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