Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 20
The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Aftermath in Dvārakā
रामपत्न्यश्च तद्देहमुपगुह्याग्निमाविशन् । वसुदेवपत्न्यस्तद्गात्रं प्रद्युम्नादीन् हरे: स्नुषा: । कृष्णपत्न्योऽविशन्नग्निं रुक्मिण्याद्यास्तदात्मिका: ॥ २० ॥
rāma-patnyaś ca tad-deham upaguhyāgnim āviśan vasudeva-patnyas tad-gātraṁ pradyumnādīn hareḥ snuṣāḥ kṛṣṇa-patnyo ’viśann agniṁ rukmiṇy-ādyās tad-ātmikāḥ
Les épouses de Balarāma, étreignant Son corps, entrèrent dans le feu. Les épouses de Vasudeva entrèrent aussi dans son bûcher funéraire et s’attachèrent à ses membres. Les belles-filles de Hari, celles de Pradyumna et des autres, pénétrèrent dans les feux funéraires de leurs époux respectifs. Et Rukmiṇī ainsi que les autres épouses de Śrī Kṛṣṇa, dont le cœur était entièrement absorbé en Lui, entrèrent dans Son feu.
It is understood that the anguished scene described here is a display of the Lord’s illusory potency, adding a final dramatic note to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes on the earth. In reality, Lord Kṛṣṇa returned to His eternal abode in His original body, and His eternal associates returned with Him. This final heartbreaking scene of the Lord’s pastimes is a creation of the Lord’s internal potency that brings the Lord’s manifest pastimes to a perfect dramatic end.
FAQs
It states that Kṛṣṇa’s queens, headed by Rukmiṇī—whose lives were fully united with Him—entered the funeral fire, following His departure pastime.
Śukadeva describes their act as the traditional response of devoted wives at the time of their husbands’ passing—embracing the bodies and entering the fire—highlighting intense attachment and loyalty within the Yadu dynasty’s final events.
The verse underscores single-minded devotion and remembrance at life’s end, teaching seekers to cultivate deep inner dependence on the Lord and steady detachment from temporary worldly arrangements.