Shloka 5
Chapter 90
रेमे षोडश-साहस्र-पत्नीनां एक-वल्लभः । तावद् विचित्र-रूपो 'सौ तद्-गेहेषु महर्द्धिषु ॥
reme ṣoḍaśa-sāhasra- patnīnāṃ eka-vallabhaḥ / tāvad vicitra-rūpo 'sau tad-geheṣu maharddhiṣu //
പതിനാറായിരം രാജ്ഞിമാരുടെ ഏകപ്രിയനായ ഭഗവാൻ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണൻ ഓരോരുത്തിയോടും രമിച്ചു. തന്റെ അത്ഭുത വിപുലീകരണങ്ങളാൽ അവൻ ഒരേ സമയം അവരുടെ മഹാസമ്പന്ന കൊട്ടാരങ്ങളിൽ സന്നിഹിതനായിരുന്നു।
This verse reveals two complementary truths about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Dvārakā-līlā. First, His intimate reciprocity: though He is the Supreme Lord, He becomes the exclusive, attentive beloved of each queen, fully responding to her devotion and love. Second, His inconceivable potency (acintya-śakti): Kṛṣṇa expands into many identical forms without diminishing His fullness, enabling Him to be personally present with every queen at once. The Bhāgavatam uses this scene to teach that the Lord is not limited by material time or space. What appears impossible to ordinary beings becomes natural for Bhagavān. Devotionally, the message is deeply reassuring: the Supreme does not offer a “shared” or distant relationship—He can be fully available to each devotee according to their surrender. The queens’ palaces symbolize purified hearts; when devotion is mature, the Lord resides there as the most cherished companion. Thus, the verse is not merely a report of royal splendor; it is a theological statement about Kṛṣṇa’s personal nature, His unlimited forms, and His capacity to reciprocate uniquely with every soul.
FAQs
By His inconceivable divine potency, Kṛṣṇa expanded into many identical forms (vicitra-rūpa) and was simultaneously present in each queen’s palace, fully reciprocating with each.
It means “the exclusive beloved”—Kṛṣṇa was uniquely the cherished husband of each queen, not merely one husband shared in a mundane sense.
The Lord can personally guide and reciprocate with every devotee; sincere bhakti is never lost in a crowd—Kṛṣṇa can be fully present in each heart.