Srimad Bhagavatam — Dashama Skandha, Shloka 57
Kṛṣṇa Teases Rukmiṇī; Her Devotional Reply and the Lord’s Assurance
दूतस्त्वयात्मलभने सुविविक्तमन्त्र: प्रस्थापितो मयि चिरायति शून्यमेतत् । मत्वा जिहास इदमङ्गमनन्ययोग्यं तिष्ठेत तत्त्वयि वयं प्रतिनन्दयाम: ॥ ५७ ॥
dūtas tvayātma-labhane su-vivikta-mantraḥ prasthāpito mayi cirāyati śūnyam etat matvā jihāsa idaṁ aṅgam ananya-yogyaṁ tiṣṭheta tat tvayi vayaṁ pratinandayāmaḥ
ஆத்மலாபத்திற்காக நீ மிக ரகசியமான திட்டத்துடன் தூதனை அனுப்பினாய்; நான் தாமதித்ததால் நீ உலகை வெறுமையென எண்ணி, என்னைத் தவிர வேறு யாருக்கும் உரியதல்லாத இந்த உடலை விட்டு விட எண்ணினாய். உன் இந்த மகத்தான பக்தி என்றும் நிலைத்திருக்கட்டும்; நான் மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் உன் பக்திக்கு நன்றி கூறுவதே பதிலாகும்.
Śrīmatī Rukmiṇī-devī had no intention whatsoever of accepting any other husband but Lord Kṛṣṇa, as she stated in her message to the Lord ( Bhāg. 10.52.43 ): yarhy ambujākṣa na labheya bhavat-prasādaṁ / jahyām asūn vrata-kṛśān śata-janmabhiḥ syāt. “If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.” The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam firmly establishes the unique glories of Queen Rukmiṇī-devī.
FAQs
This verse shows Rukmiṇī’s intense viraha-bhakti: without Kṛṣṇa’s response she experiences emptiness, and her body itself feels meaningful only for Him—expressing exclusive, one-pointed devotion.
Believing Kṛṣṇa had rejected her and that her messenger had not returned, she felt her body had no purpose apart from serving Kṛṣṇa; this reveals her ananya-bhakti—exclusive belonging to Him alone.
Cultivate single-hearted devotion: let your choices, relationships, and identity align with service to Kṛṣṇa, and when feeling “emptiness,” turn it into prayerful remembrance rather than despair.