Shloka 29
Chapter 90
आस्थितस्य परं धर्मं कृष्णस्य गृह-मेधिनाम् ।
आसन् षोडश-साहस्रं महिष्यश् च शताधिकम् ॥
āsthitasya paraṃ dharmaṃ kṛṣṇasya gṛha-medhinām / āsan ṣoḍaśa-sāhasraṃ mahiṣyaś ca śatādhikam //
గృహస్థుల పరమధర్మాన్ని సంపూర్ణంగా ఆచరిస్తూ శ్రీకృష్ణునికి పదహారు వేల రాణులు ఉండేవారు; అదనంగా వందకు మించిన (ప్రధాన) భార్యలూ ఉన్నారు.
This verse highlights a key Bhagavata theme: Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not bound by social roles, yet He perfectly exemplifies them for the upliftment of the world. As the ideal gṛhastha (householder), He demonstrates that dharma is not merely renunciation but right conduct aligned with divine purpose. The mention of “sixteen thousand” queens points to the well-known episode of Kṛṣṇa marrying the rescued princesses freed from Narakāsura—an act of protection, restoration of dignity, and social rehabilitation, not ordinary sense enjoyment. The additional “more than a hundred” refers to His principal queens in Dvārakā headed by Rukmiṇī and others. Bhagavatam thus teaches that Kṛṣṇa’s domestic life is līlā: it reveals His unlimited potency (being present with each queen) and His compassion (accepting social responsibility for those who had been dishonored by captivity). For devotees, the takeaway is that true dharma culminates in pleasing the Lord—whether one is a renunciate or a householder—and that Kṛṣṇa’s actions, though seemingly worldly, are always transcendental and instructive.
FAQs
This verse summarizes that Kṛṣṇa accepted sixteen thousand queens as part of His dharma—especially after rescuing them—showing compassion, protection, and responsibility rather than ordinary worldly enjoyment.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this verse while narrating Kṛṣṇa’s Dvārakā pastimes to King Parīkṣit.
Even within family life, one can uphold higher dharma—responsibility, purity, and devotion—by aligning duties with service to God rather than selfish desire.