Krishna and his 16108 wives

Contents:-

1) Whole story in a nutshell

2)Vivid Scriptural Descriptions

3) Krishna don't have a material body like us evidence from scriptures

4)Evidence from scriptures that Krishna is God 

5) True identity of those queens

6) Mystical interpretation of those 16,000 queens of Lord Krishna as per scriptures

7) Debunking the claims that Krishna didn't have 16000 wives as per Mahabharata 

[Whole story in a nutshell]

Shri Krishna had 16,108 wives, of these wives 8 were principal they are as follows:-

Rukmani, Satyabhāmā, Jāmbavatī, Nāgnajitī, Kālindī, Mādrā, Mitravindā, Bhadrā.

The story of Sri Krishna having 16,100 wives comes from Srimad Bhagvad Mahapurana. There, it is mentioned that Narakasura had kept 16,100 women as captives with him.

Sri Krishna releases them from his bondage by killing him, and then offers to escort them back to their home. They say to Sri Krishna that nobody in the society will marry them, and their parents will reject them. So they propose to marry him. Krishna accepts their proposal and makes as many forms of him, i.e., 16,100, to spend with each wife. Club this with the repeated assertion in Gita that Sri Krishna is devoid of any asakti or kaamna or lust. Whatever he does, he does for fulfilling legitimate desires of his devotees. Which is why, actions don’t bind him.

Scriptural Descriptions:-

#Note:- As per Bhagavatam Krishna was indeed married to the 16,000 rescued maidens. Saints reconciling the Narakasura account as mentioned in the Vishnu Purana give the number as 16,100.

Shrimad Bhagavatam after killing Narakasura Krishna saw sixteen thousand maidens who were kidnapped and imprisoned by Narakasura:

tatra rājanya-kanyānāṁ ṣaṭ-sahasrādhikāyutam

bhaumāhṛtānāṁ vikramya rājabhyo dadṛśe hariḥ [SB - 10.59.33]

These verses beautifully described by Sri Jiva Goswami as well in his Laghu Vaishnava Toshani 👇

Anyone can ask what's the need for him to marry those queens, he simply gave them shelters in Dvaraka ? 

Answer:- It was the queens wanted Krishna as their husban to serve him like a wife.

Sri Krsna says that He reveals Himself to all who surrender unto Him, exactly in accordance with the essential nature of their sur­render (Gita 4.11).

Once Nārada out of the curiosity "How with a single body Krishna married sixteen thousand maidens simultaneously at separate places" went Dvaraka to witness the daily activities of Krishna himself. There Narada found that through His mystic power (yoga māyā) Krishna was simultaneously present in the palaces of each queen and busy in different household activities.Thus he went to Dvārakā. Nārada entered one of the sixteen thousand palaces and saw Goddess Rukmiṇī personally rendering menial service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, despite her being in the company of thousands of maidservants. As soon as Lord Kṛṣṇa noticed Nārada, He got up from His bed, offered obeisances to the sage and seated him on His own seat. Then the Lord bathed Nārada’s feet and sprinkled the water on His own head. (SrimadBhagavatam 10.69)

Srimad  Bhagvatam 10.69.37: Having thus seen this display of the Lord’s Yoga-māyā, Nārada mildly laughed and then addressed Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, who was adopting the behavior of a human being.

Srimad Bhagvatam 10.69. 38: [Nārada said:] Now we understand Your mystic potencies, which are difficult to comprehend, even for great mystics, O Supreme Soul, master of all mystic power. Only by serving Your feet have I been able to perceive Your powers.

Srimad  Bhagvatam 10.69. 40: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said:  brāhmaṇa, I am the speaker of religion, its performer and sanctioner. I observe religious principles to teach them to the world, My child, so do not be disturbed.

Srimad  Bhagvatam 10.69. 41: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thus in every palace Nārada saw the Lord in His same personal form, executing the transcendental principles of religion that purify those engaged in household affairs.

Srimad  Bhagvatam 10.69. 42: Having repeatedly seen the vast mystic display of Lord Kṛṣṇa, whose power is unlimited, the sage was amazed and filled with wonder.

Srimad  Bhagvatam 10.69. 44: In this way Lord Nārāyaṇa imitated the ways of ordinary humans, manifesting His divine potencies for the benefit of all beings. Thus He enjoyed, dear King, in the company of His sixteen thousand exalted consorts, who served the Lord with their shy, affectionate glances and laughter.

According to Uddhava as well, it is well known that He accepted a particular suitable form for each of the princesses:-

Having manifested, by His internal potency, an equal number of forms, matching those of the princesses, Krsna married them with the appropriate rituals at one and the same auspicious time, though in different palaces, (SB 3.3.8)

In the same way, in commenting on a prose passage from the Fifth Canto, describing the form of the Lord, the presiding deity of all planets, Sridhara Svami writes, “Because He is the mas­ter of all supreme opulence, He pervades everything with just one form” (Bhavartha-dipika 5.20.40).

In another description of these marriages Sri Suka also states:-

Then, assuming as many forms as there were brides, Bhaga­van Sri Krsna married all the princesses at the same auspicious moment, each in her own palace, (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.59.42)

No, ordinary human beings can do such feats, but people conscously avoid these verses for their own agenda.

From this frame of reference, the verse, “Everywhere are His hands and legs [...]” (Gta 13.13), should also be understood to mean that the Lord pervades everything in His personal form.

Brahma-sutra says “Because the Lord simultaneously exists everywhere, His various forms existing in different places are not different from one another” (Brahma Sutra 3.2.11)

Srila Rupa Goswami explained it in details in his Laghu-bhagavatamrta as such :-

It is also beautifully described in Sri Bhagvat Sandarbh by Jiva Goswami :-

Another important point is Neither Krishna have a material body like us nor he have any desire for material sex. He is self-satisfied in his own blissful nature, supported by scrpitures as well:-

Even his 16000 wives could not tempt him with all their dalliances:- 

patnyas tu ṣoḍaśa-sahasram anaṅga-bāṇair /

yasyendriyaṃ vimathituṃ karaṇair na śekuḥ //

  —Bhāgavata Purāṇa. 10.61.4.

Krishna don't have material body like us although he appeared before us:-

na tasya prAkRRitA mUrttirmAMsamedo.asti saMbhavA (Varaha Purana, 75.42)

[His form does not have a basis in the prakriti. His form does not consist of flesh, fat, bones, etc.]

“na bhUtasaN^ghgasaMsthAno deho.asya paramAtmanaH” (Mahabharata, 12.206.60)

[This body of paramAtmA is not due to the mixture of the five elements.]

I respectfully bow down to You, who are most exalted, who have never been subject to birth, continuance or dissolution, who tran­scend the material gunas, who are an ocean of bliss in the form of complete cessation of material existence, who are finer than the atom, and whose abodes are beyond counting, (SB 8.6.8)

Now you may ask if God's body is not like material how did people see him, touch him etc ?

What enables Bhagavan to become visible is explained in Narayanadhyatma:

In the Moksa- dharma section of Narayaniya, the Lord of Svetadvipa explains to Narada:-

Now some argue if there wasn't any material sex between him and his wives then how come he produced children?

Krishna had 16,108 queens and each had 10 sons each:-

tāsāṁ yā daśa-putrāṇāṁ kṛṣṇa-strīṇāṁ puroditāḥ [SB - 10.61.7]

-Among Lord Kṛṣṇa’s wives, each of whom had ten sons

So if we calculate thus, then the number would be around 161,080.

Answer of this question is also clarified by Brahma Samhita and Chaitanya Charitamrita, that Krishna didn't need materialistic sexual intercourse to impregnated his wives:-

Now if anyone claims this is purely miraculous thing....Then they have to understand biologically no man can produce 161,080 children, this is impossible. So, if you accept lord have such huge number of progeny you have to understand it was produced by his powers as Stated in scriptures. For lord nothing is impossible because he possesses Infinite potencies.

Evidence from scriptures that Krishna is God :-

Sri Bhlsmadeva said:-

Being free from the delusion of duality, I have come to under­ stand that Krsna, who is situated before me, is one. Though He is unborn, He appears in the hearts of all embodied beings, who have been manifested from within Him, just as the sun is one, though appearing differently to everyone, (SB 1.9.42)

0 Lord! O Supreme Person! This form of Yours is worthy of wor­ ship by all seekers of ultimate good, by the means described in the Vedas or the Tantras. O Lord, O Creator, in this universal form of Yours I see us [gods] along with the three planetary systems.

(SB 8.6.9)

The Lord, being greatly merciful upon us, manifests His form, which is of the nature of unalloyed being, suddha-sattva. This manifestation of cause and effect exists in Him. (SB 5.25.10)

Sri Brahma says that Bhagavan is supremely inde­pendent and appears according to His own sweet will, svecchamaya (SB 10.14.2).

Some say if he was God then how come he born in Dvāpara yuga? Because God is unborn eternal isn't it ?

Answer:- 

कृष्णे च मतिरच्युता [ŚB 5.1.4] ~ Priyavrata Mahārāja 

कृष्णग्रहगृहीतात्मा [ŚB 7.4.37] & मतिर्न कृष्णे परतः स्वतो वा [ŚB 7.5.30] ~ Prahlāda Mahārāja 

स वै मनः कृष्णपदारविन्दयो [ŚB 9.4.18] ~ Ambarīṣa Mahārāja

All 3 of them are devotees from satya-yuga, which goes to show that Kṛṣṇa's worship existed since the beginning of creation, and not started after dvāpara-yuga as some people suggest.

Also in Narayana Kavacha spoken by Dadhichi to Ashvin kumaras has "May Govinda holding the flute protect me at such and such time of the day"

All forms of the Lord are eternal and are known by the rishis. Some forms may become popular during certain times though.

Lord Brahma describes :- 

"0 Controller of our Destiny! Though You are unborn, You take birth amongst the gods and sages, as well as humans, animals and even among aquatics, in order to chastise the falsely proud and to show mercy to the world". (SB 10.14.20)

True identity of those queens:-

As per Scriptures those 16000 queens were actually born from amsha of goddess Kamala, who appeared during Creation from Primordial goddess:-

When God incarnate on earth along with him born his associates as well, here from Kamala those Princesses born👇

In the Bhagavatam, 10th canto, 1st Chapter, Brahma says to the gods:-

Vasudeva Grhe Sakshat Bhagavan Purushah Parah

Janishyate tat Priyartham Sambhavantu Sura-Striyah

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has full potency, will personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Therefore all the wives of the demigods should also appear in order to satisfy Him." (Bhagavatam 10.1.23)

Thus, the wives of the devas also took part incarnations as Krsna's wives.

Furthermore, in the Garga Samhita Lord Krsna instructs the devas:-

"The goddess of fortune will take birth as Bhishmaka's daughter Rukmini. Lord Shiva's consort (Parvati) will take birth as Jambavati. Tulasi will take birth as Satya and Vasundhara (Bhudevi) as Satyabhama. Dakshina (The consort of Yajnapurusha) will become Lakshmana, Viraja (the sacred river of Vaikuntha) will become Kalindi, Hri (The consort of Dharma) will become Bhadra, and Jahnavi (Ganga), who destroys sins, will become Mitravinda." (Garga Samhita 1.3.37-38)

Then later on, Krsna says:- 

"Whenever in the past I incarnated in the world, the goddess of fortune would also incarnate as My queen. This time she will incarnate as My sixteen-thousand queens." (Garga Samhita, 1.4.32)

Thus, each wife of Krsna was a goddess with Lakshmi Devi's amsa residing within her. 

As per Mahabharata also:-

Even the Harivamsa says those 16,000 women held captive by Narakāsura are actually gandharva's and apsara's :-

gandharvANAM cha yAH kanyA jahAra narako balI | yAshcha devamanuShyANaM sapta chApsarasAM gaNAH ||2-63-12

The powerful narakAa took away many gandharva maiden. He also took away deva maidens, women and seven groups of divine women (apsarA).

chaturdasha sahasrANi ekaviMshachChatAni cha | ekaveNIdharAH sarvAH satImArgamanuvratAH ||2-63-13

They were fourteen thousand and twentyone hundred [16,100] women in all. All were with single plait of hair and observing the vow of faithful wife (sati). 

The Svargarohanika Parva, section 5 of Mahabharata mentions that during Krishna's department from this material world those 16,000 wives of Krishna also gave up their human form and transformed into apsaras:-

Mystical interpretation of those 16,000 queens of Lord Krishna as per scriptures:-

Another interesting mystical interpretation from Skanda Purāṇa 7.1.118.4-16  which Jiva Goswami quoted and explained in his Laghu-Vaisnava Toshani is this as follows:-

In this quotation gopīs means the queens since gopa also means king according to Nānārtha-varga. Gopa means “one who protects everyone.”

Or gopī means the śaktis of the king. The same usage is found in the explanation of the ten syllable Kṛṣṇa mantra found in Gautamīya Tantra.

Lambanī is the śakti causing avatāras (appearances). Supūrvavimalā means Suvimalā. The word haṁsa in haṁsa-sītā is explained later as referring to Kṛṣṇa who is called Haṁsa. Candra-rūpī means that Kṛṣṇa is compared to the moon. The queens are compared to the phases of the moon (kalā). This means they are his śaktis. Just as the moon showers nectar through its phases, Kṛṣṇa displays nectar through his śaktis. The final kalā or great śaktis is not mentioned in the first list. It is described as sampūrṇā.

In order to explain the example, the gradual phases of the moon are described starting with pratipat. Just as the moon moves through the various phases starting from the pratipat, Kṛṣṇa, taking particular opportunities for pastimes, reveals his various śaktis. Since these sixteen śaktis are forms of knowledge (vidyā), since one gains secret knowledge from this teaching, and since this knowledge produces a symptom of a Vaiṣṇava, forms like Krurā (cruelty), Bhīṣaṇī (terror) and Śokā (lamentation) arise from the Lord’s svarūpa alone.

Kaṁsa saw Kṛṣṇa as death since he was terrifying to the wicked, and the wrestlers saw him as a thunderbolt since they perceived Kṛṣṇa as cruel. He was a punisher by the sinful kings since they saw him as the cause of their lamentation. The apparently unfavorable śaktis may be explained to function in this way. The light of the sun is a cause of illumination but for the owls it is like darkness. 

Thus Kṛṣṇa is like the moon and his queens are like the phases of the moon. This example indicates clearly that his queens arise from his svarūpa. Other explanations of the queens will belonged with falsity.

(Ref:- Laghu Vaishnava Toshani Vol-2, Text 59.43)

Debunking the claims that Krishna didn't have 16000 wives as per Mahabharata :-

No. Of times this is mentioned in Mahabharata that Krishna have 16000 wives beside other wives evidences:-

sanskrit verse with hindi translation of Gita press:-

Mahabharata18.5.21 that the other 16,000 wives of Krishna also gave up their human form and transformed into apsara's and reach to Lord Krishna in heaven as well.

sanskrit verse:- 

षोडशस्त्रीसहस्राणि वासुदेवपरिग्रहः ।

न्यमज्जन्त सरस्वत्यां कालेन जनमेजय ।

ताश्चाप्यप्सरसो भूत्वा वासुदेवमुपागमन् ॥ 

In Gita press Hindi translation the above verse comes in Swargarohan parva, chapter 7 verse 25:-

Mahabharat Sambhava Parva, Section LXVII:- 

Mahabharata Anushashan Parva chapter chapter 15:-

Mahabharata mausala parva section 5