Learn why Krishna’s compassion led Him to marry 16,000 princesses who were held captive.

Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakasura and this day is popularly known as Naraka Chaturdashi. Narakasura, also known as Bhaumasura, was the son of Mother Earth. In the Puranas, it is mentioned that he is the son of the Lord Himself. Despite the esteemed genealogy, he was polluted by the company of an asura named Bana. The association is so powerful that even the son of Mother Earth and the Supreme Lord can turn satanic.  

Naraka caused trouble with the elite devatas of the creation. He stole the umbrella from Varuna and the earrings of Aditi, the mother of the Gods. He unscrupulously conquered Mani Parvata, a segment of the Meru Mountain. Unable to endure the onslaught of the monster, Lord Indra sought intervention from the Supreme Lord Krishna Who was in Dvaraka then. 

Lord Krishna readily acquiesced to help the devatas and sat on His carrier Garuda, along with His dear wife Satyabhama and flew towards the capital of Naraka, the city of Pragjyotishpura [current day Assam]. Although heavily guarded on all sides, it wasn’t long before the city was besieged by Lord Krishna, Who single-handedly fought with all the soldiers of Naraka. Naraka tried all the tricks in his bag to attack Lord Krishna, including a weapon named Shataghni, which could demolish thousands of opponents in one stroke, but none of them worked. After a fierce battle, Lord Krishna severed the head of Naraka with His Sudarshana Chakra. 

At that time, Mother Earth appeared in front of Lord Krishna and offered obeisances to Him. She returned all the stolen possessions of Varuna, Aditi et al. She was not disheartened that her son was killed but was glad that an evil force had been wiped off her planet. The Lord then pacified the bereaved family of Naraka, including his son named Bhagadatta.

Naraka had captured many princesses from various kingdoms and held them captive in his prison. Lord Krishna relieved all these princesses and asked them to return to their palaces. The ladies were, however, reluctant. The social order of the day did not allow a maiden to reside in a foreign place other than her own or a relative’s home. Since they were out of home for so many days, no man would accept their hand. The girls thought it useless to go back home, as they would be immediately banished for spending all the time away from home. They pleaded with Lord Krishna to accept them as His wives. 

Lord Krishna assessed this sensitive situation and sympathised with the princesses. He knew that only He could help them. Why others cannot? There are 3 distinct reasons. 

Krishna is Beyond Social Orders

First up, Lord Krishna was probably the only one who could empathise with the girls’ situation and appreciate the obtuse circumstances. Anyone else would have been bound by social compulsions and would have immediately rejected the social reinstatement of the princesses. Their life would have been ruined, and their social image wrecked into pieces. Only Lord Krishna could go beyond conventions because He is beyond all social orders. He is not bound by laws and courts. He is the one who makes the laws and has the power to repeal their effect when needed. He distinctly exhibited this when He asked the Sun to ostensibly set before setting up the slaughter of Jayadratha. 

Only Krishna could Justify them All

Krishna had already married a couple of Queens, like Rukmini, Jambavati and Satyabhama. For a King to marry multiple queens is not unnatural. King Solomon and Emperor Akbar are believed to have had hundreds of wives. But these princesses were 16000 in number. To marry all of them and ensure that they are all treated equally is a very gargantuan task. If Krishna spent one day with every wife He marries, each wife will achieve His company after 44 years, albeit only for a day!! 

When the great Sage Narada visited Dvaraka, he went to the palace of Srimati Rukminidevi. He saw the Lord was being fanned with a chamara by Rukmini. As soon as the Lord saw Narada, He got down from His bedstead and worshipped Narada Muni. After a while, Narada visited the palace of another Queen. Again he saw Krishna there along with His Queen and playing chess with Uddhava. In each palace Narada visited, He saw the Lord engaged in some way or the other with His queens and their children. This was astonishing. The Lord had expanded Himself into 16,108 forms and was living with each wife in a separate palace as a unique individual. 

Not only that, each Queen had 10 sons through their Divine Husband. In all, Lord Krishna had 1,61,080 children. No human, perhaps not even some of the devatas, can garner this feat. 

Individual Attention

Even as the Lord was divided into 16,000 forms and manifested in 16,000 palaces in Dvaraka, his attention to these queens was not multiplexed. In a family, when the father has many children, each of them hankers for his attention. The father has to stretch himself to attend to all and satisfy all their needs. In today’s cosmopolitan culture, even a tiny nuclear family has attention problems. But Lord Krishna was available to each queen as if He was only their husband. This sense of exclusiveness can only be offered in a relationship with Krishna. No one else can offer exclusive attention to us. 

The Lord says in the Gita (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo = I am situated in the heart of every living being. Lord Krishna is residing in each of our hearts and is exclusively available for us. For you, and you alone. Even though Krishna is one, He is so wonderful that to each one of us, He can manifest as exclusively ours. This feature was vividly exhibited by Krishna when He was sporting with the Gopas and the Gopis. 

A husband is the one who maintains the home. Lord Krishna is the only real maintainer for everyone. We have no other choice but to choose Him as the maintainer of our life. The Queens captured by Narakasura had no choice but to surrender to Krishna. In the same way, when we surrender to Lord Krishna, it’s like a child letting go of worries while in their parent’s shelter. The parent naturally provides love, security, and guidance, just as Krishna lovingly supports and nurtures each surrendered soul, guiding them through life with care and wisdom.