Did Krushna marry 16000 women?
Does He have 16008 wives, out of which 8 are ‘primary’?
It does not make sense! Why would He do that?
Did you hear these questions, either in your own head or from other people?

An event was recorded in history which says Lord Krushna rescued 16000 women who were confined by demon Bhouma, also called Naraka. Lord Krushna killed Naraka and freed them.

All of them surrendered to Krushna and prayed to Him. They were in intense mental agony due to being abducted by Bhouma. They were also worried whether anyone would accept them back into families. His heart melted listening to their plea, and He accepted them. He took them along to Dwaraka and arranged for what they needed, and shared a bond filled with love for each of them.

We must look at two aspects here:

    • The world had accepted what Krushna had done. There were no debates and no issues because of the situation and horrific crimes committed by Bhouma. Everyone felt they were in hell and thus he got the name Naraka.
    • Remember that Lord Krushna is the paripu:rna avatar of Lord. He did what Lord does. With this divine act of His, He revealed a great secret.
    5 karme:ndriyas +
    5 jna:ne:ndriyas +
    5 (pancha) bhuthas +
    1 manasu, mind = total of 16

    Our bodies are made of these sixteen. It is Lord’s creation that allows formation of a body for us (the souls) using the above 16. We (the souls) don’t own these.

However, we act for these, we live for these, we dedicate our life for these forgetting their owner and the purpose of life. Such pravrutthi, behavior makes one Naraka, troublesome to self and the society.

When those ‘suffering’ took to His refuge, Lord killed Naraka. He took back the control of the 16. Thousands of 16s indicate that He is the supreme controller of all the souls, not just one and the prakruthi (using which bodies are made).

If we can all surrender ourselves and the 16 to Lord, you will naturally be placed in a peaceful eternal state. Inner enemies like inappropriate desire, unwarranted anger, intense greed, lust, arrogance etc are all a result of those 16 not being submitted to Lord’s vision for you, i.e. regaining your lost blissful state.

Today, these inner enemies in the world are causing oppression and war. This Deepavali, fire-crackers are not just limited to symbolizing the war between Krushna and Nakara, but they remind us to reflect on the war that is happening in the world today with real bombs resulting in tragedy and loss of innocent lives. It could be the war between Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Palestine etc.

It is high time that we all pray to the Lord that there must be a right ending to these inner enemies in every one of us and the rulers of all nations. When that happens, we can light the diyas of happiness and peace in the world.

Being born on this land, the Bhaarath, we inherited samskara, character that welcomes everyone with open arms as guests. This character is a reflection of the lineage of practices passed onto us by the sages. It is the several incarnations of Lord like Krushna avatar and His divine acts that inspire sages to practice such great conduct, i.e. killing the inner enemies and rescuing those suffering with a greater heart of universal well-being than satisfying a selfish desire.

-From the discourse of HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– 31st Oct 2024, Deepavali Mangalasasanams

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