Å›rÄ«-rÄjovÄca
bhagavÄn bhīṣmaka-sutÄá¹
rukmiṇīṠrucirÄnanÄm
rÄká¹£asena vidhÄnena
upayema iti śrutam

 Å›rÄ«-rÄjÄ uvÄca - the King (ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja) said; bhagavÄn - the Supreme Lord; bhīṣmaka-sutÄm - the daughter of Bhīṣmaka; rukmiṇīm - ÅšrÄ«matÄ« Rukmiṇī-devÄ«; rucira - charming; ÄnanÄm - whose face; rÄká¹£asena - called RÄká¹£asa; vidhÄnena - by the method (namely, by kidnapping); upayeme - He married; iti - thus; Å›rutam - heard.


Text

King ParÄ«ká¹£it said: The Supreme Lord married Rukmiṇī, the beautiful-faced daughter of Bhīṣmaka, in the RÄká¹£asa style — or so I have heard.

Purport

ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ« quotes the following smá¹›ti statement: rÄká¹£aso yuddha-haraṇÄt. “A RÄká¹£asa marriage takes place when the bride is stolen from one’s rival suitors by force.†Similarly, Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« himself has already said, rÄjñaḥ pramathya: Kṛṣṇa had to beat down opposing kings to take Rukmiṇī.