antaḥ-purÄntara-carÄ«m anihatya bandhÅ«n
tvÄm udvahe katham iti pravadÄmy upÄyam
pÅ«rve-dyur asti mahatÄ« kula-deva-yÄtrÄ
yasyÄá¹ bahir nava-vadhÅ«r girijÄm upeyÄt
antaḥ-pura - the women's quarters of the palace; antara - within; carÄ«m - moving; anihatya - without killing; bandhÅ«n - your relatives; tvÄm - you; udvahe - I shall carry away; katham - how; iti - saying such words; pravadÄmi - I shall explain; upÄyam - a means; pÅ«rve-dyuḥ - on the day before; asti - there is; mahatÄ« - large; kula - of the royal family; deva - for the presiding deity; yÄtrÄ - a ceremonial procession; yasyÄm - in which; bahiḥ - outside; nava - new; vadhūḥ - the bride; girijÄm - goddess GirijÄ (AmbikÄ); upeyÄt - approaches.
Since I will be staying within the inner chambers of the palace, You may wonder, “How can I carry you away without killing some of your relatives?†But I shall tell You a way: On the day before the marriage there is a grand procession to honor the royal family’s deity, and in this procession the new bride goes outside the city to visit Goddess GirijÄ.
Clever Rukmiṇī anticipated a possible objection on the part of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa. He certainly would not object to subduing rascals like ÅšiÅ›upÄla and JarÄsandha, but He might be reluctant to injure or kill Rukmiṇī’s relatives, some of whom might block His way to the palace’s inner sanctum, where the women were protected. The procession to or from the temple of GirijÄ (DurgÄ) would provide the perfect opportunity for Kṛṣṇa to kidnap Rukmiṇī without harming her relatives.
