tvaḿ nyasta-daṇḍa-munibhir gaditānubhāva
ātmātma-daś ca jagatām iti me vṛto 'si
hitvā bhavad-bhruva udīrita-kāla-vega-
dhvastāśiṣo 'bja-bhava-nāka-patīn kuto 'nye
tvam -- You; nyasta -- who have renounced; danda -- the sannyasi's staff; munibhih -- by sages; gadita -- spoken of; anubhavah -- whose prowess; atma -- the Supreme Soul; atma -- Your own self; dah -- who give away; ca -- also; jagatam -- of all the worlds; iti -- thus; me -- by me; vritah -- chosen; asi -- You have been; hitva -- rejecting; bhavat -- Your; bhruvah -- from the eyebrows; udirita -- generated; kala -- of time; vega -- by the impulses; dhvasta -- destroyed; asishah -- whose hopes; abja -- lotus-born (Lord Brahma); bhava -- Lord Siva; naka -- of heaven; patin -- the masters; kutah -- what then of; anye -- others.
Knowing that great sages who have renounced the sannyasi's danda proclaim Your glories, that You are the Supreme Soul of all the worlds, and that You are so gracious that You give away even Your own self, I chose You as my husband, rejecting Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the rulers of heaven, whose aspirations are all frustrated by the force of time, which is born from Your eyebrows. What interest, then, could I have in any other suitors?
This is Queen Rukmini's refutation of Lord Krishna's statement in Text 16. There the Lord Krishna said, bhikshubhih slaghita mudha: "I am glorified by beggars." But Queen Rukmini points out that those so-called beggars are actually sages in the paramahamsa stage of life -- sannyasis who have reached the highest level of spiritual advancement and thus given up the sannyasi rod. Lord Krishna also made two specific accusations against His wife in Text 16. He said, vaidarbhy etad avijnaya -- "My dear Vaidarbhi, you were not aware of the situation" -- and tvayadirgha-samikshaya -- "because you lack foresight." In the present verse, Rukmini's statement iti me vrito 'si indicates "I chose You as my husband because You possess the above-mentioned qualities. It was not a blind choice at all." Rukmini further mentions that she passed over lesser personalities like Brahma, Siva and the rulers of heaven because she saw that even though, materially speaking, they are great personalities, they are frustrated by the powerful waves of time, which emanate from the eyebrows of Lord Krishna. Therefore, far from lacking foresight, Rukmini chose Lord Krishna after an exhaustive appraisal of the entire cosmic situation. Thus she lovingly rebukes her husband here.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti interprets Rukmini's mood as follows: "My dear husband, Your accusation that I lack foresight indicates that You did know of my deep insight into the situation. Actually, I chose You because I knew of Your true glories."
