“The Sweetness of Krishna, the Restraint of Rama: Spiritual Indications”
Vivek Ranjan Shrivastava
If we do not judge Bhagavan Krishna’s multi‑marriage “lila” and Shri Rama’s vow of monogamy on the criteria of “history” or “social conduct”, but understand them as “philosophical–spiritual symbols”, then both the profound difference and the inner harmony between them become clear.
The Difference of Incarnational Mode: Lila and Maryada
In the Vaishnava tradition, Shri Krishna is called the complete Lila‑Purushottama, and Shri Rama is called the Maryada‑Purushottama.
In the Rama‑avatar, God presents Himself as the ideal human being, so that ordinary house holders may learn rules of conduct from His life. Therefore we see strict adherence in His behaviour to monogamy, duty of a king, duty of a son, devotion to parents, and so on.
In the Krishna‑avatar, that same Supreme Being appears as the pinnacle of an unbound, spontaneous, rasa‑filled consciousness.
Here, the goal of the divine lila is only to unveil the mystery of the highest summit of “infinite love”.
One form of the same God takes maryada (ethical restraint) as the ideal, the other takes madhurya(sweet, intimate love) as the ideal , philosophically, together they compose the completeness of dharma and love.
Krishna’s Many Wives: Symbol and Meaning
In the Puranas, Rukmini is described as the chief queen of Krishna in Dwarka.
She is the daughter of Bhishmaka, king of Vidarbha, and the “lawful wife” of Krishna.
Rukmini and the other queens indicate the fullness of household dharma, social responsibilities, and worldly order.
The polity of Dwarka, the family structure, the honour of the lineage , all these are organized through them.
Here, the many queens do not point towards sensuous indulgence, but to the truth that the Supreme Being is the shelter of countless individual souls.
Each jiva establishes a “relationship” with Him in its own way , someone like a queen, someone like a friend, someone like a disciple.
In this sense, Krishna’s multi‑marriage is not the tendency of an ordinary man, but a symbol of His infinite relationships with infinite beings, souls.
Radha–Gopis and the Summit of Devotion
Radha’s name may not appear prominently and explicitly in the Bhagavata and similar texts, but she is central in later Vaishnava traditions, especially Gaudiya, Nimbarka, Radha‑Vallabha, and others, where she is regarded as the supreme embodiment of devoted love for Krishna.
In many traditions, the relation between Radha and Krishna is explained in two ways:
- Svakiya– like husband and wife,
- Parakiya – beyond social bonds, a purely emotional, love‑based relationship.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism considers parakiya‑bhava to be the highest, where only love and surrender remain above all social injunctions.
When the gopis, though being householders, abandon everything and run to Krishna, it is not worldly adultery.
It is the teaching that, when the question is of “supreme love” for the Divine, all worldly insistences become secondary.
Hence, in the philosophy of bhakti, the love of Radha and the gopis , the “beloved” is considered more important than that of Rukmini as “wife”.
For it is spiritual love that springs not from rules, but from pure overflowing of the heart.
Radha–Krishna and Rukmini–Krishna: Philosophical Reading of Relationship
From a philosophical standpoint, Rukmini–Krishna and Radha–Krishna are not two separate relationships, but two dimensions of the same devin.
The relationship of Rukmini–Krishna is the ideal of a “righteous household bond sanctioned by dharma”.
This is necessary for instruction in the world, so that humans may understand that marriage is a bond of responsibility, protection, and compassion.
The relationship of Radha–Krishna is the allegory of “supreme love”, where no distance or formality remains between the soul and the Supreme.
Vaishnava acharyas have described Radha as Krishna’s own shakti, the manifest form of His love itself ,meaning that lover and beloved are not ultimately two, but one single reality of ultimate love.
Therefore, it is said that Krishna is connected with Rukmini as “wife”, but He stands on the peak of love with Radha.
Rukmini strengthens dharma, whereas Radha gives the highest form to bhakti and rasa.
Shri Rama’s Vow of One Wife: The Philosophical Need of Maryada
Scriptures present Ramachandra as the ideal of one‑wife‑vow, throughout His life He did not take any wife or physical relation with any woman other than Goddess Sita.
This vow is not just personal morality, but a powerful social message for that age, when it was common for kings and upper classes to have several wives.
Rama’s conduct establishes an ideal of household dharma and honour of womanhood.
Many Vaishnava authors call the Ramayana the “Veda of Surrender (Sharanagati‑Veda)”.
Its central teaching is that a person must first become an “excellent human being”.
One who learns maryada from Rama becomes qualified later to understand the emotional lila of Krishna.
That is, Rama‑charita is the grammar of dharma, and Krishna‑charita is the poetic beauty of love.
Without grammar, poetry too cannot be understood, in the same way, only along with Rama’s restraint can one truly grasp the inner essence of Krishna’s lila.
Vivek Ranjan Shrivastava
