Rukmi
Encyclopedia
Rukmi was the ruler of Vidarbha
according to the epic Mahābhārata
. He was the son of king Bhishmaka
and elder brother of Rukmini
. Krishna
married Rukmini by abducting her from the Vidarbha kingdom, though Rukmi wanted to give her as bride to Chedi
king Shishupala
. He fought with Krishna, but was defeated. When Krishna was about to kill him, Rukmini fell at Krishna's feet and begged that spare her brother's life. Generous as always, Krishna
agreed and let Rukmi go free, but not before having his head shaved as a shameful visible sign of a warrior's defeat.
Rukmi never returned to his capital Kundinapuri
in Vidarbha. Instead he created another capital called Bhojakata
to the west of Kundina
and started ruling the country from there.
Rukmi later became friends with Krishna. However Rukmi was not accepted by Arjuna
or Duryodhana
as an ally in the Kurukshetra War
, because of his boastfulness. Thus Rukmi's Vidarbha army stayed away from the Kurukshetra War, becoming a neutral army in the encounter between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Vidarbha Kingdom
Vidarbha kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled by Yadava kings in the central and western India, in a region still known as Vidarbha. It was the southern most kingdom known to the kings of Gangatic Plain until they explored Southern India.Damayanti, the wife of Nala was the princess of...
according to the epic Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. He was the son of king Bhishmaka
Bhishmaka
In Hinduism, Bhishmaka was the king of Vidarbha. He was the father of Rukmini, who married the Hindu deity Krishna....
and elder brother of Rukmini
Rukmini
In Hinduism, Rukmini is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request . Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent...
. Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
married Rukmini by abducting her from the Vidarbha kingdom, though Rukmi wanted to give her as bride to Chedi
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
king Shishupala
Shishupala
Shishupala or Sisupala was son of Damaghosha, king of Chedi, by Srutadeva, sister of Vasudeva. Therefore he was not only cousin of Krishna, but also Krishna's implacable foe, because Krishna had carried off Rukmini, his intended wife...
. He fought with Krishna, but was defeated. When Krishna was about to kill him, Rukmini fell at Krishna's feet and begged that spare her brother's life. Generous as always, Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
agreed and let Rukmi go free, but not before having his head shaved as a shameful visible sign of a warrior's defeat.
Rukmi never returned to his capital Kundinapuri
Kundinapuri
Kundinapuri was the capital of Vidarbha Kingdom , ruled by king Bhima. It was also ruled by king Bhishmaka and his son Rukmi, a Bhoja-Yadava. However, king Rukmi created another capital for Vidarbha called Bhojakata. Two famous ladies mentioned in the Mahabharata epic, Damayanti and Rukmini, lived...
in Vidarbha. Instead he created another capital called Bhojakata
Bhojakata
Bhojakata was the capital of Rukmi a Bhoja-Yadava king of Vidarbha Kingdom. Rukmi wanted his sister Rukmini to be married by the Chedi king Shishupala. But she was in love with Vasudeva Krishna. Krishna abducted Rukmini against the will of Rukmi. Then king Rukmi left the capital of Vidarbha, viz...
to the west of Kundina
Kundina
Kundina is an ancient Indian city, named as part of Kanishka's territory in the Rabatak inscription. It is thought that is it the locality of Kaundinyapura on the Wardha River in the Amravati Division of Vidarbha, or Berar in Maharashtra, which is an archaeological site identified as a trading city...
and started ruling the country from there.
Rukmi later became friends with Krishna. However Rukmi was not accepted by Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
or Duryodhana
Duryodhana
In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...
as an ally in the Kurukshetra War
Kurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
, because of his boastfulness. Thus Rukmi's Vidarbha army stayed away from the Kurukshetra War, becoming a neutral army in the encounter between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.