Why Rama had Single wife, but Krishna had 16,108 wives?
A male devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Prabhu ji Krishna & Ram is one.. Then why Ram has only one wife and he is said “ek naari vrat dhaari” while Krishna has abt sixteen thousand wives?? Why it is so much difference between the thinking of Narayan’s both incarnations?”
REPLY:
Rama is DHARMA AVATAR; Krishna is LILA AVATAR.
Krishna descended on earth as Krishna Himself, in His original form. (For understanding, I have mentioned Him as avatar.)
Actually, Krishna and Rama do not do anything for their pleasure! Because, Lord Himself is the reservoir/ source of pleasure! They do not need pleasure from outside!
We should not see the activities of Lord with our own material perspective that is the outcome of our defective senses. Lord performs everything for the pleasure of His devotees. Not for His pleasure. Because, He is 100% renounced.
Then, why Krishna married 16,108 girls?
Krishna finds pleasure in fulfilling the wishes of all His devotees! He is prepared to do anything for His devotees.
The Gopis were not ordinary girls! They were great rishis during Rama Avatar itself! Those 1000s of rishis were attracted by Rama and requested Him to allow them to stay with Him. But, Rama assured them that He will accept them in His next descending to earth as Krishna in dvapar yuga. Those rishis were given birth as Gopis at the time when Krishna descended on earth. And, they were given opportunity to marry Him as they wished. This is the background of Gopis. So, they are exalted souls!
Let us see some support from scriptures about why Krishna does not marry 16,108 women for His pleasure and why we should not see all the activities of Lord in material angle:
(1) SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM 8-18-12 SAYS:
“Nonetheless, although He (Iord) appears in various incarnations, they are not different from one another. He is the same person, with the same potency, the same eternity and the same spiritual existence, but He can simultaneously assume various forms.
(24 AVATARS OF KRISHNA/ VISHNU & POPULAR DASAVATARS! READ HERE!)
The same Lord appeared in Treta Yuga as Lord Ramacandra and as Lord Krishna in Dvapara Yuga.
One can understand the difference between their activities from an example.
The same person acts in a certain way while at home interacting with his family members informally and the same person acts in a different way interacting in the office in formal manners. The person at home can be compared to Krishna and at office to be Ramacandra.”
(2) In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that He is the Kama that satisfies the sastric advices. So, Krishna is the reservoir of pleasure. Only the humans have been blessed with small amount of kama by Krishna; Krishna does not need it, as He has all the opulence including RENOUNCEMENT 100% as explained below:
(3) KRISHNA is the ORIGIN OF ALL – The Supreme Personality of Godhead. We commonly hear people saying the word “GOD”. Yet firstly many don’t know what is the meaning of GOD. The definition of GOD is given by Parasara Muni as follows in VISHNU PURANA 6.5.47:
“Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is defined as one who is full of six opulence – who has full strength, fame, wisdom, wealth, beauty and renunciation.”
So, why should he marry 16,108 girls for want of pleasure?
(64 TRANSCENDENTAL QUALITIES OF LORD KRISHNA EXPLAINED HERE!)
(4) Krishna, thus is fully renounced. Regarding renouncement, SRILA PRABHUPAD explains “Although Krishna is full of all the opulence, yet at the same time He is fully renounced. In this world if someone has a little opulence, he is so attached to it, but Krishna is full in all the opulence and yet He is full in renouncement also”.
(5) Srila Prabhupada further writes about why women were attracted by Krishna:
“Krishna is so beautiful that 16,108 very, very beautiful women were attracted to marry Him. And many millions of unmarried gopis [cowherd girls] were also attracted by Krsna, the most beautiful male. One of Krsna’s names is Syamasundara. He is syama, “blackish,” yet He is still sundara, “very beautiful.” He’s so beautiful that His beauty surpasses that of millions and millions of Cupids (kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham B.S -5.30).
Another name of Krsna is Madana-mohana. Madana means “Cupid,” and mohana means “enchanter.” Cupid enchants everyone in this world, but even he is enchanted by Krsna. It is even stated in the scriptures that when the wives of the DemiGods saw Krishna from the heavenly planes, there were almost falling down of the plane seeing Krishna’s beauty.”
(Why Krishna does not correct us if He is within our hearts? READ HERE!)
Krishna is not like humans! See the potency of Krishna here:
(6) SRILA PRABHUPADA explains: “LORD KRISHNA was married to 16,108 princesses and HE expanded 16,108 times and was present with each and every princess. HE lived with the princess in a palace. There were 16108 palaces which were all lit by jewels and not by light or electricity”.
SRILA PRABHUPADA further mentions that today to have one palace is a big thing, but when LORD KRISHNA was present here Krishna had 16,108 wives in 16,108 palaces.
SRILA PRABHUPADA also explains that today one man cannot maintain and satisfy one wife even properly. But LORD SRI KRISHNA married 16108 wives and all were satisfied as the LORD expanded 16,108 times and was present individually with each wife. The LORD had 10 children with each of the princess. This is LORD KRISHNA”.
Can a man do all these things?
Though Krishna had 16,108 wives, He acted as a perfect husband for their pleasure:
(7) SRILA PRABHUPADA says in KRISHNA Book (Read the quote fully) :
“Krsna had 16,108 wives, and in each of them He begot ten sons, all of them equal to their father in the opulence of strength, beauty, wisdom, fame, wealth and renunciation. “Like father like son.” All the 16,108 wives of Krsna were princesses, and when each saw that Krsna was always present in her respective palace and did not leave home, they considered Krsna to be a henpecked husband who was very much attached to them. Every one of them thought that Krsna was her very obedient husband, but actually Krsna had no attraction for any of them. Although each thought that she was the only wife of Krsna and was very, very dear to Him, Lord Krsna, since He is atmarama, self-sufficient, was neither dear nor inimical to any one of them; He was equal to all the wives and treated them as a perfect husband just to please them. For Him, there was no need for even a single wife. In fact, since they were women, the wives could not understand the exalted position of Krsna nor the truths about Him.”
(Why Krishna wears a tilak that marks Tulasi and His own Feet? READ HERE!)
(8) KRISHNA WAS NOT ATTRACTED BY HIS WIVES:
Srila Prabhupada further writes:
“They (Krishna’s wives) used to exhibit their feminine characteristics by smiling and moving their eyebrows, thus throwing sharpened arrows of conjugal love just to awaken Krsna’s lusty desires for them. Still, they could not arouse the mind of Krsna or His sex appetite. This means that Krsna never had any sex relations with any of His many wives, save and except to beget children.”
Thus, All the activities of Krishna is in a renounced state! So, He did everything to fulfill His devotees’ desire! When we explain them in the material angle, it is an offence. We can not understand, and explain the activities of Krishna as we have defective senses that can not understand Absolute Truth!
So, Get the bliss in hearing/ reading the Lilas of Krishna; Follow His teachings in Bhagavad Gita; Make your life meaningful.
Lord Rama came here Not to perform lilas because when the Lord came as Rama He had hidden some qualities including Lilas. But, when He came in His original form Krishna, He did not hide His Quality of performing lilas.
Krishna avatar is Poorna Avatar. Krishna Avatar can not be compared with other avatars.
Don’t try to understand the reasons for all His activities including why Krishna had 16,108 wives, in material perspective! Even Lord Brahma Could not fully understand Krishna!
(Why Radharani did not marry Krishna and Vice Versa? Read the Complete Details HERE!)