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Bhishmaka

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Bhishmaka
Bhishmaka meets Krishna
TextsHarivamsha, Puranas
RegionVidharba
Genealogy
ChildrenRukmi (son), Rukmini (daughter)
Father of Rukmini in Hinduism

Bhishmaka (Sanskrit: भीष्मक, romanized: Bhīshmaka), also called Hiranyaroman, is the king of Vidarbha In Hinduism. He is the father of Rukmini, the chief wife of Krishna and an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi.

Legend

Skanda Purana

The Skanda Purana describes Bhishmaka to be a wealthy and powerful monarch. At the time of the birth of Rukmini, the text describes a celestial voice instructing him to marry his daughter to a four-armed one (Caturbhujā) who had been born on earth. After eight years, he betroths his daughter to Shishupala upon the insistence of the latter's father, Damaghosha, who tells him that Caturbhujā was an epithet of his son. Krishna and Balarama are invited to the betrothal ceremony by Bhishmaka, upon which Krishna elopes with his daughter after they fall in love with each other.

Harivamsha

In the Harivamsha, when the king Bhishmaka's eldest son Rukmi chooses to marry his sister Rukmini off to suitors through a svayamvara ceremony, the king opposes Rukmi's decision, regarding it to be bad conduct on his part. When the king grants an audience to Krishna, he begs the god's forgiveness for this folly, upon which the latter agrees with his opinion, revealing that the bride was in fact Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. He assures the king that this was no sin on his part. Bhishmaka offers many exultations of Krishna before the god's departure.

Bhishmaka argues with Shishupala, Cleveland Museum of Art

References

  1. www.wisdomlib.org (1 April 2020). "Section CLIX [Mahabharata, English]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. Dowson, John (1879). A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature. Trübner. p. 54.
  3. Bhandarkar, Ramkrishna Gopal (1987). Vaiṣṇavism, Ṡaivism and Minor Religious Systems. Asian Educational Services. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-206-0122-2. expressed a desire for as good a son as Rukmini, his chief consort, had.
  4. Dasa, Gopiparanadhana (1 January 2002). Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta: Volume One. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. pp. Verse 74. ISBN 978-91-7149-784-0.
  5. Moor, Edward (1998). The Hindu Panthwon. Laurier Books, Limited. p. 153. ISBN 978-81-7020-963-8.
  6. www.wisdomlib.org (22 October 2020). "The Greatness of Rukmiṇī Tīrtha [Chapter 142]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. www.wisdomlib.org (14 November 2020). "Conversation between Krishna and Bhishmaka [Chapter 52]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
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