Goddess Rukmini was the daughter of Bhishmaka – the king of Vidarbha. She was courageous and bold, she fell in love with Lord Krishna. She would rather die than lose Krishna. Rukmini was all set to marry Lord Krishna.
Her brother, Rukmi, strongly denied their marriage and changed Bhishmaka’s mind. Rukmi wanted his sister Rukmini to get married to his good friend Shishupala – (the crown prince of Chedi and the son of Shrutakirti, who was the sister of Kunti. )
Rukmini came to know about the plan of not letting her marry Krishna. She wrote a very beautiful love letter to Krishna asking him to take her away from the place and marry. The letter was delivered and recited by a Brahman named Sunanda.
Rukmini’s Love Letter to Krishna
Chapter 52 of Canto 10 in Srimad Bhagavatam (Srimad Bhagavata Purana) talks about the letter written by Devi Rukmini.
Sri Rukmiṇi said [in her letter, as read by the brahmana]: O beauty of the worlds, having heard of Your qualities, which enter the ears of those who hear and remove their bodily distress, and having also heard of Your beauty, which fulfills all the visual desires of those who see, I have fixed my shameless mind upon You, O Kṛṣṇa.
O Mukunda, You are equal only to Yourself in lineage, character, beauty, knowledge, youthfulness, wealth and influence. O lion among men, You delight the minds of all mankind. What aristocratic, sober-minded and marriageable girl of a good family would not choose You as her husband when the proper time has come?
Therefore, my dear Lord, I have chosen You as my husband, and I surrender myself to You. Please come swiftly, O almighty one, and make me Your wife. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, let Śiśupāla never touch the hero’s portion like a jackal stealing the property of a lion.
If I have sufficiently worshiped You by pious works, sacrifices, charity, rituals, and vows, and also by worshiping the demigods, brāhmaṇas, and gurus, then may Gadāgraja come and take my hand, and not Damaghoṣa’s son or anyone else.
Since I will be staying within the inner chambers of the palace, You may wonder, “How can I carry you away without killing some of your relatives?” But I shall tell You a way: On the day before the marriage there is a grand procession to honor the royal family’s deity, and in this procession, the new bride goes outside the city to visit Goddess Girijā.
O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Shiva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.
As soon as Krishna got the letter, he left for Vidarbha with Balarama.