Why did Lord Krishna have 16,108 wives?

Lord Krishna has stated in the Bhagavad Gita, 'As all surrender unto me, I reward them accordingly.'

Being God, it is His duty to reciprocate with everyone as per their desire and to give shelter to whoever asks for it.

Many ages ago, 16,100 princesses were abducted by the demon Narakasur. While in captivity, the princesses constantly prayed to the Lord to save them as there was no one else who could rescue them. The omniscient Lord Krishna, who was residing in Dwarka at the time, heard their prayers. He killed this demon and rescued the princesses.

After being saved, the princesses prayed to Lord Krishna to accept them, as society, being bound by certain traditions, would not accept them after they had been with a demon for such a long time.

Lord Krishna, who is infinitely merciful, accepted their proposal and hence married all of them.

His other eight principal queens, namely, Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Nagnajiti, Bhadra, Mitravinda and Laxmana, were also not approached by Lord Krishna for marriage. Each one of these queens prayed fervently to marry Lord Krishna, and He, being the Supreme Lord, was duty- bound to reciprocate.

Thus, Lord Krishna ended up marrying 16,108 queens. But remember, He married them because they wanted to marry Him. He is known as Atmaram, one who is self- satisfied, and thus does not need any outside sources to feel satisfied.

When we see Him engaging in such affairs, we must understand that there is a higher principle at work, that is of the Supreme Lord simply performing his most exalted pastime of pleasing His dear devotees. He is bhava-grahi-he accepts our intentions and responds accordingly.

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