Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.23
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
upaśrutya
—
hearing
Absolutive of upa-√śru (to hear, to overhear). The prefix upa- intensifies proximity — she hears closely, attentively. Sūta's verb places śravaṇa at the very root of her prema.
-
mukundasya
—
of Mukunda (Kṛṣṇa)
Genitive of Mukunda — 'the giver of liberation' (mukti-da). Rukmiṇī's first naming of her Lord is by His liberator-aspect, foreshadowing the rescue: she will be 'liberated' from Śiśupāla by the One whose name itself means rescuer.
-
rūpa-vīrya-guṇa-śriyaḥ
—
beauty, prowess, qualities and opulences
Compound listing four objects of Bhagavān's glorification. These are four of the six aiśvaryas; the wandering visitors sing Kṛṣṇa's bhagavattā in full. Rukmiṇī chooses Him not from any one aspect but from the full disclosure of His Personhood.
-
sadṛśam patim
—
a suitable husband
Phrase: sadṛśa (matching, equal) + pati (husband). Gauḍīyas read sadṛśa here strictly — she thinks Him 'equal to herself' because she is Lakṣmī's expansion and only Bhagavān is her metaphysical match. The verse is doctrinal as well as romantic.
The word sadṛśam indicates that Rukmiṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa had similar qualities and thus were naturally attracted to each other. King Bhīṣmaka was a pious man, and therefore many spiritually advanced persons must have visited his palace. Undoubtedly these saintly persons preached openly about the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa was a wealth of beauty, prowess and qualities. Though prowess is included within qualities it is mentioned separately because this quality was expected of anyone who was a kṣatriya. The order in which the items give bliss are as follows: beauty, prowess and then other qualities. She heard from being close to all who came to her father’s house and sang his glories, since many poets had composed songs about him. They described him loudly, in sweet voices, with affection. He was suitable because of similarity with her.
- Where has hearing-from-others shaped your spiritual choices more than direct experience?
- Whose praises of Kṛṣṇa could you actively seek out?
Rukmiṇī hears about Kṛṣṇa and the hearing alone is the marriage proposal — śravaṇa becomes saṅkalpa. Like Bharata hearing Rāma's name in Kaikeyī's tent and instantly aligning his whole life around Him, she hears Mukunda once and arranges her existence around the hearing.
Across the Bhāgavatam, prema begins at the ear — Ajāmila hearing 'Nārāyaṇa' from a son's mouth, Parīkṣit hearing the whole text from Śukadeva, Mahārāja Khaṭvāṅga hearing of the Lord in his last muhūrta. Rukmiṇī's case is the most poignant: she has never seen Kṛṣṇa; she has only heard Him sung.
The Caitanya-line treats this verse as the prototype of bhakti by śravaṇa alone. The husband-decision is made on the basis of guṇa-kathana — not photograph, not horoscope, but the singing of His qualities by His own visitors.
My note
Source: vedabase.io