SB 10.52.17

Svayam Bhagavāṇ Kṛṣṇa, who is known as Govinda at this time, since he attained (vindati) or appeared on earth (go) in order to perform special pastimes, married Rukmiṇī, She is called śriyo mātrām: all wealth and qualities (śriyo) enter (māti) into her. Like the Lord she should appear in this world with a complete, perfect form. evaṁ yadā jagatsvāmī devadevo janārdanaḥ / avatāraṁ karotyeṣā tadā śrīs tat sahāyini // When Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the devatās, master of the universe appears in this world, his consort also enters to assist him. Viṣṇu Purāṇa Therefore she will be described as sadṛśīm in verse 24.He brought her close (upayeme) for the marriage pastime. The word api indicates everything previously said about Kṛṣṇa. Or Govinda can mean the lord of Gokula, who was feeling pain in separation from the gopīs. Thus he shed pitiful tears and ordered Uddhava to go to Gokula. (SB 10.46.3) Kṛṣṇa will say after the pastimes are finished: tās tāḥ kṣapāḥ preṣṭhatamena nītā mayaiva vṛndāvana-gocareṇa kṣaṇārdha-vat tāḥ punar aṅga tāsāṁ hīnā mayā kalpa-samā babhūvuḥ All of those nights that the gopīs spent with me, their most dearly beloved, in the land of Vṛndāvana while I herded the cows, seemed to them to pass in less than a moment. Bereft of my association, however, the gopīs felt that those same nights were equal to a day of Brahmā. SB 11.12.11 Though he felt like this towards the gopīs, he married Rukmiṇī. Why? She was another form (mātrām) of the gopī Rādhā (śriyaḥ). The gopīs are called śrī as in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo: I worship this Goloka, where there are unlimited gopīs and their beloved Kṛṣṇa, the supreme form of God, where the trees fulfill all desires. The gopīs are superior to Lakṣmī. nāyaṁ śriyo ’ṅga u nitānta-rateḥ prasādaḥ svar-yoṣitāṁ nalina-gandha-rucāṁ kuto ’nyāḥ rāsotsave ’sya bhuja-daṇḍa-gṛhīta-kaṇṭha- labdhāśiṣāṁ ya udagād vraja-vallabhīnām When Kṛṣṇa was dancing with the gopīs in the rāsa-līlā, the gopīs were embraced by the arms of the Lord. This favor was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune, though she was intensely attracted to him, or to other consorts in the spiritual world whose bodily luster and aroma resemble the lotus flower. And what to speak of worldly women? SB 10.47.60 As the Pāṇḍavas are the best among the Kurus, so the gopīs are the best among all the Lakṣmīs. They are called śrī because of non-difference of tattva. Or, śriyo mātrām can mean that Rukmiṇī is an expansion of Rādhā. yāta yūyaṁ vrajaṁn tāta vayaṁ ca sneha-duḥkhitān jñātīn vo draṣṭum eṣyāmo vidhāya suhṛdāṁ sukham Now you should all return to Vraja, dear father. We shall come to see you, our dear relatives who suffer in separation from us, as soon as we have given some happiness to your well-wishing friends. SB 10.45.23 Thus Kṛṣṇa accepted marriage in order to give happiness to the Yādavas. The Kārttika-māhātmya section of the Padma Purāṇa states kaiśore gopa-kanyās tā yauvane rāja-kanyakāḥ: In childhood, Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with the daughters of cowherd men, and in his adolescence he enjoyed with the daughters of kings. Similarly, in the Skanda Purāṇa it is said rukmiṇī dvāravatyāṁ tu rādhā vṛndāvane vane: Rukmiṇī is in Dvārakā what Rādhā is in the forest of Vṛndāvana. Because he is Bhagavān he has a variety of manifestations of his śaktis. In Nārāyaṇa-kavaca it is said: mām keśavo gadayā prātar avyād govindaḥ āsaṅgavam ātta-venuḥ May Keśava protect me with his club in the first portion of the day, and may Govinda, who is always engaged in playing His flute, protect me in the second portion of the day. SB 6.8.20 Thus, as the eternal performer of pastimes he married Rukmiṇī. How did he do this? He is Bhagavān, who appears in Dvārakā and Vraja simultaneously by his acintya-śakti. Similarly he pacified the gopīs through the mouth of Uddhava. This was a svayaṁvara (the bride choosing her husband) according to the description in Hari-vaṁśa. Understanding that Śiśupāla had been chosen as her husband, she told Kṛṣṇa to abduct her through a message after her choice (svayamvare) of Kṛṣṇa had been denied. Or Rukmiṇī herself (svayam) chose (vare) Kṛṣṇa as her husband on sending the message through the son of the brāhmaṇa. He immediately defeated all the kings headed by Śālva. Though Jarāsandha was the chief warrior there, Śālva provoked the battle through his words, though there was agreement by all the kings to surrender to Kṛṣṇa in an assembly discussion before the abduction. This is made clear in Hari-vaṁśa (Viṣṇu-parva 52). These kings were the allies of Śiśupāla. This happened while all the others looked on, in disrespect. The possessive case indicates disrespect (paśyatām sarva-lokānāṁ). Since they were kings (rājñaḥ) they were ashamed of their defeat. Tārkṣya means the son of Kaśyapa, Garuḍa.