SB 10.54.19 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

रुक्‍म्यमर्षी सुसंरब्ध: श‍ृण्वतां सर्वभूभुजाम् । प्रतिजज्ञे महाबाहुर्दंशित: सशरासन: ॥ १९ ॥ अहत्वा समरे कृष्णमप्रत्यूह्य च रुक्‍मिणीम् । कुण्डिनं न प्रवेक्ष्यामि सत्यमेतद् ब्रवीमि व: ॥ २० ॥

Verse text

rukmy amarṣī su-saṁrabdhaḥ śṛṇvatāṁ sarva-bhūbhujām pratijajṣe mahā-bāhur daṁśitaḥ sa-śarāsanaḥ ahatvā samare kṛṣṇam apratyūhya ca rukmiṇīm kuṇḍinaṁ na pravekṣyāmi satyam etad bravīmi vaḥ

Synonyms

rukmī — Rukmī ; amarṣī — intolerant ; su — saṁrabdhaḥ — extremely angry ; śṛṇvatām — while they listened ; sarva — all ; bhū — bhujām — the kings ; pratijajṣe — he swore ; mahā — bāhuḥ — mighty-armed ; daṁśitaḥ — wearing his armor ; sa — śarāsanaḥ — with his bow ; ahatvā — without killing ; samare — in battle ; kṛṣṇam — Kṛṣṇa ; apratyūhya — without bringing back ; ca — and ; rukmiṇīm — Rukmiṇī ; kuṇḍinam — the city of Kuṇḍina ; na pravekṣyāmi — I shall not enter ; satyam — in truth ; etat — this ; bravīmi — I say ; vaḥ — to all of you .

Translation

Frustrated and enraged, mighty-armed Rukmī, dressed in armor and wielding his bow, had sworn before all the kings, “I shall not again enter Kuṇḍina if I do not kill Kṛṣṇa in battle and bring Rukmiṇī back with me. I swear this to you.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Frustrated and enraged, mighty-armed Rukmī, dressed in armor and wielding his bow, had sworn before all the kings, "I shall not again enter Kuṇḍina if I do not kill Kṛṣṇa in battle and bring Rukmiṇī back with me. I swear this to you." KB 10.54.19-20 To show his prestige, Rukmī promised all the returning kings, “You could not help Śiśupāla marry my sister, Rukmiṇī, but I cannot allow Rukmiṇī to be taken away by Kṛṣṇa. I shall teach Him a lesson. Now I am going to follow Him.” He presented himself as a big commander and vowed before all the princes, “Unless I kill Kṛṣṇa in the fight and bring back my sister from His clutches, I shall not return to my capital city, Kuṇḍina. I make this vow before you all, and you will see that I shall fulfill it.”

Purport

Rukmī spoke these angry words and then set off to pursue Lord Kṛṣṇa, as described in the following verses.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Rukmi, being intolerant and very angry, took up his bow. He said, "Without killing Krsna and bringing back Rukmini I will not enter Kundina." Another meaning is "Not having recognized Krsna and liberated Rukmini, I will not enter Kundina."

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

To show his great courage he made a fitting promise to all the kings who were listening while he raised his arms (mahā-bahūḥ). He already was wearing his armor. Without killing Kṛṣṇa in battle, without him playing some trick, and without bringing back Rukmiṇī, I will not enter Kuṇḍina. This was because he could not show his face to the citizens if he were defeated. This was like a prediction of the future.