Eyes on the Fish: The Marriage of Krishna and Lakshmana
Among the eight chief queens of Krishna, known as the
Ashtabharya, Lakshmana holds a distinctive place for the sheer difficulty of
the trial that won her hand. Her father, King Brihatsena of Madra (named
specifically in the Padma Purana, while the Bhagavata Purana refers to him
simply as the ruler of Madra), announced a swayamvara, a self-choice marriage
ceremony in which suitors compete for a princess's hand. The task set before
the assembled kings and warriors was formidable: they had to pierce the eye of
a fish mounted on a revolving wheel suspended from the ceiling, aiming not by
looking at the fish directly but only at its reflection in a vessel of oil
placed on the ground, all while balancing on the pans of a weighing scale.
Krishna's Feat
Where celebrated archers, including Duryodhana and
Jarasandha, failed to strike the target, Krishna alone succeeded. Standing
steady upon the scale, he lifted his bow, bowed his head toward the oil below,
and shot the fish's eye with effortless precision. Interestingly, in the
Bhagavata Purana's Tenth Canto, Lakshmana herself later recounts this event to
Draupadi, drawing a comparison between their two swayamvaras. She explains that
while Draupadi's target was only partly concealed, visible if one looked straight
up, her own target could only be approached by looking both up at the fish and
down into the oil at once, a feat achievable by no mortal archer (Bhagavata
Purana 10.83.19).
Symbolism of the Trial
The test is rich in symbolic meaning within Vaishnava
thought. The revolving wheel suggests the ceaseless turning of time and karma,
the fish's eye represents a single point of unwavering focus, and the oil's
reflection stands for the indirect, mediated way ordinary beings perceive
truth, through images and reflections rather than direct vision. That only
Bhagavan Krishna could unite steadiness, focus, and vision to strike the mark
reflects the teaching that supreme concentration and divine grace alone overcome
such trials, echoing themes found in the Bhagavad Gita regarding steadfast,
one-pointed intelligence.
Lakshmana Among the Ashtabharya
After the contest, Brihatsena gave his daughter's hand with
full ceremony and joy, without the family opposition that marked some of
Krishna's other marriages. Lakshmana, also called Charuhasini for her lovely
smile, is listed among the principal queens in the Bhagavata Purana, the Vishnu
Purana, and the Harivamsa, though texts vary on whether she is counted seventh
or eighth among them. Her story remains one of quiet devotion and steady
resolve rewarded by divine grace.