Why Lord Krishna Had 16,000 Wives?

Shocked to read the figure? But yes, scriptures do mention that Lord
Krishna had 16,000 wives. To be specific, He had 16,008 wives. Now,
though we all know that polygamy was a popular practice in ancient times,
yet 16,008 seems like going out of the way. There are many such stories in
Indian mythology that are simply intriguing. Lord Krishna, known for His
many miracles, never fails to intrigue us with some of the most spectacular
stories. His eternal love with Radha, his marriage to eight most beautiful
princesses and yet having 16,000 and plus wives, certainly make us wonder
as what would have been the reason for this. If we go by the scriptures, we
will find that Lord Krishna never married Radha. But He did marry eight
women. The names of all His eight wives were Rukmini, Satyabhama,
Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana. Of them,
Rukmini and Satyabhama were the most well-known.

Now moving on to the story of 16,000 wives, all of us know very well that
Lord Krishna was a miracle king. Whatever happened related to Him,
happened for a reason. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that having
16,008 wives was also part of ‘Krishna leela’. So, what led to the
circumstances where Lord Krishna had to marry 16,000 women? Let us find
out.

Narakasura was the king of Pragjyotisha, identified with present-day

Assam. He was the demon (asura) son of Vishnu’s boar avatar Varaha and
the earth-goddess Bhumi devi (Earth). As the son of Bhumi, he was also
called Bhauma or Bhaumasura. He conquered the three worlds: heaven,
earth and underworld. On earth, he captured 16,000 princesses of defeated
nations. In heaven, he stole the earrings of Aditi, mother of Indra – the
king of gods and heaven. In the underworld, he seized the imperial
umbrella of Varuna, the god of the waters.

He imprisoned the princesses on a mountain. Meanwhile, Indra pleaded

Lord Krishna to fight Narakasura, get back Aditi’s earrings and free the
world from the tyranny of the demon. So, Lord Krishna went and killed the
demon.
The Booty After the death of Narakasura, Bhumi devi returned all the stolen
items, including the 16,000 women to Krishna. Lord Krishna set them free
but they did not comply. Social Stigma In ancient times, the women who
were abducted by the kings of other kingdoms were not taken back when
the king was vanquished. They led a life of stigma and shame pertaining to
the belief that they have been touched by some other man.

The 16,008 women in Narakasura’s cell would also have suffered the same.
Hence, they prayed to Lord Krishna to accept all of them as His wives. The
16,108 wives Lord Krishna thus, married all of them. The Bhagavata Purana
captures the life of Krishna’s wives after their marriage. Each of the junior
wives was given a home, with hundreds of maid-servants. Krishna divides
himself into several forms, one for each wife and spends the night with
each wife simultaneously. In the morning, all his forms unite into one body
of Krishna when He works as the king of Dwarka. Each wife serves Krishna
personally, worshipping him, bathing him, dressing him, fanning him,
presenting him with gifts and flower garlands. The Miracle King.

According to another story, the mischief-maker sage Narada once

requested Lord Krishna to gift him one of his many wives, as he was a
bachelor. Krishna told him to win any wife for himself, if he was not with
her. Then Narada went round to each of the houses of Krishna’s 16,008
wives but found Krishna in every house that he visited, and thus Narada
had to remain a bachelor. Watching this phenomenon, Narada was
convinced that it was divinity in the form of Lord Krishna, a complete and
manifold manifestation who had enjoyed the company of his 16,000
consorts at the same time. That is why Lord Krishna is the Supreme Divine
who is there with all His devotees in some or the other form, just like His
16,008 wives.