Sri Krishna Wives: The 8 Queens (Ashtabharya) and the 16,100 Explained

How many wives did Krishna have?

One of the most asked questions about Lord Krishna is how many wives he had, and the answer, by the tradition, is in two parts: eight principal queens, the Ashtabharya, and 16,100 more women whom he rescued and honoured, so that the scriptures speak of 16,108 queens in all. But the numbers alone miss the heart of it, for the second and far larger group is a story not of marriage as the world knows it, but of compassion, protection and the restoring of honour. This guide tells both stories with care. To walk the land where Krishna's life unfolded, see our mathura vrindavan tou.

From the ground (Gurudutt): I am often asked about this, sometimes with a raised eyebrow, as if the number were a scandal, and I always gently explain the two very different things it holds. The eight queens are each a beautiful story of devotion and valour, Rukmini's above all. But the sixteen thousand and a hundred are something else entirely: these were women freed from a demon's prison whom a cruel society would not take back, and Krishna, as God and as protector, gave every one of them the dignity and safety of a queen, when no one else would. Understood rightly, it is one of the most compassionate acts in all our tradition, not a worldly matter at all. And Radha, people always ask, Radha is not counted here, because her love is of another, higher order altogether.

The eight queens: the Ashtabharya

The eight principal queens of Krishna, wed each in her own story of devotion or valour, are known together as the Ashtabharya, the eight consorts. They are given below.

Each of the Ashtabharya is revered in the tradition, and several, such as Rukmini, who is honoured as the goddess Lakshmi, and Kalindi, the sacred Yamuna, are worshipped as divine. Krishna is worshipped with his chief queen as Dwarkadhish, the Lord of Dwarka. We present the queens with the reverence of the tradition, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

The 16,100 rescued wives of Krishna

Beyond the eight queens, the tradition tells of 16,100 more women who became Krishna's queens, and their story is one of compassion. These women had been seized and held captive by the demon Narakasura in his palace. When Krishna, by the tradition with Satyabhama at his side, defeated the demon, he freed all these women from their captivity.

But the society of that time, in its cruelty, would not accept the freed women back into their homes and families, because they had lived in the demon's palace, through no fault of their own; they were left with nowhere to go and no protection. So Krishna, moved by compassion, married them all and gave each of them the status, protection and dignity of a queen, so that none would be cast out or shamed. This was not a worldly matter, but an act of grace, shelter and the restoring of honour to the helpless.

So the 16,100 were rescued captives whom Krishna protected and dignified as queens when the world would not. So their story is one of compassion, not of worldly desire. We present it as the cherished belief and tradition, held with faith and recounted with reverence, the shelter and honour given by the Lord to the helpless.

Was Radha a wife of Krishna?

People often ask whether Radha was among Krishna's wives, and, by the tradition, she was not a worldly wife at all. Radha is revered as the eternal beloved of Krishna, his very own heart and the supreme embodiment of pure devotion; the love of Radha and Krishna is held to be divine and transcendent, of a higher order altogether than any worldly marriage, never a worldly matter. In Braj her name comes even before his, as Radha Krishna, and she is worshipped above all, at Barsana, at the radha kund and in the sacred grove of nidhivan vrindavan, where, by the cherished belief, the two perform their eternal pastimes.

So Radha is not counted among the queens because her love is beyond marriage, the very soul of devotion. So she is honoured above even the queens. Her appearance day is kept as Radhashtami, covered in our radhashtami guide. We present the love of Radha and Krishna as the cherished belief and tradition of Braj, held with faith and recounted with reverence, divine and transcendent, never worldly.

Krishna at Dwarka with his queens

After leaving Mathura, Krishna founded and reigned over the golden city of Dwarka on the western sea, and it was there that he lived with his queens, each, by the tradition, in her own palace, as the just and beloved king. In this form he is worshipped as Dwarkadhish, the Lord of Dwarka, and the dwarkadhish temple mathura honours him as the royal Krishna, crowned and reigning, a different mood from the child of Gokul or the cowherd of Vrindavan. So Krishna reigned with his queens at Dwarka, as Dwarkadhish. So this is the royal chapter of his life. We present it with the reverence of the tradition, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

The children and family of Krishna

Through his queens, by the tradition, Krishna had many sons and daughters, and a vast royal family at Dwarka; the best known of his sons is Pradyumna, the son of Rukmini, revered as an incarnation of Kamadeva, whose son Aniruddha continued the line. The tradition tells of the great Yadava dynasty around the Lord. So Krishna had many children, Pradyumna the most famous. So his was a great royal lineage. His birth into this story is honoured at the krishna janmabhoomi temple in Mathura. We present this account with the reverence of the tradition, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

Where the story of Krishna lives: Braj

The whole life of Krishna, from his birth to his childhood and his divine love, is written across the land of Braj. His birthplace is the Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura; his childhood pastimes fill Vrindavan, Gokul and govardhan hill; his divine love with Radha lives at Barsana and the radha rani temple barsana; and the great temples, from the banke bihari temple to the prem mandir vrindavan, tell his story to this day. Our places to visit in vrindavan guide covers the sacred sites.

To walk this land is to step into the stories of the Lord and his beloved. We arrange Mathura and Vrindavan darshan with a knowledgeable local guide who brings these stories to life; a shared day tour starts from around ₹1,499 per person, with darshan free at the temples, and our one-day vrindavan mathura tour and two-day mathura vrindavan tour help you plan. Message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809 to plan your pilgrimage to the land of Krishna.

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