Rukmini had heard about Krishna from the scholars who visited her father’s kingdom, and had come to the conclusion that she should marry Krishna, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. But her brothers made arrangements to get her married to Sisuspala. The day of the wedding was at hand and Rukmini had to send word to Krishna to come and take her away. She had to choose a trustworthy person to take her letter to Krishna. There was a scholar who had visited Vidarbha many times, and Rukmini knew he would be the best person to convey her letter to Krishna. This matter of Rukmini choosing the right person is to remind us that we too must seek a good Acharya to help us reach the feet of the Supreme One.
Rukmini’s messenger reached Dwaraka the same day, and handed over Rukmini’s letter to Krishna. But how did he traverse hundreds of miles in one day? We are not told the name of this Brahmin. The word dvija is used to indicate it was a Brahmin. But the word dvija has other meanings too. One meaning is bird. A bird has two births, first when the mother bird lays an egg, and later when the egg hatches. Teeth are also called dvija, because we first have milk teeth, which fall off and then we get a set of permanent teeth.
In the context of Rukmini’s story, if we take the word dvija to also mean a bird, then it is easy to see how the Brahmin chosen by her covered a huge distance easily. This Brahmin was none other than Garuda. Hanuman discovered where Sita was and took a message from her to Rama, and was embraced by the joyful Rama. Garuda had served Him since time immemorial, and yet he had not been praised as a messenger of the Lord. So he made up for it in the Krishna avatara by bearing a message from Rukmini to Krishna.
