Q1: Why Krishna has 16,108 wives?
Why He danced with thousands of Gopis in Vrindavan in the dead of the night? Does this not prove that He was immoral and lusty? How will you justify that He was mischievous child and was a butter thief?
A1: It's very funny that without proper knowledge of the scriptures People start speculating. I was reading a book on “Yadav Ithihasa” by Swami Sudhananda, but I was shocked to read that Swami ji was speculating and trying to say that Rasa Lila did not happen etc. First of all we have to understand who Krishna is. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead- the source of all incarnations (including Lord Visnu, Lord Bramha and Lord Siva) and everything that exists or does not exists.
So if He is the God, it means that everything belongs to Him. So if He is the owner of everything, where is the question of stealing? In fact all the residents of Vrindavan, used to make butter for Krishna only and used to wait that when baby Krishna will come and steal their butter. The mischievous pastimes of little Krishna gives unlimited joy and happiness to all Vrajabashis’s and devotees of Krishna. The pastimes of Krishna is the life and soul of all the residents of Vrindavan- which an envious person will not able to understand. Jai Shri Radha Krishna!
It’s explained in sastras that all the living entities can have personal relationship with the Supreme God. Actually initially we all living entities were in the Spiritual world with the Supreme Lord, but somehow we have fallen into this material temporary world. Now in the temporary material world, birth after birth, from one body to other material body, we are searching for that happiness which we all had experienced once in the relationship with the Supreme Lord Krishna in the Spiritual world. In this Maya Samsara, birth after birth we are searching for the happiness in different kind of relationships like relationship between son & father (santa rasa), relationship between servant and master (dasya rasa), relationship between friends (sakhya), relationship with son or daughter (vatsalya rasa) and relationship between wife and husband or lovers (Madhurya rasa). But since in this material world everything is temporary and based on false ego all of these relationships gives pain and is not pure. But when a living entity wants to get out of this temporary world and wants to return back home back to Krishna, Lord allows the living entity to serve and relate Him in one of the relationships.
When Lord Rama appeared in Treta yuga, many Yogis and sadhus approached Him in the forest and asked for a boon that they wanted to serve Him in Madhurya Rasa (Conjugal Love). Lord Rama blessed them and told them that, in next Purna avatar of Krishna, all of the yogis can take birth as Gopis in Vrindavan and can serve Him in madhurya Rasa. So this was the desire of the devotees of the Supreme Lord, which The Lord fulfilled and danced with them in Rasa Lila. Krishna Rasa Lila is not a mundane relationship between young girls and boys. Its divine relationship between the Supreme Lord and His devotees and this great fortune can be attained only when one is 100% pure and free from Lust and had got the merciful glance of Shrimati Radharani.
Lord Krishna Has Rasalila when He was only 8 years old. So first understand that Lord Krishna was a small child and all Gopis were also small children's and as such there is no question of any such relationship. He also lifted Govardhan hill when He was 7 years old. So one should first understand the position of Lord Krishna and then speak. If one wants to speak about Lord Krishna or wants to give example or quote from his pastimes, then he has to except all other pastimes and see the whole thing in same context and perspective. First of all let us understand who is Krishna? Lord Shri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead as per all Vedic literatures. So if he is the Supreme God, it means everything in the whole creation belongs to the God. It means all the wealth of this world, all beauty of this world, all knowledge of this world, all power of this creation, all renunciation of this world belongs to Him. It also means that he is the husband of all living entities (As we that we are not these bodies (male or female) we are souls). According to the Vedas only Purusa is the Lord and all other living entities are prakriti (feminine). So Lord Krishna is the husband of every living being ever existing. (mere do pati- ek mere pati aur doosare TIRUPATI-Lord Krishna)
Shrimati Radharani is the eternal consort of Shri Krishna. They are inseparable. They are the adi dampatti. Lord Krishna appeared around 5000 years back in Vrindavan. But Lord Krishna is unborn. Like example is given that it appears every morning that Sun is taking birth from the eastern horizon and disappearing in the sea. But does Sun take birth in the morning and dies in the evening. In the same way Lord Krishna appears with His eternal consort and associates and performs His beautiful pastimes so that to attract all the living entities back home back to Godhead. So Shrimati Radharani and Lord Shri Krishna are the eternal consort and the Supreme Lord.
Also Lord new that people in Kaliyuga will speak nonsense so he enacted the pastime of remarrying Shrimati Radharani. Lord Krishna married Shrimati Radharani when they were small. This vivah ceremony was conducted by Lord Bramha himself. This pastime took place in Bhandirvan and is explained in Garga Samhitta and Gita Govinda. Also all Gopis of Vrindavan were also married to Lord Shri Krishna when Lord Bramha has stolen all the friends of Lord Krishna for one year. When Lord Bramha has stolen all the calfs and the friends of Lord Krishna for one year, Lord Krishna expanded Himself as the cowherd boys and calves for the full one year. During this time all the Brajabashis got their son's married. Since only Lord Krishna Has expanded Himself as all the cowheard boys's, Lord Krishna had actually married all the gopis. After all these pastimes, Lord Krishnan performed Rasa lila.
Also, Lord Krishna had initially married only 8 Queens. Once He killed a demon called Bhaumasura who had kidnapped 16,100 princes and rescued them from his captivity. Then Lord told these princesses to return to their Kingdoms, but all these princesses told Lord Krishna that since this demon has kept them captive for so long, their fathers will not accept them back. All 16,100 princesses begged Lord Krishna to marry them. Lord being the most merciful and bhaktavatsala married all of them.
Lord Krishna build a separate palace for each queens and He expanded Him into 16,108 identical forms and lived with all His queens simultaneously. Lord Krishna begot at least 10 children’s from each queens and He had more than 1, 61,108 children’s. This is not possible by any human. People cannot maintain a single wife or a girl what to speak of not only maintaining 16,108 wives but begetting so many children’s and living with each of them simultaneously. Only God can do this. Now any rascal who does not have a brain will laugh on this.
There was a case of nuns in a court in Warsaw, Poland against ISKCON (Hare Krishna’s,
Radha Krishna Temple). Noting that ISKCON was spreading it's activities and gaining followers in Poland, a nun filed a case before a Judicial Magistrate praying that ISKCON should be banned because its followers were glorifying a Character called Krishna 'Who was loose in morals, having married 16,000 Gopikas'. When the case came up for hearing the ISKCON defendant requested the Judge to ask the nun to repeat the oath she had taken when she was ordained as a nun. The Judge asked the nun to recite the oath loudly. She would not. ISKCON man asked the Judge whether he could read it out for the nun. The Judge said go ahead. The pledge was in effect that 'she (the nun) is married to Jesus Christ'. ISKCON man said, "Your Lordship! Lord Krishna is alleged to have 'married' 16,000 women. There are more than a million nuns who assert that they are married to Jesus Christ. Between the two, Krishna and the nuns, who are loose characters?"
The Judge dismissed the case and allowed ISKCON to go its way.