Rukmini

Rukmini is the beloved princess of Vidarbha and the principal heroine of Premanand's *Okhaharan*, though the epic takes its name from Aniruddha's abduction of Usha. As Krishna's chief queen and the embodiment of devoted wifely virtue, she occupies a position of quiet moral authority throughout the narrative. Premanand draws her with characteristic warmth, balancing her royal dignity with a mother's tender anxiety as events surrounding her grandson Aniruddha unfold.

In the cantos where she appears, Rukmini serves as both an emotional anchor and a voice of dharmic counsel within Krishna's household at Dwaraka. Premanand, writing in the rich oral tradition of medieval Gujarati *akhyana*, gives her dialogue that is at once graceful and direct, reflecting the poet's deep sympathy for his female characters. Her interactions with Krishna carry an intimacy that humanises the divine, reminding listeners that even the lord of the universe is moved by a devoted companion's words. Through Rukmini, Premanand celebrates conjugal love as itself a form of devotion.