Rukmini (रुक्मिणी) combines the Sanskrit rukma (gold) and ini (possessing). **Krishna's principal queen in the Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana** — **she wrote to Krishna asking him to abduct her before her arranged marriage to Shishupala, and he came to elope with her in his chariot**. **Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986)** brought the name to modern fame as the **revivalist who rescued Bharatanatyam from the colonial-era stigma against the devadasi tradition** and founded the Kalakshetra Academy in Madras (1936).
Featured throughout the Bhagavata Purana and *Harivamsa*.
Rukmini reduces to three — the number of Krishna's queen.