Krishna, the eternal lover, is believed to have charmed the heart of every woman he came across, and his marriage with 16,100 women is the stuff of numerous ballads that have enthralled us over ages. But who amongst them all did Krishna love? Who ruled his heart and influenced his life?

Not one, but there were eight women whom Krishna married solely on the basis of mutual love and respect. Each of these wives—the Ashtabharyas—contributed to making Krishna what he was. While their names figure in the text of the great epic Mahabharata, not much has been discussed about them. Who are these women, and what was that special ‘something’ in each of them that won Krishna over? What were each of those relationships like?

Radha Viswanath delves deep into the great Hindu epics, puranas, and other ancient texts, weaving nuggets of information with rich imagination to give us a fascinating picture of Krishna’s life with these eight extraordinary women.