A History of Love Letters

History points to the first official recorded love letter being from the Princess Rukmini to the god Krishna. Her brother had wanted her to marry a family friend instead of the god so, in defiance, she wrote this letter to her lover, begging him to take her away:

Chapter 52 of Canto 10 in Srimad Bhagavatam (Srimad Bhagavata Purana): O beauty of the worlds, having heard of Your qualities, which enter the ears of those who hear and remove their bodily distress, and having also heard of Your beauty, which fulfills all the visual desires of those who see, I have fixed my shameless mind upon You, O Kṛṣṇa. O Mukunda, You are equal only to Yourself in lineage, character, beauty, knowledge, youthfulness, wealth and influence. O lion among men, You delight the minds of all mankind. What aristocratic, sober-minded and marriageable girl of a good family would not choose You as her husband when the proper time has come? Therefore, my dear Lord, I have chosen You as my husband, and I surrender myself to You. Please come swiftly, O almighty one, and make me Your wife. My dear lotus-eyed Lord, let Śiśupāla never touch the hero’s portion like a jackal stealing the property of a lion. If I have sufficiently worshiped You by pious works, sacrifices, charity, rituals, and vows, and also by worshiping the demigods, brāhmaṇas, and gurus, then may Gadāgraja come and take my hand, and not Damaghoṣa’s son or anyone else. Since I will be staying within the inner chambers of the palace, You may wonder, “How can I carry you away without killing some of your relatives?” But I shall tell You a way: On the day before the marriage there is a grand procession to honor the royal family’s deity, and in this procession, the new bride goes outside the city to visit Goddess Girijā. O lotus-eyed one, great souls like Lord Siva hanker to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet and thereby destroy their ignorance. If I cannot obtain Your mercy, I shall simply give up my vital force, which will have become weak from the severe penances I will perform. Then, after hundreds of lifetimes of endeavor, I may obtain Your mercy.

more research coming soon <3