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The Birth of Krishna

Long, long ago, it is said, gods and goddesses, demons and humans all lived together on this earth. Though they had their own worlds, the gods—or devas, and the demons—or asuras, would sometimes take the form of human beings. They would be born to human mothers and fathers and seem like ordinary human children. But the asuras would reveal their true natures with their evil deeds. And the devas would reveal their true natures when the time came for them to solve great problems, or to right grievous wrongs.

In such a time, there lived a cruel prince called Kamsa, who some people say was an asura. Kamsa had no sisters and brothers, but he had a cousin called Devaki, a beautiful girl whom he loved as dearly as a sister.

Now, Kamsa was a strange man. As long as he was in the company of good men, he would behave like a good man. But at other times, he would forget himself and his evil nature would take possession of him. Unfortunately, many of his ministers were asuras, demons in the shape of men, and they constantly goaded him to behave in evil ways.

The day came when his cousin, Devaki, grew into a young maiden ready to be married. A gentle and kind nobleman called Vasudeva seemed the perfect match.

Their wedding was celebrated with great joy. The festivities were grand, and when the time came for the bride to be taken to her new home, it is said that a hundred golden chariots, four hundred elephants and an enormous army stood by to escort the newlyweds.

As he watched the couple get ready to depart, Kamsa felt sad to see Devaki leave. He went to their chariot and asked the charioteer to get down. He had decided, as a gesture of his affection for Devaki, to drive the chariot himself. He picked up the reins and they set off.

They were riding along when suddenly there was a burst of thunder. Then a great voice boomed from the heavens: “Kamsa, your death has been decided. The eighth child born to Devaki will be the one who will slay you!”

Kamsa was seized with great fear. In an instant, he had drawn out his sword and grabbed the frightened Devaki by her hair. “Ha!” he roared. “Only if she lives to see that day! I shall slay her before that!” He held the sword at Devaki’s neck.

Vasudeva, horrified, grabbed Kamsa’s hand and pleaded, “Kamsa, don’t! You love Devaki as a younger sister. She has done you no harm. You should be the one to protect her!”

But Kamsa pulled away. Seeing that his pleas fell on deaf ears, Vasudeva made one last desperate attempt to save his bride.

“Kamsa, I promise you, you will have nothing to fear from Devaki,” he said. “I hereby swear that I will hand over every one of our children to you as soon as they are born.”

Knowing that this was the promise of a nobleman, Kamsa considered it for a while. Then, realizing that the crime he was about to commit in front of so many people would show him to be a demon, he agreed to let Devaki go.

Soon enough, a child was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. As promised, Vasudeva took the child to Kamsa. At first Kamsa thought he had nothing to fear. After all, he had been warned only of the eighth child. However, confused by all the different advice he was given by his asura ministers, he soon killed the child.

Having done that, it seemed as if evil finally took control of him. Kamsa even imprisoned his father, King Ugrasena, and took over his kingdom. He caught Vasudeva and Devaki as well. They, too, were thrown into prison.