Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the

Vrishni The Vrishnis (, ) were an ancient Indian clan who were believed to be the descendants of Vrishni. It is believed that Vrishni was the son of Satvata, a descendant of Yadu, the son of Yayati. He had two wives, Gandhari and Madri, not to be conf ...

kingdom, with its capital at

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

. He is variously described in Hindu literature as either a human or an

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

; The

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

describe him as an asura, while the Harivamśa describes him as an asura reborn in the body of a man. His royal house was called Bhoja; thus, another of his names was Bhojapati. He was the cousin of

Devaki Devaki (Sanskrit: देवकी, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu texts, Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of ...

, the mother of the deity

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

; Krishna ultimately fulfilled a prophecy by slaying Kamsa. Kamsa was born to King

Ugrasena Ugrasena () is a character mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He is the King of Mathura, a kingdom that was established by the Vrishni tribes from the Yadavamsha clan. His son Kamsa was a cousin of Krishna's mother, Devaki. King Ugrase ...

and Queen Padmavati. However, out of ambition, and upon the advice of his personal confidantes,

Banasura Bana, also referred to as Banasura (), is an asura king in Hindu mythology, ruling from the city of Śoṇitapura. He is described to be the son of Mahabali. His tale of battling Krishna is described in the Bhagavata Purana. Legend A mighty asur ...

and Narakasura, Kamsa decided to overthrow his father, and install himself as the King of Mathura. Therefore, upon the guidance of another advisor, Chanura, Kamsa decided to marry Asti and Prapti, the daughters of

Jarasandha Jarasandha () is a king featured in the Hindu Mythology. He is the powerful monarch of Magadha, and a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He is the son of the king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popu ...

, King of

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

After a heavenly voice prophesied that Devaki's eighth son would slay him, Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and her husband

Vasudeva Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna ( ...

, and killed all of their children; however, just before the birth of the seventh child of Devaki and Vasudeva,

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

ordered the goddess Mahamaya to transfer the child from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini, another wife of

. Soon, Rohini gave birth to Devaki's seventh son, named

Balarama Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

. The eighth son, Krishna, an

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

, was transported to the village of

Gokul Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. History In the ''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'' and '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', the term "gokula" does not refer to any specifi ...

a, where he was raised in the care of Nanda, the head of the cowherds. Learning of his birth, Kamsa sent a host of asuras to kill the child Krishna, but Krishna killed every one of them. Finally, Krishna arrived in Mathura and slew his uncle, Kamsa.

Birth and early life

Kamsa was in his previous birth a demon called Kalanemi, who was slain by the god

. Kamsa is generally described as the son of the

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

ruler,

. However, some texts such as the ''

Padma Purana The ''Padma Purana'' (, or ) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brahma appeared, and includes large sections dedic ...

'' state that Kamsa was not the biological son of Ugrasena. In this story, the wife of Ugrasena (named Padmavati in some texts) is seen by a supernatural being named Dramila, who transforms himself into the form of Ugrasena and inseminates her. Realizing this duplicity, Padmavati curses Drumila to hell for his sin. She soon becomes pregnant with a son, whom she also curses be killed by a member of his family. After the son is born, Ugrasena adopts him and names him Kamsa. In childhood, Kamsa was trained by the other Yadavas, who were famous warriors, along with his eight brothers. Kamsa acquired Jarasandha's attention when the latter tried to invade Mathura. Kamsa single-handedly routed Jarasandha's army. The latter was impressed and made Kamsa his son-in-law. With Jarasandha's support, Kamsa became even more powerful.

Annexation of kingdom

During his wedding in

, Jarasandha brought over his army to escort the Princesses Asti and Prapti. Using the army of Magadha as his political cover, Kamsa overthrew his father after he refused to voluntarily retire from his position. This was done within the confines of the royal palace and the public was not informed. After Ugrasena failed to show up for public events, Kamsa announced his coronation.

Warning issued by Yogamaya

Kamsa intended to kill his cousin Devaki, fearing the prophecy that her eighth child was fated to kill him. Vasudeva managed to save his wife's life by promising Kamsa that he would deliver all their children to the latter. Kamsa accepted this proposition and spared Devaki because she herself was not a threat to him. In the confines of the prison, Devaki repeatedly conceived and Kamsa cruelly murdered the first six children. Before the seventh child was born,

ordered the goddess

Yogamaya Yogamaya (, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who serves as the personification of Vishnu's powers of illusion. In Vaishnavism, Vaishnava tradition, she is accorded the epithet Narayani—"the sister of Narayana (Vishnu)"—and is regarded as th ...

to transfer the seventh child of Devaki into the womb of Rohini. This child would be raised by his surrogate mother, Rohini, and named

, Krishna's elder brother.

was tasked to be born as the daughter of Yashoda. Immediately preceding the birth of Krishna, the goddess rendered the guards of Kamsa unconscious. When Krishna was born to Devaki, heeding the deity's instructions, Vasudeva carried the infant to Nanda and Yashoda's house, swapping him with their infant daughter, Yogamaya. Presuming the infant to be Devaki's eighth child, Kamsa prepared to murder her, but the girl slipped out of his hands. Assuming her true form, Yogamaya proclaimed to Kamsa, "The eighth child, who shall kill you, has been born. He is in Gokula!"

Death

The seventh child,

, was saved when he was moved to Rohini's womb. The eighth child born to Devaki and Vasudeva was

. Krishna was saved from Kamsa's wrath and raised by Vasudeva's relative Nanda and Yasoda, a cowherd couple. After Krishna grew up and returned to the kingdom, Kamsa was eventually killed and beheaded by Krishna, as was originally predicted by the divine prophecy. His eight brothers, headed by Kanka, were also killed by

. Following this, Ugrasena was reinstated as the King of Mathura. File:Krishna_Balarama_and_Kamsa.jpg, Krishna, Balarama, Kamsa as depicted in Yakshagana

References

External links

Why was Krsna’s Uncle Kamsa a Demon? The mystery of Kamsa’s birth revealed.
{{HinduMythology People related to Krishna Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in the Bhagavata Purana