Once upon a time, on the banks of the Yamuna, in the ancient city of Mathura, which was ruled by a despotic king called Kamsa, was born a dark and delightful baby boy, called Krishna. Krishna was born in the Vrishni family, in the lineage of Yadu.
Devaki was the sister of the King Kamsa and Mathura was the capital of his kingdom.
Krishna was born to Princess Devaki and her husband, the noble man Vasudeva. Devaki was the sister of the King Kamsa and Mathura was the capital of his kingdom.
It had been prophesized that Kamsa’s doom would be wrought about by his own sister, Devaki’s eight child. Hence, Kamsa had imprisoned her with her husband and killed every one of her children as soon as they were born. Krishna was the eighth born child to Devaki and Vasudeva and He was born in the middle of the night in the prison of Kamsa.
Soon after Krishna’s birth, as though in answer to Devaki and Vasudeva’s earnest prayers to save Krishna from Kamsa, the prison cells opened and Vasudeva escaped from the prison with his just born son Krishna, carrying Him over his head. Vasudeva carried him on his head across the Yamuna River to Vrindavan.
Krishna thus reached the household of Nandagopa in Gokul, on the other side of the Yamuna.
Krishna and Balarama left Vrindavan for Mathura on Kamsa’s invitation when He was twelve. There Balarama and Krishna challenged Kamsa’s wrestlers, Mushtika and his wrestling partner Chanura to a wrestling bout – Mallayuddha. Mushtika and Chanura were killed in this bout. Krishna then took on the vile Kamsa and killed him.
This happened on a Shukla Paksha Dasami, i.e 10th phase of the brightening moon, in the month of Karthik.
It was a day when the prophecy of Kamsa’s death finally came true.
More on this in our book, “Historical Krishna”.
– Dr. D.K. Hari & Dr. D.K. Hema Hari
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