Shloka 65
Parīkṣit’s Questions and the Prelude to Kṛṣṇa’s Advent
Earth’s Burden, Viṣṇu’s Order, and Kaṁsa’s Fear
ऋषेर्विनिर्गमे कंसो यदून् मत्वा सुरानिति । देवक्या गर्भसम्भूतं विष्णुं च स्ववधं प्रति ॥ ६५ ॥ देवकीं वसुदेवं च निगृह्य निगडैर्गृहे । जातं जातमहन् पुत्रं तयोरजनशङ्कया ॥ ६६ ॥
ṛṣer vinirgame kaṁso yadūn matvā surān iti devakyā garbha-sambhūtaṁ viṣṇuṁ ca sva-vadhaṁ prati
After the departure of the great saint Nārada, Kaṁsa thought that all the members of the Yadu dynasty were demigods and that any of the children born from the womb of Devakī might be Viṣṇu. Fearing his death, Kaṁsa arrested Vasudeva and Devakī and chained them with iron shackles. Suspecting each of the children to be Viṣṇu, Kaṁsa killed them one after another because of the prophecy that Viṣṇu would kill him.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his notes on this verse, has mentioned how Nārada Muni gave Kaṁsa this information. This incident is described in the Hari-vaṁśa. Nārada Muni went to see Kaṁsa by providence, and Kaṁsa received him very well. Nārada, therefore, informed him that any one of the sons of Devakī might be Viṣṇu. Because Viṣṇu was to kill him, Kaṁsa should not spare any of Devakī’s children, Nārada Muni advised. Nārada’s intention was that Kaṁsa, by killing the children, would increase his sinful activities so that Kṛṣṇa would soon appear to kill him. Upon receiving the instructions of Nārada Muni, Kaṁsa killed all the children of Devakī one after another.
FAQs
This verse states that after the sage left, Kaṁsa concluded that Viṣṇu would be born from Devakī and would become the cause of his death, intensifying his fear and hostility.
Because the divine prophecy and the presence of Viṣṇu’s plan made Kaṁsa see the Yadu dynasty as empowered by the gods—no longer ordinary humans but instruments of a higher will.
Fear and ego can make a person interpret divine warnings as threats; the Bhagavatam cautions that resisting dharma only accelerates one’s downfall, while humility aligns one with protection.