Shloka 9
Garga Muni Names Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; the Butter-Thief Pastimes; Yaśodā Sees the Universe in Kṛṣṇa’s Mouth
कंस: पापमति: सख्यं तव चानकदुन्दुभे: । देवक्या अष्टमो गर्भो न स्त्री भवितुमर्हति ॥ ८ ॥ इति सञ्चिन्तयञ्छ्रुत्वा देवक्या दारिकावच: । अपि हन्ता गताशङ्कस्तर्हि तन्नोऽनयो भवेत् ॥ ९ ॥
kaṁsaḥ pāpa-matiḥ sakhyaṁ tava cānakadundubheḥ devakyā aṣṭamo garbho na strī bhavitum arhati
Kaṁsa is sinful in mind and skilled in intrigue. He will connect your friendship with Ānakadundubhi (Vasudeva) with the fact that Devakī’s eighth pregnancy could not produce a daughter. Having heard from Yoga-māyā, Devakī’s daughter, that his killer has already been born elsewhere, if he learns that I have performed the saṁskāras, he will suspect Kṛṣṇa to be the son of Devakī and Vasudeva and may try to kill Him—this would be a great calamity for us.
Kaṁsa knew very well that Yoga-māyā was, after all, the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu and that although Yoga-māyā had appeared as the daughter of Devakī, she might have been forbidden to disclose this fact. Actually this was what had happened. Garga Muni argued very soberly that his taking part in performing the reformatory process for Kṛṣṇa would give rise to many doubts, so that Kaṁsa might take very severe steps to kill the child. Kaṁsa had already sent many demons to attempt to kill this child, but none of them had survived. If Garga Muni were to perform the purificatory process, Kaṁsa’s suspicions would be fully confirmed, and he would take very severe steps. Garga Muni gave this warning to Nanda Mahārāja.
FAQs
This verse shows Kaṁsa’s sinful, suspicious mind: even after seeing a baby girl, he reasons that Devakī’s eighth child “cannot be a girl,” revealing how fear and adharma distort judgment.
Because he was obsessed with the prophecy that Devakī’s eighth child would kill him; his fixation made him distrust the obvious and suspect that the real danger had been hidden from him.
Unchecked fear and wrongdoing create paranoia and poor decisions; cultivating dharma and devotion steadies the mind and reduces destructive suspicion.