Shloka 27
श्रीकृष्ण-जन्म, वसुदेव-यमुनातरण, बालिका-उत्क्षेपः, देवी-प्रादुर्भावः
प्रजहास तथैवोच्चैः कंसं च रुषिताब्रवीत् किं मया क्षिप्तया कंस जातो यस् त्वां वधिष्यति
prajahāsa tathaivoccaiḥ kaṃsaṃ ca ruṣitābravīt kiṃ mayā kṣiptayā kaṃsa jāto yas tvāṃ vadhiṣyati
She laughed aloud, and then, angered, spoke to Kamsa: “What has been gained by casting me down, O Kamsa? Has he who will slay you been born from me?”
Devakī (addressing Kaṃsa after being cast down/assaulted)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Kṛṣṇa’s descent and the events surrounding his birth amid Kaṃsa’s persecution.
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: To remove the tyrant Kaṃsa and relieve the earth and the Yādavas from his oppression, enabling dharma to flourish.
Leela: Loka-rakshana
Dharma Restored: Reassertion of divine inevitability over tyrannical attempts to alter fate and dharma.
Concept: Violence born of fear and adharma cannot avert what is upheld by divine will; tyrants accelerate their own downfall by persecuting the innocent.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: When threatened, avoid panic-driven harm; choose restraint and ethical action, trusting that unjust means cannot secure lasting safety.
Vishishtadvaita: Divine governance operates within history: the Lord’s will (through Yogamāyā’s speech) steers events while embodied agents remain accountable.
Vishnu Form: Hari
FAQs
This verse sharpens the inevitability of Kaṃsa’s downfall: violence against Devakī cannot avert the divine decree, because the avatāra destined to restore dharma cannot be thwarted by human cruelty.
Through the narrative of Kaṃsa’s fear and Devakī’s rebuke, the Purana presents a moral cosmos where adharma triggers its own end—Vishnu’s order prevails even when tyrants attempt to control fate.
Even before Krishna’s explicit appearance, the verse points to Vishnu’s supreme governance: the ‘slayer’ is not merely a hero but the instrument of the Supreme Reality restoring balance in the world.