Shloka 5
Yoga-māyā Appears as Durgā; Kaṁsa’s Repentance and the Demonic Policy of Persecuting Vaiṣṇavas
बहवो हिंसिता भ्रात: शिशव: पावकोपमा: । त्वया दैवनिसृष्टेन पुत्रिकैका प्रदीयताम् ॥ ५ ॥
bahavo hiṁsitā bhrātaḥ śiśavaḥ pāvakopamāḥ tvayā daiva-nisṛṣṭena putrikaikā pradīyatām
ఓ సోదరా! విధివశాత్తు నీవు అగ్నితేజస్సు గల అనేకమంది శిశువులను చంపావు. దయచేసి ఈ ఒక్క ఆడపిల్లను వదిలిపెట్టు. ఈమెను నాకు బహుమతిగా ఇవ్వు.
Here we see that Devakī first focused Kaṁsa’s attention on his atrocious activities, his killing of her many sons. Then she wanted to compromise with him by saying that whatever he had done was not his fault, but was ordained by destiny. Then she appealed to him to give her the daughter as a gift. Devakī was the daughter of a kṣatriya and knew how to play the political game. In politics there are different methods of achieving success: first repression ( dama ), then compromise ( sāma ), and then asking for a gift ( dāna ). Devakī first adopted the policy of repression by directly attacking Kaṁsa for having cruelly, atrociously killed her babies. Then she compromised by saying that this was not his fault, and then she begged for a gift. As we learn from the history of the Mahābhārata, or “Greater India,” the wives and daughters of the ruling class, the kṣatriyas, knew the political game, but we never find that a woman was given the post of chief executive. This is in accordance with the injunctions of Manu-saṁhitā, but unfortunately Manu-saṁhitā is now being insulted, and the Āryans, the members of Vedic society, cannot do anything. Such is the nature of Kali-yuga.
FAQs
This verse shows Devakī attributing Kaṁsa’s cruel actions to being impelled by daiva (providence), highlighting how fear of fate can drive adharmic behavior—yet destiny ultimately serves the Lord’s plan.
After Kaṁsa had already killed her newborn sons, Devakī pleaded for mercy and tried to avert further violence by offering him the newborn girl, hoping to stop the slaughter.
It teaches that fear and obsession can lead to harmful choices; cultivating compassion and restraint—even in crisis—protects one from escalating wrongdoing.