Once upon a time, there lived an evil king by the name of Kamsa in the kingdom of Mathura. He was feared throughout for his evil practices and wicked rule. But, he loved one person more dearly than anyone else and it was his own sister, who was Devaki. Soon, Devaki was married to Vasudeva and Kamsa himself offered to ride the chariot to Vasudeva’s place. But on the way to the destination, the climate changed and the skies darkened as a prophecy was unveiled to Kamsa. A booming voice spoke from the sky, saying that Devaki’s 8th child would bring about the death of Kamsa. The voice then disappeared and everything was once again normal.
Kamsa grew very angry and was about to kill Devaki on the spot, when Vasudeva intervened and said that he would give up every child to him if he spared her life. Kamsa agreed and threw both of them in prison in Mathura. Soon, Devaki gave birth to her first child and After hearing the cries of the child, Kamsa came into the prison and grabbed the child away from her. He took the child to a dungeon and killed the poor soul. Vasudeva and Devaki could only remain silent as they witnessed this brutality. This went on for the next 5 children of Devaki, as Kamsa killed each baby without even shedding a single drop of tear. When Devaki was pregnant with her 7th child, her baby was mysteriously transported to Rohini, who was Vasudeva’s first wife. This baby was a boy and he would later be known as Balarama.
After some months, Lord Vishnu appeared in the prison of Vasudeva and Devaki and said that he would take birth as a baby in Devaki’s womb in order to vanquish Kamsa. As Vasudeva and Devaki prayed to him, he disappeared. Soon, Devaki was pregnant with her 8th child and as Lord Krishna was born, all the guards in the palace fell asleep and the door of Vasudeva’s prison opened. Vasudeva soon received divine guidance and following the instructions, he took baby Krishna and walked out of the prison and eventually, walked out of the palace too. The divine serpent - Adi Sesh Naag (Lord Vishnu’s snake in Vaikunta) also accompanied Vasudeva and provided him with a shelter against the rain as he carried baby Krishna from the palace.
Vasudeva was soon stopped by a river. But lo and behold! The river opened up like a gate on both sides, allowing Vasudeva a path to walk through. Vasudeva carried baby Krishna until he reached the office of Yashoda. He replaced Yashoda’s baby with baby Krishna. Then Vasudeva took Yashoda’s baby with him back to his prison in Mathura.
The gates closed and all the guards awoke when the baby started to cry. Kamsa was alerted and soon he came and snatched the baby from Devaki’s hands. As he was about to kill the baby, the baby transformed into Goddess Durga. She was shining with radiance as she proclaimed that the 8th child of Devaki was beyond his reach and sleeping safely. She went on to say that the end was drawing near for a ruthless person like him who did not think twice before even killing a child.
Goddess Durga then vanished. Vasudeva and Devaki were standing with their hands folded as Kamsa looked on in despair. His despair turned to rage as he could only look on and do nothing more. As Kamsa exited the prison, Vasudeva and Devaki shared a happy smile.