Krishna Janmashtami 2026

“The goddess Durga was decorated with flower garlands, smeared with sandalwood pulp and dressed with excellent garments and ornaments made of valuable jewels. Holding in her hands a bow, a trident, arrows, a shield, a sword, a conchshell, a disc and a club, and being praised by celestial beings like Apsaras, Kinnaras, Uragas, Siddhas, Charanas and Gandharvas, who worshiped her with all kinds of presentations, she spoke as follows. ‘O Kamsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children.’” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.4.10-12)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

दिव्यस्रगम्बरालेपरत्नाभरणभूषिता
धनु:शूलेषुचर्मासिशङ्खचक्रगदाधरा
सिद्धचारणगन्धर्वैरप्सर:किन्नरोरगै:
उपाहृतोरुबलिभि: स्तूयमानेदमब्रवीत्
किं मया हतया मन्द जात: खलु तवान्तकृत्
यत्र क्‍व वा पूर्वशत्रुर्मा हिंसी: कृपणान् वृथा

divya-srag-ambarālepa-
ratnābharaṇa-bhūṣitā
dhanuḥ-śūleṣu-carmāsi-
śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-dharā

siddha-cāraṇa-gandharvair
apsaraḥ-kinnaroragaiḥ
upāhṛtoru-balibhiḥ
stūyamānedam abravīt

kiṁ mayā hatayā manda
jātaḥ khalu tavānta-kṛt
yatra kva vā pūrva-śatrur
mā hiṁsīḥ kṛpaṇān vṛthā

He was on a winning streak. Who could blame him for confidence beginning to swell? He was doing whatever he wanted to do. No one could stop him. There was that danger lurking around the corner, to be delivered in due time. That is what prevented Kamsa from attaining peace. If one moment could be described as the reversal, as the time that things began to turn around in a visible way, it was when that wicked leader decided to physically eliminate the superintendent of the material universe itself. On the auspicious occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, we remember and honor that person who was a key figure in the dramatic real-life play conceived long ago by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In the heyday of television sitcoms, the writers sometimes required multiple episodes to tell a story. This introduced a rare continuity to the shows, such that viewers would have to remember what happened in previous iterations. In case anyone missed the last airing, the new episodes would begin with a recap. The recap would explain what happened before, so that people could settle in and continue with the rest of the story, hopefully sticking around until the conclusion.

In the case of the king of Mathura, our brief recap is as follows. He was accompanying his cousin-sister on the day of her marriage. In the ancient tradition that is difficult to comprehend for people living in modern times, a father would give away his daughter in marriage. It was like the groom’s family was adopting a child. It was a serious matter. This was to fulfill a sacred duty, to allow individuals to enter the grihastha-ashrama, which is the institution of marriage. For the daughter, it would be like going off to a military enlistment. Instead of dodging sniper fire, she would live with total strangers, essentially taking commands from the mother of her new husband.

शङ्खतूर्यमृदङ्गाश्च नेदुर्दुन्दुभय: समम्
प्रयाणप्रक्रमे तात वरवध्वो: सुमङ्गलम्

śaṅkha-tūrya-mṛdaṅgāś ca
nedur dundubhayaḥ samam
prayāṇa-prakrame tāta
vara-vadhvoḥ sumaṅgalam

“O beloved son, Maharaja Parikshit, when the bride and bridegroom were ready to start, conchshells, bugles, drums and kettledrums all vibrated in concert for their auspicious departure.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.1.33)

As the transition is not easy, the tradition is that one of the bride’s brothers accompany the bride on the journey to her new family. Like a car trip to drop someone off to their first semester at college, Kamsa was there to serve the purpose. A problem arose along the route, however. A voice from the sky arrived on the scene and warned Kamsa about his fate. You see, the bride he was accompanying would give birth to a son that would one day kill Kamsa. Terrified by the proposal, Kamsa took out his sword and was prepared to kill his cousin-sister, Devaki, right then and there. It was only through the deft persuasion of her new husband, Vasudeva, that Devaki was spared.

Rather than tempt fate, Kamsa decided to imprison the newlyweds. They would live in jail, in the city of Mathura. The akasha-vani had warned that it would be the eighth child of Devaki to end Kamsa. The leader then proceeded to kill every child born to the couple. As soon as the child was born, Kamsa killed it. This was his success. He imprisoned his own family members, who were innocent. Vasudeva and Devaki were punished for the potential of a crime, if you could call it that.

Of course, this was all destined. The Supreme Lord was set to appear in the world. He had provided prior notice, in the spiritual world. When He arrives, it is like a dramatic play taking place on the stage that is the earth. God is so kind that He has an ensemble cast for the production. Vishnu does not hog the glory for Himself. He strategically places individuals into settings where they can play a vital role in helping to take down a sinful character.

One of those associates is Durga Devi. She has many other names, such as Parvati and Girija. As it pertains to Kamsa’s story, she appeared as the divine energy known as Yogamaya. She appeared from the womb of Yashoda, who was the wife of a cowherd leader named Nanda. The two lived in the nearby town of Gokula. Vishnu appeared as the eighth son of Devaki at midnight, while the couple were still in prison. He was known as Krishna, and He revealed His divine nature to the parents. Out of fear of further persecutions from Kamsa, there would be a baby swap. Vasudeva would take baby Krishna to Gokula and return with Yogamaya, who was just born to Yashoda. This was possible because everyone was sleeping at the time. Krishna’s energy would keep everyone in the dark. The next morning, Yashoda would think that Krishna was born to her. Kamsa would not know about Krishna’s birth.

Everything went according to plan. The next day, Kamsa heard about the birth of the child in the prison cell. Devaki then begged him to spare the child. It was a female, after all. The previous children were all mercilessly killed. Perhaps Kamsa could have some pity on Devaki, now. Kamsa was so ruthless that he ignored those pleas. He prepared to kill that newborn by throwing it against a stone slab.

If introducing a new scene of a dramatic production of the events, that very moment could be labelled “The Reversal.” This is when things began to turn around. The baby slipped from Kamsa’s hands. The baby transformed and rose to the sky. This baby was indeed Durga Devi. She was now visible, in her worshipable form. Kamsa had been on a winning streak, but no one can overcome the material nature on their own. This place is like a fort with high walls. To scale those walls is durgam, or difficult. Therefore, the wife of Mahadeva is appropriately named Durga.

Durga Devi essentially mocked Kamsa for his foolishness. All that preparation meant nothing. The eighth child was already born. It was already in this world. Kamsa could accomplish nothing by trying to kill any more newborns from Devaki. Kamsa was astonished by the potency of the goddess. Furthermore, he was in for the surprise of his life once enough years had passed for baby Krishna to grow up and return to Mathura. That Krishna would settle the score, once and for all.

In Closing:

Like power at its peak,
On longstanding winning streak.

Placed own sister in jail,
Death over babies to prevail.

Until eighth finally the one,
From Durga notice to come.

That in motion the reversal set,
Kamsa soon destiny to get.