The Mean King and the Scary Prophecy

A long time ago in the beautiful kingdom of Mathura, there lived a very mean king named Kansa. He was selfish and cruel, and everyone was afraid of him. One day, Kansa heard a prophecy that made him really scared. A voice from the sky told him: "Kansa, listen carefully! The eighth child born to your sister Devaki will grow up to defeat you!"

In anger, he decided to kill his sister Devaki. But her husband, Vasudeva, pleaded with Kansa, “Spare her! In return, I will give you every child of ours.” Kansa agreed but decided to put both of them in prison. He ordered his guards to inform him whenever a baby is born to Devaki.

The Prison Babies and Kansa's Cruelty

Poor Devaki and Vasudeva had to live in a dark prison with heavy chains on their hands and feet. Whenever Devaki had a baby, mean King Kansa would come to the prison and take the baby away. This happened six times, and Kansa hurt all six babies because he was so scared of the prophecy. "Please don't hurt our children!" Devaki would cry, but Kansa wouldn't listen. He was only thinking about himself and staying king forever. When Devaki was going to have her seventh baby, something magical happened! The baby, who was named Balarama, was secretly transferred to the womb of Rohini, another wife of Vasudeva who lived far away in a cowherd village called Gokul. This way, the baby was safe from Kansa.

The Magical Birth of Krishna

Finally, the time came for the eighth baby to be born. On a dark, stormy night, something amazing happened in that prison. The whole cell began to glow with a beautiful blue light! Devaki was about to give birth to Lord Krishna himself, who had decided to come to Earth to defeat the evil Kansa. When baby Krishna was born, he didn't look like a regular baby at all! He had four arms and was wearing beautiful jewelry and a crown! He was glowing with divine light. Devaki and Vasudeva knew right away that this was no ordinary child - this was the Supreme Lord in baby form!

Just then, a miracle happened! All the guards fell into a deep sleep. The heavy prison doors unlocked by themselves, and the chains fell off Vasudeva's hands and feet! Vasudeva knew he had to leave immediately and hand over the baby to someone else. He decided to go to Gokul to drop him off at his friend, Nand’s house. He knew the baby would be safe there. Outside, it was raining very hard. As Vasudeva carried baby Krishna on his head and walked toward the river, the waters parted to make way for him! A giant snake named Sheshnaag appeared and spread its hood over the baby to keep him dry. Everything in nature was helping to keep baby Krishna safe!