Bhagavatham Stories

Kamsa descended from his throne with a deliberation and gravity that seemed to slow time itself. He had ruled Mathura for many years through fear and force, had orchestrated the death of thousands of innocents, had attempted repeatedly to prevent Krishna's birth and then to destroy him in infancy. Now, finally, he was facing the one being whose existence had been the source of his perpetual anxiety and fear. In some way that Kamsa could not articulate even to himself, he recognized that this confrontation represented not merely a struggle for political power but a settlement of a cosmic account that transcended the merely personal. The demonic forces that had sustained and empowered Kamsa throughout his reign seemed to abandon him in this moment, leaving him to face his fate alone.

Krishna, despite the violence that he was about to enact, approached Kamsa without hatred or personal animosity. This was a critical dimension of Krishna's role as the divine enforcer of cosmic justice. He was not acting from emotion or personal grievance but from a clear understanding of dharma—the principle that righteousness requires the elimination of those who persist in opposing the divine order and who refuse all opportunities for redemption and transformation. Kamsa had been offered countless opportunities to turn away from his demonic path, to surrender his pride and his attachment to power, to seek mercy and enlightenment. Each opportunity had been refused, each divine intervention and each demonstration of Krishna's power had only hardened Kamsa's resistance and deepened his determination to oppose the divine.

As Kamsa and Krishna met in combat, the entire arena erupted into chaos. The crowd, sensing that this was a confrontation of cosmic significance, cried out with various emotions—some in support of Krishna, recognizing him as a divine manifestation; others still loyal to Kamsa out of habit or fear; still others simply overwhelmed by the extraordinary nature of the events unfolding before them. The guards and soldiers of Mathura stood uncertain, not knowing whether to intervene or not. In this moment of uncertainty, Balarama moved with deliberate precision, ensuring that no one would interfere with the confrontation between Krishna and Kamsa. The wrestling arena, which had moments before been the site of Krishna's triumph over the professional wrestlers, now became the stage for a more profound confrontation.

The combat between Krishna and Kamsa was brief and decisive. Kamsa, despite his years of power and his access to all the resources of the kingdom, was fundamentally unprepared for what he faced. He was confronting not merely a superior warrior but the embodiment of a principle that transcended all principles—the eternal triumph of divine consciousness over the limited ego-consciousness that had driven all of Kamsa's actions. Krishna's movements were economical and precise, allowing Kamsa to engage his full strength and all of his fighting techniques, but ultimately overwhelming them all. When the moment came for Krishna to deliver the final blow, he did so with a combination of mercy and justice—mercy in that he ended Kamsa's suffering quickly and did not prolong the confrontation, justice in that he ensured that Kamsa received the consequences of his actions.

Kamsa fell dead in the arena, his body lying on the ground as a monument to the principle that even the greatest mortal power is as insignificant as dust when confronted by the divine. The arena fell into a profound silence. For a moment, no one moved or spoke. The crowd struggled to comprehend what had transpired—that the tyrant king who had ruled them with an iron fist for so many years was now dead, struck down in a moment of confrontation with the divine. The soldiers and officials of Kamsa's regime looked to each other in confusion and fear, uncertain about what would happen next, aware that their master and the source of their power was now gone.

In that moment of profound silence following Kamsa's death, Krishna and Balarama did something extraordinary. Rather than seizing power for themselves or establishing their own rule through force, they turned to the imprisoned royalty of Mathura. Kamsa had imprisoned his own father, Ugrasena, the rightful king of the region, maintaining him in captivity so that Kamsa could retain power for himself. Krishna and Balarama went directly to the place of imprisonment, freed Ugrasena from his chains, and restored him to the throne. This act demonstrated a principle that would become central to Krishna's entire role in the world—that true power is not seized and held for personal benefit but is recognized as a trust to be exercised for the welfare of all beings. Krishna and Balarama, having defeated the demonic force that had ruled the kingdom, did not claim power for themselves but instead restored legitimate authority to its proper place.

Ugrasena, freed from his captivity and restored to power, was overwhelmed with gratitude toward Krishna and Balarama. He could see that these two young men were not ordinary warriors seeking political advantage but divine beings who had intervened in the affairs of the kingdom for the sole purpose of establishing righteousness and justice. Ugrasena offered Krishna and Balarama positions of honor and power in his kingdom, but they accepted these positions with the understanding that their presence in Mathura and their service to the kingdom would be temporary. They had come to eliminate Kamsa and to establish the conditions for dharma to flourish, but they also had larger cosmic purposes that extended beyond any single kingdom or region.

The death of Kamsa and the restoration of righteous rule to Mathura represented a turning point in the cosmic struggle between divine and demonic forces. The news spread throughout the surrounding kingdoms that the tyrannical king of Mathura had been overthrown by two extraordinary young men of divine nature. The people of Vrindavan, hearing of Krishna's triumph, rejoiced and gave thanks for the protection of their beloved prince. The celestial beings who had been watching Krishna's pastimes since his birth now witnessed the establishment of divine justice in the material world. And Krishna, having fulfilled this crucial aspect of his mission, began to contemplate the next phase of his cosmic role and the teachings he would need to offer to guide the world toward enlightenment and freedom from the cycles of suffering.