Dawn in Darkness - Part 2

“Oh Kamsa! Oh naïve Kamsa! What am I going to do with you?”

This was Sage Narada, the Triloka Sanchari, the most travelled sage of his time. In fact, it is commonly held that had NASA named at least one of its space shuttles after him, the program would have lived longer.

“Who are you calling naïve, you musical mendicant? I am Kamsa, the most powerful ruler of Bharatavarsha.”

“Also the most gullible. Kamsa, consider this. If I put eight mangoes into a basket, and then try to get the eighth one, what are my chances of going wrong?”

“Hmmm… More than your chances of getting it right?”

“Exactly. Do you think you can afford the risk? And yet here you are, joyfully cuddling the first born child of your sister. No wonder the Asariri voice called you a fool.”

“What?”

Kamsa’s reaction was so fast and violent that he had to double the wages for the workers that cleaned the floors of his palace.

“So be it, Kamsa. Do not take any chances. Remember, the eighth child doesn’t necessarily have to come out eighth.”

Yes, you guessed it. Narada also served as the inspiration for Heath Ledger’s Joker.

So Kamsa cut short the misery of the next 5 kids in the same fashion. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even wait for Vasudeva to bring the baby to him, but would rather rush to the prison cell where he kept them and finish off the crying child. The guards had gotten so used to this ritual that the moment they heard Devaki go into labor, they would stand in attention, expecting Kamsa’s arrival at any moment.

The distraught Devaki would cry into Vasudeva’s shoulder night after night and they would together pray to the Lord. The trauma led to a miscarriage which Kamsa quickly counted as a child that departed without his having anything to do with it.

With each passing child, Kamsa was getting happier and at the same time more paranoid. He became delusional and was often seen peering through mirrors as though he expected to find his killer there. Kamsa’s friends and ministers tried to calm down. They also tried to convince the public, who had by then heard the rumors, that the summer heat was getting to the King and that everything would be fine once the monsoons started.

And the monsoon started. It was the month of Shravan, a month of festivities to celebrate an end to the tyranny of summer. The soothsayers predicted, like they did every month, that the tyranny of Kamsa would also end this month.

The dark fortnight, aptly named the Krishna Paksha, was on and it was the eighth night. The star Rohini was on the ascent. Devaki felt herself going into labor. Vasudeva moved closer to comfort her. She sobbed into his shoulders and loudly lamented if their misery would ever end. He promised her it was going to be over, one way or the other. This was the eighth child.

He looked through the bars of their prison cell to see if Kamsa was coming. He was surprised to see the guards fast asleep. Their loud snoring drowned out any other noise.

And while the world slept, Krishna awoke, to life and freedom. Covered in the darkness of the prison cell around him, he cried briefly as was customary. Opening his eyes, he reluctantly saw his parents. He then smiled a smile that would enchant an entire age. This would be his tryst with destiny.

Happy Janmashtami folks. 

For Part 1, please click----> http://jeys-abode.blogspot.in/2013/08/dawn-in-darkness-part-1.html