In Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Kamsa or Kansa (Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

: कंस), often known as Kans in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, is the brother of Devaki

Devaki

In Hinduism, Devaki is the wife of Vasudeva and biological mother of Krishna.She was the daughter of Devaka, the younger brother of King Ugrasena of Mathura. She was a partial incarnation of Aditi, the mother of the Devas.-Imprisonment :...

, and ruler of the Vrishni

Vrishni

The Vrishnis were an ancient Indian clan who were believed as the descendants of Vrishni, a descendent of Yadu. It is believed that Vrishni was son of Satvata, a descendant of Yadu, the son of Yayati. He had two wives, Gandhari and Madri. He has a son named Devamidhusha by his wife Madri....

 kingdom with its capital at Mathura. His father was King Ugrasena

Ugrasena

Ugrasena was the King of Mathura, a kingdom that was established after the various Yadava clans, which include the Vrishnis and Bhojas decided that the dividing states would unite as one and that the Kingship would not be subject to heredity and if decided not to be so, the succeeding leader...

 and mother was Queen Padmavati. However, out of ambition and upon the advise of his personal confidante, Banasura, Kamsa decided to overthrow his father and install himself as the King of Mathura. Therefore, upon the guidance of another advisor, Chanur, Kamsa decided to marry the two daughters of Jarasandha

Jarasandha

Jarasandha was a great and legendary king of Magadha. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata....

, King of Magadha, who was, in turn, a friend of Banasura. Their names were Asti and Prapti.

Birth

In reality, Kamsa was not the biological son of Ugrasena . In the Bhagavata Purana

Bhagavata purana

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...

, it is revealed that a demon, Kala Nemi, was flying over the city of Mathura and upon viewing Padmavati's irresistible beauty, he took the form of Ugrasena and seduced Padmavati, resulting in the birth of Kamsa. This fact was unknown to Kansa and the wide public at that stage.

Annexation of Kingdom

During his wedding in Mathura, Jarasandha brought over his army to escort the Princesses Asti and Prapti. Using the army of Magadha as his political cover, Kamsa overthrew his father after he refused to voluntarily retire from his position. This was done within the confines of the royal palace and the public was not informed. After Ugrasena failed to show up for public events, and Kamsa announced his coronation.

Death

Kamsa was told in a prophecy that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. A loving brother, he didn't want to kill Devaki, and so instead imprisoned both Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva

Vasudeva

In Hindu itihasa , Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of Shoorsen, of the Yadu and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu. He was a partial incarnation of Rishi Kashyap....

. In the confines of the prison, Devaki repeatedly conceived, and an enraged Kamsa murdered the first six children. The seventh child, Balarama

Balarama

Balarama , also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of the divine being, Krishna in Hinduism. Within Vaishnavism Hindu traditions Balarama is worshipped as an Avatar of Vishnu, and he is also listed as such in the Bhagavata Purana...

, was saved when he was moved to Rohini

Rohini Devi

In Hinduism, Rohini Devi is a consort of Vasudeva. She is the mother of Balarama and Subhadra, and played a prominent role in the nurture of Krishna. She was a partial incarnation of Kadru, the mother of the snakes.-Vasudeva's imprisonment:...

's womb. The eighth child born to Devaki and Vasudeva was Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

. Krishna was saved from Kamsa's wrath and raised by a cowherd couple, Nanda

Nanda (mythology)

Nanda or Nandagopa, according to the Harivamsha and the Puranas, was the head of the gopas .It is said that Nand Baba owned 9 lakhs of cows . Nandvanshis or Ahirs are descendants of Nand. The night of Krishna's appearance or birth, Vasudeva brought Krishna to Nanda for Krishna's childhood years...

 and Yasoda

Yasoda

Yasoda/Yashoda was wife of Nanda within the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Within the Bhagavata Purana it is described that Yasoda later became the foster-mother to Krishna, who was born to Devaki but was given to Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul, by Krishna's father Vasudeva on the night of his birth, for...

.

After Krishna grew up and returned to the kingdom, Kamsa was eventually killed by Krishna, as was originally predicted by the divine prophecy, and Ugrasena reinstated as King of Mathura.