Kansa Vadha History
On the tenth day (Dashami Tithi) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik, Kans Vadh Diwas (the day of Kansa's defeat) is celebrated. This festival is observed similarly to the way Dussehra celebrates the defeat of Ravana. According to ancient texts, when Kansa was slain, a grand fair took place in Mathura. In honor of this day, fairs are still organized in several places. On this day, Lord Krishna defeated the evil demon Kansa, ending his tyranny and marking the triumph of righteousness over wickedness. Today, Kans Vadh is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm as one of our major festivals. The story of Kans Vadh is mentioned in the Puranas, recounting how this day marks the victory of dharma (righteousness) over adharma (unrighteousness).
According to the Padma Purana, Ugrasena had two sons: the elder son named Kansa and the younger son named Sunama. He also had a daughter named Devaki, who was as beautiful as a celestial nymph. In other texts, Devaki is described as the daughter of Ugrasena's brother, Devak, suggesting that differences in accounts could be due to variations across ages (kalpa bheda). Devaki was married to Vasudeva, the son of Devamidha. Kansa loved his sister Devaki deeply, and when she was married, he was so pleased that he himself drove the chariot for his sister and brother-in-law. While taking them some distance, a divine voice (akashvani) suddenly proclaimed, "O foolish Kansa! The very ones you are joyfully escorting will bear an eighth child who will be the cause of your death. Hearing the divine prophecy, Kansa was filled with rage and decided to kill his sister Devaki on the spot. As he was about to kill her, Vasudeva pleaded, “Kansa! You are strong and all-powerful; you should not fear Devaki herself. According to the prophecy, it is her children who will be a threat to you. I promise that whenever she bears a child, I will bring the newborn to you. You can kill it and be free from your fear.” Kansa understood Vasudeva's reasoning and, instead of killing Devaki, he imprisoned both Vasudeva and Devaki in a dungeon.
Each time Devaki gave birth, Vasudeva would bring the child to Kansa, who would kill it, convinced that he was triumphing over his destiny. This continued until Kansa had killed six of Devaki's children. Then, by the divine will of Lord Vishnu, the seventh child was mystically transferred from Devaki's womb to that of Vasudeva's other wife, Rohini. Due to this divine intervention, Devaki's seventh pregnancy appeared as a miscarriage. Then, Lord Krishna was born as the eighth child of Devaki. Following Lord Krishna's command, Yogamaya took birth as a daughter to Vasudeva's friend Nanda's wife, Yashoda. To protect his child, Vasudeva secretly took his son Krishna to Nanda's house, leaving him there and bringing Yashoda's newborn daughter back with him. Yogamaya cast a spell of deep sleep over all of Mathura and Vrindavan, allowing Vasudeva to carry out this exchange unnoticed.
When Vasudeva returned to the prison cell, Yogamaya lifted her spell, and everyone awoke. As soon as Devaki held the baby girl in her arms, she began to cry. Hearing the baby's cries, Kansa arrived with the intention of killing her. He snatched the girl from Devaki and attempted to hurl her to the ground. However, she miraculously rose into the sky and declared, “O wicked Kansa! What will you gain by killing me? The one destined to kill you has already been born.” Saying this, she disappeared.
Filled with terror at his impending death, the tyrant Kansa began killing infants in Mathura and Vrindavan. He sent several demons to Vrindavan, but each was defeated by the valor of Krishna and Balarama. One day, Narada Muni visited Kansa's palace. Kansa warmly welcomed Narada Muni, who recounted the entire incident involving Yogamaya and revealed that Kansa's death would come at the hands of Nanda's son, Krishna, who was currently in Vrindavan. With this news, Narada left. Determined to kill Krishna and Balarama, Kansa arranged a grand Dhanush Yajna (bow festival) in Mathura and stationed powerful wrestlers, Chanur and Mushtika, along with the mighty elephant Kuvalayapeeda, who was so strong that he had once overpowered even Indra's elephant, Airavata. Kansa then sent his trusted friend Akrura to bring Krishna, Balarama, and other cowherds to Mathura to attend the festival.
Akrura brought Krishna, Balarama, and the others to Mathura for the Dhanush Yajna. As soon as Krishna and Balarama entered Kansa's court, the elephant Kuvalayapeeda attacked Krishna fiercely. Krishna overpowered the elephant in a single blow, pulling out one of its tusks. The defeated elephant collapsed and died on the spot. Following this, the mighty wrestlers Charun and Mushtika attacked Krishna and Balarama, but the brothers threw them down repeatedly, taking their lives in the process. Witnessing this, Kansa, who was watching from the palace balcony, was filled with terror. Krishna then approached him and struck a powerful blow, causing Kansa to fall from the balcony, his body shattered upon impact, and he vomited blood as he lay dying. Shortly after, Balarama struck Kansa's younger brother, Sunama, repeatedly until he was severely injured and soon succumbed as well.
In this way, Lord Krishna defeated the wicked and tyrannical Kansa. The festival of Kans Vadh is marked by fairs and dramatic enactments of Krishna's divine pastimes, celebrated across India with great enthusiasm.
Writer: - Kuldeep Singh
