Maharishi Śuka continued, “Just as the newly-weds, Devaki and Vasudeva, were about to begin their journey back home, drums, kettle-drums, conches and bugles were sounded heralding auspiciousness. As this procession was joyfully proceeding amidst great celebrations, a thunderous celestial voice suddenly roared from the skies saying, ‘O foolish, ignorant Kamsa! The eighth child of your sister Devaki, whom you are taking in your chariot, is destined to kill you!’

Considerably alarmed with this warning issued from the skies, Kamsa, the wicked deplorable sinner who was a stigma to the Bhoja dynasty, instantly took up his sword and, catching his sister by her hair decided to kill her.

When the shameless and pitiless Kamsa, was about to blatantly commit a sinful deed despised by the citizens of the land, Vasudeva intervened. Uttering sweet words, he pacified Kamsa saying,

‘My dear Kamsa, you are praised by all in the Sura dynasty. You are the crown jewel of the Bhoja dynasty. How can you kill your sister during the auspicious occasion of her marriage?

O valorous Kamsa! Death is born along with the gross body at the time of birth. It could descend straightaway or even after a long period of hundred years. Death is inevitable for living entities, isn’t it?

Dehe pañcatvam āpanne dehī karmānugo ’vaśaḥ

Dehāntaram anuprāpya prāktanaṁ tyajate vapuḥ

Lacking independence, the living entity, in accordance to his past fruitive activities, automatically travels from one body to another upon death. When the time for this body to merge into the five elements arises, the living entity obtains another body while discarding the present one.

When walking, the person places one foot ahead of the other and moves ahead. A worm holds on to another blade of grass before leaving the first one. Likewise, the living entity travelling on the path of fruitive activities automatically enters into another body even as it is discarding the present one.

A human being’s unending desire to live can be compared to thirst that can never be quenched. He eternally seeks that his body should never perish. How can he seek permanency after having entered into a perishable body?

Desires are deep-rooted within the mind of every human. The subtle impressions of the sensory and other comforts of this world, seen and heard, remain firmly imprinted in his mind. Even at the moment of death, these subtle impressions do not desert him.

Through the aid of the mind, he dreams during sleep. During such dreams, he sees a body almost indistinguishable from his body as seen during waking state. During dream state, even a faint memory of the waking state ceases to exist. As such he considers himself to be the dream body. Similar to this, upon death the living entity forgets the body he has discarded and having entered into a new body believes himself to be inseparable from that new body and is filled with feelings of ‘I-ness’ towards it.

Destiny triggers the mind, which is the storehouse of all subtle impressions of past actions, and causes it to travel towards a particular type of body. The bonded soul, which closely follows the mind, enters that body into which the mind has entered. Having entered it, it develops feelings of ‘I-ness’ towards that particular body.

Bodies, which are the creations of the five basic elements, are in reality illusory. The Sun’s reflection appears differently in different water pots. Due to the force of the wind, when the waters in the pots move, it appears as if these reflections are moving. Likewise, the non-dual complete Self, with its illusionary energy enters into varied bodies and within each body develops feelings of ‘I-ness’ and then, considering itself to be the body it gets deluded.

If the bonded soul, who is thus deluded due to body-identification, truly desires his well-being both in this world and the next, he should refrain from harming anyone. The person who harms others, lives in constant fear of others while in this world. After leaving this world he fears the punishments meted out by Yama, the Lord of death.

Kamsa, your sister Devaki is innocent. Moreover, she is like a daughter to you. Hence it is incorrect for you, who are extremely affectionate towards the down-trodden, to kill your sister’.

However, Kamsa was no ordinary demon. He was a vile, cruel, despicable demon who strictly abided by the path of man-eating rakshasas. Even though Vasudeva tried his best to preach him morals that would instill in him a fear towards sinful activities, Kamsa could not be pacified. He remained undeterred in his decision to go ahead with this sinful deed.

Vasudeva grasped that the evil Kamsa was unrelenting in his stand. In order to escape death, which was imminent, he pondered deeply. Every wise, intelligent person should use his intelligence and strength to the best possible capacity to avoid death. If, even after all attempts, death strikes the person, then he should understand that he is not at fault.

Vasudeva therefore thought, ‘I shall free Devaki from his clutches by promising to hand over the sons who will be born to her. Upon the birth of my sons I shall plan the next steps. Who knows if Kamsa is destined to meet death before the birth of my sons? Using the pretext of handing over my new-borns to him, I shall rescue Devaki. If not, her life is at stake. Neither do we know our longevity nor do we know his. Perhaps, as foretold, my son would actually kill Kamsa. The Lord’s will stands irrefutable, isn’t it?

If the Lord wills, death which is just about to strike us can release us from its grip and instead catch Kamsa. A forest fire reduces one tree to ashes while sparing another. The living being’s store of merits and sins is solely responsible for this”.