The Births of Lord Krishna and Balaram

Lord Krishna, the protagonist of the Mahabharat, was the eighth avatar of Vishnu and is worshipped by Hindus worldwide. Krishna's elder brother, Balaram, was an avatar of Shesh, the serpent on which Vishnu rests. Krishna and Balaram's biological parents were Vasudev and Devaki. Devaki had a wicked cousin named Kams.

Having usurped the throne from his father, Ugrasen, Kams was reigning over Mathura. On the evening of Devaki's wedding with Vasudev, the three of them, including Kams, were returning home in a chariot. Suddenly, a voice from the sky proclaimed, "Oh foolish Kams, the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev will kill you."

Kams wanted to murder Devaki right there, but her husband Vasudev promised to surrender all his children to Kams as soon as they were born. Kams imprisoned Vasudev and Devaki and killed their first six children shortly after birth.

Devaki prayed for the survival of their seventh child. Before the seventh child was born, the goddess Yogmaya transferred it from Devaki's womb to the womb of Rohini, who was Vasudev's first wife. The seventh child of Vasudev and Devaki was thus born to Rohini and was named Balaram.

The eighth child born to Devaki and Vasudev in prison was Krishna. He also survived and killed Kams several years later.