Ancients Speak
Suman K Sharma
King Kansa sat on his jewel studded golden throne flanked by ever-alert bodyguards ready to kill anyone who as much as raised a finger at their lord. As he watched the wrestling matches in the arena a few yards from him, his mind was not at peace. He remembered the howls of protests from the spectators when the towering court wrestlers Chanur and Mushtika appeared to fight the boys Krishna and Balram. Everyone said it was unjust to pit such tender-aged boys against the stalwarts. Many of them had left the stadium in disgust. But in a matter of minutes strange things happened. Adopting feints and stances that Kansa could not quite follow, the rustic boys of Gokula had killed both the mighty wrestlers in a few bouts.
The crowd was mad with clapping and shouts of joy at their victory. Kansa lost his temper. Forgetting his kingly reserve, he ordered his trusted swordsmen Shal, Tushal and Koot to finish off Krishna and Balram before they caused too much trouble. The three soldiers rushed at the boys with their swords raised. A suspenseful quiet prevailed in the stadium for a while. After that, there was a thundering applause once again as Shal, Tushal and Koot lay writhing on the ground wet with their own blood. How it had happened, nobody knew, but Krishna and Balram looked unharmed for all they had done.
Kansa had by now shed all pretences of dignity. “Kill them, or they will kill me!” He yelled at his bodyguards. The heavily armed soldiers were quick to move. But Krishna was quicker by far. Ducking his attackers he made straight from Kansa, while Balram fended off the sword thrusts on him.
Fast and furious, Krishna pummelled Kansa to death. Dragging the tyrant’s body by hair, he let it lie in the blood-splattered mud.
Having finished off Kansa, Krishna and Balram went to the dungeon in which Vasudeva and Devaki were held captive. On Krishna’s orders, His parents were set free and brought back to the palace with great honour. Old King Ugrasena was also unshackled and reinstated on his throne.
Epics are written to edify. Kansa was a king and Krishna’s maternal uncle. Then why had Krishna to kill him in such a debasing manner? In a way, Kansa sought his own inglorious end. First, he took advantage of the presence of the army of his father-in-law Jarasandh, King of Magadh, to overthrow his father Ugrasenaand put him in prison. That way, Kansa turned into a scheming usurperfrom being a Crown Prince. Fearing any popular uprising or reprisal from his kin, he imprisoned his newly married sister Devaki and her groom Vasudeva. Thus, from a loving brother, he changed into a self-seeking gaol keeper. Not being content with that, Kansa made it a point to personally slay every one of the babies Devaki delivered in the prison. He did not spare the life of even a baby-girl that was smartly exchanged with the infant Krishna. That was Kansa’s ultimate downfall from a caring relative to a baby-killer.
Kansa’s dastardly acts match only his cowardice. Never for once does he face Krishna directly. It is always one rakshas or the other detailed by him to eliminate his child-foe. In the end, the lad of Gokula kills him bare-handed.
The tale of Krishna-Kansa is a fitting lesson for the tyrants then and now.
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