ऋषेर्विनिर्गमे कंसो यदून् मत्वा सुरानिति । देवक्या गर्भसम्भूतं विष्णुं च स्ववधं प्रति ॥ ६५ ॥ देवकीं वसुदेवं च निगृह्य निगडैर्गृहे । जातं जातमहन् पुत्रं तयोरजनशङ्कया ॥ ६६ ॥
ṛṣer vinirgame kaṁso yadūn matvā surān iti devakyā garbha-sambhūtaṁ viṣṇuṁ ca sva-vadhaṁ prati devakīṁ vasudevaṁ ca nigṛhya nigaḍair gṛhe jātaṁ jātam ahan putraṁ tayor ajana-śaṅkayā
- ṛṣeḥ
- of the great sage Nārada
- vinirgame
- on the departure (after giving information)
- kaṁsaḥ
- Kaṁsa
- yadūn
- all the members of the Yadu dynasty
- matvā
- thinking of
- surān
- as demigods
- iti
- thus
- devakyāḥ
- of Devakī
- garbha-sambhūtam
- the children born from the womb
- viṣṇum
- (accepting) as Viṣṇu
- ca
- and
- sva-vadham prati
- fearing his own death from Viṣṇu
- devakīm
- Devakī
- vasudevam ca
- and her husband, Vasudeva
- nigṛhya
- arresting
- nigaḍaiḥ
- by iron shackles
- gṛhe
- confined at home
- jātam jātam
- each one who was born, one after another
- ahan
- killed
- putram
- the sons
- tayoḥ
- of Vasudeva and Devakī
- ajana-śaṅkayā
- with the doubt that they would be Viṣṇu
After the departure of the great saint Nārada, Kaṁsa thought that all the members of the Yadu dynasty were demigods and that any of the children born from the womb of Devakī might be Viṣṇu. Fearing his death, Kaṁsa arrested Vasudeva and Devakī and chained them with iron shackles. Suspecting each of the children to be Viṣṇu, Kaṁsa killed them one after another because of the prophecy that Viṣṇu would kill him.