10 years ago,( Before birth of third Pandav 'Arjun')..
little town near the river Yamuna. it is known as 'Mathura'.
'Mathura' was under the rule of a tyrannical king named 'Kansh'. 'Kansh' was so greedy and cunning that he not even spared his father 'Ugrasena', having imprisoned him 'Kansh' declared himself to be the King of 'Mathura'. 'Ugrasena' was a nice ruler, and 'Kansh' was just the opposite. It was a trying time for the commoners of Mathura' to put up with 'Kansh's extravagance and unfair rule. above all this, 'Kansh' locked his horns time and again with the rulers of the Yaduvanshi (Dinesty) which led to frequent wars and troubled the peace-loving citizens of Mathura'.
But soon a happy news came. Crown princess 'Devaki' was getting married to King 'Vasudev' of the Yaduvanshi (Dinesty). The Mathura citizens welcomed the wedding, for it surely meant that 'Kansh' frequent wars with the Yaduvanshi would come to an end.
Soon the much-awaited day arrived. Mathura wore a festive look. Everyone was in festive spirits. Even the usually desolate citizens of Mathura' were looking happy. and that was a great thing to see, since the people of Mathura' did not smile often. How cold they, with such an awful king like 'Kansh' to guide them.
Soon, 'Devaki' was married to King 'Vasudev'. 'Kansh', cunning as he was, thought, "Now, Vasudev's kingdom is as good as mine".
After the wedding, he decided to drive the royal couple home himself to shower on them a kingly courtesy as was prevalent in those days. But it so happened that as soon as 'Kansh' took the reins of the wedding chariot, a divine voice thundered from the sky,
"Evil 'Kansh', you don't know it. But know now that by giving 'Devaki''s hand to 'Vasudev', you have signed your own death warrant. The eighth son born to 'Vasudev' and 'Devaki' will kill you!"
Hearing this, 'Kansh' froze with fear. But then he became angry. He immediately thought of killing 'Devaki' for he thought, "How can a child be born when the mother is dead?" So he drew out his sword and raised it to kill 'Devaki'.
King 'Vasudev' was horrified at this cruelty and fell on his knees, and begged.
" O King 'Kansh',please don't kill your sister. I shall personally surrender to you all the children she gives birth to, so that the voice of the Oracle doesn't come true,"
The evil king vacillated. "Then you will live in my palace as prisoners," he declared and 'Vasudev' had no choice than accepting his verdict. 'Kansh' smiled happily. The one person he loved in the whole wide world was his sister and he decided to spare her life. He was content at the thought that the situation was under his control. After all, he was not going to let her children live, was he?
'Kansh' imprisoned 'Devaki' and her husband King 'Vasudev' in the palace dungeons and kept them under constant watch. Every time 'Devaki' gave birth to a child in the dungeons, 'Kansh' destroyed the child. In this manner, he killed six children born to 'Devaki'.
When 'Devaki' was expecting her seventh child, 'Vasudev' prayed long and hard to Tridev Lord 'Vishnu'. '' O lord,Save this child," he prayed. "Don't let 'Kansha' kill all our sons!". Lord 'Vishnu' heard his prayers, and magically transferred the baby into the womb of 'Rohini', another wife of 'Vasudev'. Soon 'Rohini' gave birth to the baby, 'Devaki's seventh son. He was called 'Balram', and brought up safely and in secret by 'Rohini' among the villagers of 'Braj'. Meanwhile, 'Devaki' and 'Vasudev' told 'Kansh' that their seventh child had been born dead.
9 years passed before 'Devaki' got pregnant for the eighth time. 'Kansh', troubled by the fear of his possible death, lost his appetite and slept poorly at night. But he waited for the birth of his nemesis with murderous thoughts.
6 months before.. (Before birth of third Pandav'Arjun'.)
In the palace dungeons, 'Vasudev' was trying his best to console his wife, but 'Devaki' was terrified, she wailed,
"My eighth child will be born in a day, and my cruel brother will kill this one too. Oh mighty Gods, please save my child!"
The night soon ended and the next day arrived. 'Devaki' spent most of the day in tears. Dusk gave way to a terrible night as had not been seen earlier in 'Mathura'. It seemed that the whole world understood 'Devaki''s mind and joined her in mourning for the unborn child. The winds howled angrily and skies seemed to have split apart to pour wrathful rains.
Suddenly there was pin drop silence. And then it was broken by the sound of the cry of a divine child. It was of the eighth child, a son, born to Queen 'Devaki' at midnight in the prison.
The baby boy is dark complexion, beautiful facial features, beautiful smile which brings peace to all souls.
'Vasudev' thanked Lord 'Vishnu'.
Boy was black complexion and beautiful. He named boy 'Krishna'.
As soon the child was born, the prison was filled with a dazzling, blinding light. 'Devaki' fainted at the sight and 'Vasudev' was mesmerized. The light converged into a sphere and the same voice of the Oracle that scared 'Kansh', now spoke to 'Vasudev'.
"Take this child across the River 'Yamuna' to the 'Gokul', ruled by your friend King 'Nanda'. His wife Queen 'Yashoda' has just given birth to a daughter. Exchange your son for this girl child and return to the prison immediately, before anyone comes to know about the birth of this child."
Without a word, he new father picked up his son to follow the Oracle's advice. He felt grieved to separate the newborn child from his mother but he knew that there was no other way he could save his son.
'Vasudev' also felt very doubtful. There were a hundred soldiers waiting outside. And it was a dark, fearsome night. How could he go out, unnoticed and unscathed?
But what he saw astonished him greatly. All his questions were answered one by one. As he approached the gate with the child in his arms, the prison doors opened automatically. He came out slowly to find to his utter surprise that all the guards were in a state of hypnotic sleep.