Despite this growing darkness, Kansa cherished his sister, Devki. She had been his constant confidante, the only person who never looked at him with fear. Only exception who even he can't sacrifice for his own growing ambition.
When it was time to choose a husband for her, he deliberated for days, determined to find someone who would respect her. In Vasudev, he saw a man who embodied the virtues he had long dismissed: kindness, honor, loyalty and a quiet strength.
The wedding was filled with laughter and light. Kansa saw the joy in Devki's eyes as she looked at Vasudev, and his heart softened for a moment. He felt an unexpected surge of affection for his sister, praying that this marriage would bring her the happiness he could no longer imagine for himself.
"Brother, you honor me with this marriage. Vasudev is a noble man, a worthy match." said Devki smiling warmly
"You are my dearest sister. Only a man as honorable as Vasudev deserves you." Kansa voice softened as he looks at her adore in bridal dress.
"See to it that you guard her happiness, Vasudev. I shall not forgive any harm to her."
"I vow to protect and honor her, Brother in Law. She shall know no sorrow under my care." bowed Vasudev respectfully.
As they exchange vows, the court rejoices, unaware of the shadow soon to fall. But Kansa's heart feels peace, knowing his sister is happy.
But beneath the joy, he harbored a strange foreboding. He dismissed it as nerves, not knowing that it was a hint of the fate that awaited him—a fate that would turn his love for Devki into his greatest torment.
Kansa volunteered to personally escort Devki and Vasudev on a tour of Mathura. Standing as their charioteer, he paraded them through the streets, feeling an unusual sense of pride as his subjects showered them with flowers. Even through his iron rule and discrimination against people, majority of citizen still were satisfied and happy for Devki's wedding.
But as he prepared to return to the palace, a voice—divine and undeniable—echoed through the sky.
"Kansa! For all the Sin and Adharama you had committed. Beware, for the eighth child of Devki shall be your end!" bloomed a voice that be heard through out Mathura.
Time froze as the words sank in. Kansa's fingers clenched around the chariot reins, his heart racing in panic and fury. Betrayed by fate, he thought bitterly. His own sister, the one person he had trusted, would be the mother of his doom.
Kansa jerks the reins, and the chariot comes to a halt. His face contorts with shock and fear as he turns toward Devki, who looks back, eyes wide with terror.
"Devki… my own sister, to bring forth my doom?" Kansa voice trembled, torn between fury and disbelief.
He looked at Devki, his face darkened with a rage she had never seen before. She reached out to him, pleading for mercy, but his heart had already turned to stone. In that moment, his love for her twisted into hatred. He had made sacrifices for his throne, and he would make more if it meant securing his life.
Yet in his mind, the words replayed. The prophecy gnawed at him, a wound that could not heal.
"Brother, the heavens speak in riddles! Do not let fear destroy our bond." please Devki.
"Riddles or not, I will not leave my fate in the hands of a prophecy. I shall take no chances." Kansa expressed himself with his face hardening.
"Kamsa, if you spare Devki, I vow that not only the eighth but also each child born to us shall be given to you. Let her live, and spare her this torment." Vasudev suggest.
Kansa stares at him, a struggle evident in his gaze. After a long silence, he nods.
"So be it. Devki shall live. But her children… they are mine.Do not break this oath, Vasudev." said Kansa in harden voice.
He demanded Vasudev's promise to surrender any children born to them, and with a heavy heart, Vasudev agreed. Kansa ordered them both imprisoned, sealing his sister and her husband in a dark cell.
The dim prison cell where Devki and Vasudev sit, their faces weary but resolved.
"How could he, Swami? How could my dear brother turn against me ?" whispered Devki, tears in her eyes.
"Fear drives him, Devki. The prophecy has twisted his mind. He sees no family, no bond—only a threat." Vasudev assures while holding Devki's hands.
"Yet, every child born to us… will be taken by him. How much more sorrow must we endure?"
"Have faith, my love. Fate cannot be denied. If the prophecy speaks of our eighth child, then he shall be our hope. Everything that happens, happen according to Narayana 's will."
As the years pass and Kansa claims each of their children, the people of Mathura grew restless. They speak of Kansa's cruelty and his descent into madness, while the nobles in the court grow uneasy under his ruthless reign.
The prophecy haunted Kansa night and day. He paced his chambers, tormented by the vision of his own end. As each of Devki's children were born, Kansa hardened himself, extinguishing their lives in his quest to defy fate. It didn't matter wheather it's first or eighth, any one of these can become the reason for his end.
Yet with every act, he felt his soul withering. The weight of his deeds pressed down on him, turning his once-vibrant ambitions into a hollow shell. He barely slept, haunted by the faces of the innocent lives he'd taken, and by the unshakable feeling that destiny was coming for him, unstoppable as a storm. He committed adharama and atrocities wherever he stepped. It was unbecoming of a king.
But even in his despair, Kansa clung to his pride. He would not surrender. If fate wanted to take his life, it would have to pry it from his grasp.
To be continued...
(A/N: Hey guy please comment below and send me vote along with your love to keep continuing this fanfic 😁😁😁 Stay tuned)
(Note for the readers - the episode with Gandhari happens before Devki marries Vasudev. Kansa marries Jarasandh's daughters around a month after the coup. And Devki marriage takes 4 months after Kansa marriage.)