XLII. Consumation in Nanda - Nandana

The sage started narrating the most glorious event revealing the reality of Krishna's incarnation. He said, "Devaki and Vasudeva, who spent their days in prison, were indistinguishable from mad persons. They sat with unkempt hair, lean and lanky through want of appetite and the wherewithal to feed their bodies. They had no mind to eat or sleep. They were slowly consumed by grief over the children they had lost. When their prison life entered its second year, Devaki conceived for the eighth time! O, it was wondrous! What a transformation it brought about! The faces of Devaki and Vasudeva, which had drooped and dried up, suddenly blossomed like lotuses in full bloom. They shone with a strange splendour."

"Their bodies which were reduced to mere skin and bone, as if they had been dehydrated, took on flesh, became round and smooth, and shone with a charming golden hue. The cell where Devaki was shut in was fragrant with pleasing odours; it cast a wondrous light and was filled with inexplicable music and the jingle of dancing feet. Amazing sights, amazing sounds indeed! Devaki and Vasudeva became aware of these happenings, but they were afraid to inform Kamsa, lest in his vindictive frenzy he might hack the womb into pieces. They were anxious about the strange future of the son that will be born and were restless with weird forebodings."

"And what of Kamsa? He knew his time was fast rushing towards its end; he was torn by the greed to continue as unquestioned emperor of the realm; he was overcome by conspiratorial inclination; he overran the territories of Yadu, Vrishni, Bhoja and Andhaka principalities and added them to his domain; he was so intent on establishing his dictatorial regime that he threw his own aged father, Ugrasena, into prison; thereafter, his will was sovereign."

When Suka related this story, Parikshith interrupted him with the words, "Alas! What folly is this? Knowing full well that his end was drawing near, knowing that in the eighth pregnancy, the person who was to destroy him was growing fast, knowing that the voice that spoke from the sky cannot be untrue, did Kamsa resolve upon these acts of inordinate greed and unspeakable wickedness? This is indeed, unbelievable!"