Once upon a time, demons in the form of arrogant kings had terrorized the whole earth. King Kansa  was one such demon who ruled over Mathura. Kansa was an usurper who himself became the king after removing his father King Ugrasen from the throne. The people of Mathura were very unhappy under his rule.

Kansa had a beloved sister named Devaki. The time came, when Kansa got his beloved sister married to his friend Vasudev. When Vasudev started taking Devaki away, there happened a celestial warning – “Oh Kansa. Today, the eighth child of the sister whom you are sending away with so much love will become the cause of your death.”

Kansa was furious on hearing the voice of Akash. He took out the sword and ran to kill Devaki-Vasudev. Then Vasudev promised Kansa to save his life and that of his wife Devaki that he would hand over any child born to Kansa. Kansa agreed to Vasudev but he did not let them go, rather he put them in the prison of the palace.

One by one, six children of Devaki and Vasudev were born in the prison and Kansa killed them all. His seventh child was also a son, this son was actually an incarnation of Lord Sheshnag. At that time Lord Vishnu gave an order to Goddess Yogmaya to go to Braj, where the wife of Vasudev – Rohini lives and then under the protection of Vasudev’s friend Nanda, take out the child from Devaki’s womb and keep it in Rohini’s womb.

Devi Yogmaya obeyed the command of the Lord. At the same time, such a rumor spread everywhere that Devaki’s seventh son was destroyed in her womb itself. Now the time has come for the eighth child. At the same time, in Gokul, a child was also about to be born in the house of Yashoda, who was also the wife of Nanda, a friend of Vasudeva. The girl child, who was born from Yashoda’s womb, was none other than the goddess ‘Yogmaya’.

Lord Vishnu appeared before Devaki and Vasudeva. He blessed him and told him- “Now I take the form of a newborn child. You need to go and leave me in the house of your friend Nanda in Vrindavan and bring the girl who was born to him and hand it over to Kansa. Don’t you worry, the guards will fall asleep while you are awake, the prison doors will open  automatically and the river Yamuna will give you a way to cross.”

As told by Lord Vishnu, Vasudeva took the newborn child form Shri Krishna out of the prison, as soon as he came out, the doors of the prison opened automatically and all the guards also fell asleep.

Vasudev easily crossed the river and reached the house of his friend Nanda in Gokul. There he put the newborn to sleep with Yashoda and came to Mathura with the goddess Yogmaya in the form of a girl.

After his return, the prison gates were closed as before and all the guards also woke up from their sleep. When the guards saw the newborn, they immediately took this information to Kansa.

Kansa got angry and reached the prison and went to the cell and tried to snatch the girl from Devaki’s hand and throw her on the earth. But that girl flew into the sky and took the form of Goddess Yogmaya and said – ‘Oh fool, what will happen if you kill me? The one who is going to kill you has reached a safe place after taking birth. He will soon punish you for your sins.’ Saying this Devi Yogmaya disappeared.

On the other hand, when Yashoda Maiya woke up, she found a sleeping child beside her. Nand Baba and Yashoda Maiya were very happy to see him. The boy was named Krishna, who was affectionately known as Kanha or Kanhaiya.