The People vs. Kamsa

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I sat at my large desk which was at the front of the courtroom as I waited for the next trial when the mahogany doors opened. Ah, right on time. First, Vasudeva and Devaki, Krishna and Balarama's birth parents, walked in. Then came Nanda, and Yashoda, Krishna's and Balarama's adoptive parents.

Finally, Krishna and Balarama walked in each holding an arm of a man wearing an orange jumpsuit. His long, black hair and beard was tangled. He looked like he hadn't showered in days. This must be Kamsa. Kamsa's arms and legs were chained together as they brought him in. I watched as the people glared at him with hatred and disgust from the seats they sat at.

Everyone turned their attention from Kamsa to their prince, Krishna. He was looking rather stunning with his black, long, and wavy hair. He was dressed in a suit with brown dress shoes. In their eyes waslove and adoration. I banged my gavel to let everyone know that the trial was starting. The room was silent.

JUDGE KARMA(looking at Vasudeva and Devaki): Hello, Vasudeva and Devaki. Thank you for coming today. It must have been difficult for you both.

VASUDEVA(smiling): Thank you. It is an honor to be here, Your Honor.

JUDGE KARMA(looking at Nanda and Yashoda): Nanda, Yashoda, I hope you are doing well. It must have been so difficult to raise that mischievous son of yours.

KRISHNA: Hey!

NANDA(chuckling): He was quite the handful, but we love him nonetheless, Your Honor.

JUDGE KARMA(smiling and then looking at Kamsa ): Kamsa, I have heard so much about you! It's finally nice to meet the person who has been terrorizing all the Yadavas. I hear you held your sister captive and killed innocent babies.

KAMSA(looking uncomfortable): It's actually King Kamsa, Your Honor.

JUDGE KARMA: I will address you as I please. Only a true king deserves such a royal title, and based on your deeds, you are far from it. Now are you going to explain yourself or should I just give you the sentence?

KAMSA: I was only trying to protect myself. They were all going to kill me!

JUDGE KARMA(feigning shock): Kill you? Please do tell.

KAMSA: A sage visited my kingdom and warned me that one of Devaki's children would kill me. He never said when or how. All he said was that I would die at the hands of my sister's child.

JUDGE KARMA: But that doesn't explain why you wanted to kill everyone else, including your own father, Ugrasena.

KAMSA: If I killed Krishna, my father would have taken the kingdom away from me so I held him captive until I could find time to kill him. All of Krishna's and Balarama's devotees would've been angry and would have come after me. I felt threatened!

KRISHNA(laughing in mock humor): Really, Kamsa? You of all people felt threatened? By a baby? This is rich! You are such a coward! You had people fight your battles for you unless the person was at a disadvantage. Admit it, you just wanted to rule the world and corrupt it.

KAMSA(yelling at Krishna): That is not true! I was scared for my life! And that's King Kamsa to you, boy!

JUDGE KARMA: You better tone it down, Kamsa. I can make you disappear with a snap of my fingers.

Judge Karma snaps her fingers to make her point causing Kamsa to flinch.

KRISHNA: It's fine, your Honor. We all know what a coward he is. He'll probably find someone to do his dirty work . He did chain my birth parents up after all so that he could personally killed all my infant siblings. If my parents hadn't been chained up and locked in a cell, my father could have beat him to a pulp.

KAMSA: Are you going to let him talk to me like this, your Honor?

JUDGE KARMA(putting her hand up, Kamsa smirks): That is enough, Krishna.

JUDGE KARMA(looking at Kamsa): It is obvious that you are delusional, Kamsa. Unfortunately for you, you are not delusional enough. You clearly knew what you were doing is wrong and yet you still went through with it. I have to agree with Krishna: you are a coward. You only killed those innocent and helpless babies after you chained Devaki and Vasudeva up. Krishna is right. You are weak.

KRISHNA(arms crossed): Don't forget selfish, Your Honor.

JUDGE KARMA(giving Krishna a warning look which makes him smile meekly and sit down., then looking back at Kamsa): You know what, Kamsa? I think you're a fool. Did you ever think that maybe your actions are what would lead to your demise? Or maybe that the sage was giving you a wake up call to change your behavior? Or even that the sage might be tricking you?

KAMSA(no longer smirking): Well, no, Your Honor, but -

JUDGE KARMA(interrupting Kamsa by putting a hand up): Enough! Kamsa, you are undeserving of being king. I am stripping you of your royal title and returning it to King Ugrasena. Furthermore, you will spend the rest of your life in the prison of Vrindavana. If King Ugrasena wants to do something else with you, he is welcome to but just know if you are set free, I am designating Krishna to make your life a living hell.

KAMSA(looking at Judge Karma in horror): Your Honor, I know what I did was wrong. But you have to understand, I was trying to protect myself. Also Krishna killed people too!

JUDGE KARMA: See, now, that was your mistake, Kamsa. You were protecting yourself. You did not care for your kingdom, your family, or anyone else. You put yourself before your dharma as a brother, an uncle, and a king. I hope you can atone for your mistakes in your next life but for now, all I will say, good riddance. And for the record, Krishna never committed murder. He used self-defense to protect the people that YOU put in danger.

KAMSA(looking at Krishna) : Krishna, you have to stop her, your my nephew. Please! We can work this out outside of the court.

KRISHNA: I'm afraid that's a little too late, Uncle. You held our family captive.I think it is time I return the favor.

JUDGE KARMA: The decision has been made! Court is adjourned.

I banged my gavel in finality.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is based on the Bhagwat: The Krishna Avatar by Amar Chitra. In the original story, a sage warns Kamsa that one of Devaki's children will kill him. Vasudeva and Devaki are held captive in a cell and Kamsa kills all of their newborns. Vasudeva manages to sneak Krishna out and switches him with his friend's baby, who was a girl. When Kamsa throws the baby girl onto the floor, a goddess appears and curses him. He eventually finds Krishna, and sends asuras(demons) to kill him but Krishna is too powerful. Kamsa schemes to kill Krishna and Balarama but one of the asuras tells Vasudeva about Kamsa's plans. The brothers accept Kamsa's invitation to the wrestling match and kill him. After Krishna kills Kamsa, he gives the kingdom of Yadavas back to his grandfather, Ugrasena.

I felt like Kamsa's death was too quick in the original story. In this story, Judge Karma sentences Kamsa and does not allow him to live a happy life. She designates Krishna to make his life miserable if he is ever set free. Like the original story, Krishna has power over Kamsa.

In the original story, his reasoning for taking over the world did not entirely make sense to me. His explanation in this story doesn't make sense either because of that.

Bibliography

Bhagwat: The Krishna Avatar by Amar Chitra Katha