Mathura—the ancient cosmopolis on the banks of the river Yamuna—is an incredibly rich and bustling city, defined by its vast trading hubs, fertile lands, and underground dungeons.
This massive, fortified trade city is the capital of the Yadava or Surasena kingdom. This city is also home to the palace of King Surasena, the undisputed leader of the Vrishni clan and the king of the Yadava dynasty.
Surasena, being in his old age, wants a successor to the throne. But his eldest son, the rightful heir to the throne, rejects his claim and instead becomes a noble minister in the Yadava confederacy.
With the throne casting a hollow shadow, the Yadava confederacy selects Ugrasena, a close kinsman of Surasena from the Bhoja clan of the Yadava dynasty. With Ugrasena in power, the kingdom becomes stable.
Surasena, as his last contribution to the kingdom while in power, decides to marry his eldest son, Vasudev, to Devki, the daughter of King Devaka of the Bhoja clan, to strengthen relations with a time-honoured ally.
Wealthy King Devaka is a loving father, and he gifts his daughter with eighteen hundred chariots, ten thousand horses, four hundred elephants, all fully decorated with beautiful silk and velvets, along with golden armoury, and two hundred beautiful young maidservants.
—Translated from the lost pages of Indica, by Greek Historian and Diplomat Megasthenes, envoy to India from the shattered remnants of Alexander the Great's empire.
After the marriage in Mathura, I—the son of King Ugrasena and Devki's cousin—decide to escort the royal couple to please my sister.
I notice that the outer part of the city has also started to flourish as we make our royal progress through the Uttarpatha.
Is that another dam? The river has been paved, which I notice only after I see the residential spaces perfectly divided into sectors. These filthy peasants don't deserve luxury. The king needs to increase taxes!
The people on the street wave at me, though a few notice the couple that I am escorting. I wave back, smiling. They love me! But they fear me more!
Out of nowhere, a divine unembodied voice addresses me: "You unenlightened lunatic, the eighth son of the woman you are escorting, shall be your doom!!"
Enraged, I grip Devki's hair with my left hand, brutally pull her down, and draw my sword with my right. Right before I swing my sword, Vasudev abruptly cuts me off and says, "Kamsa! Killing a woman who is your sister by blood, in the middle of the city? Is Prince Kamsa so undignified to earn the disgrace of purging his sister just after her marriage!?"
"O prince! If the eighth son of Devki is going to kill you, why tarnish the reputation of the Bhojas to kill her? I will bring all her children to you! Please let her go now!"
What good will it bring when I have no life to enjoy that reputation?
"No, Vasudev! It's not about the Bhojas' reputation; it's about whether the sun rises upon my face or my corpse. What if you don't bring her children to me? How would I know if you switched one of them with another child?" I reply, still holding Devki down and the sword mid-air.
"Station guards at my home! They shall track everything we do, and if any of Devki's children get out of the house, take us in custody—I am a man of my word, Kamsa! When I say I will bring you all the children, I won't let my word down!" answers Vasudev.
I nod in agreement, though I am unsure, and drop them off at their home and station my personal guards there. I hope you aren't leading me down a blind alley.
***
After the turbulent day, I return to the palace and untie my hair in front of the mirror. With my sweaty fingers trembling, I run them through my beard as I think about what had just happened.
My eyes are red, pupils dilated, and undereyes swollen. I collapse into bed, and as I look at the high dome ceiling, my eyes close.
Blurred images start appearing. I am small again. My father, King Ugrasena, says, "You are a disgrace," as I stand staring down with watery eyes.
Then a servant comes up and whispers, "Queen Padmavati was violated, and you were a result. She will never accept you!"
I freeze in shock; my stomach churns. I throw up.
I try to approach my mother and call for her. As she turns back, her beautiful face changes expressions completely. "Don't call me 'Mother', you dark child! You remind me of the devil! Curse you, Kamsa! You shall die at the hands of someone with Ugrasena's blood!" my mother screams at the top of her lungs.
"Why?! Why doesn't my mother love me!?" I say in an innocent voice, crying.
My father appears again and says, "You are a disgrace!" My innocent voice turns into a rage-filled scream. I lose every bit of affection I felt toward my parents.
I jolt awake, breathing heavily and sweating. I scream out all my pent-up anger. And the window glass moans in pain. I violently throw a vase at the wall while still in bed.