On the wedding day of Vasudeva to the maid Devaki, her mighty brother Kamsa learned by a mystic voice that her eighth son would prove, in time, to be his slayer. For the Earth then was oppressed by evil, and the Lord had promised to Appear, to drive out the cruel and vicious leaders and restore the reign of righteousness. Kamsa well recognized his own preeminence amongst the forces of darkness. He now pitted himself against God, Who had chosen the virtuous Devaki to bear Him, and imprisoned the couple. But God’s will cannot be shackled, nor His purposes obstructed. There in the palace, He came to Devaki, and through the glance of Vasudeva He entered her, and thenceforth she showered light like the sun, for the Source of all brightness was with her. And when the time came, whilst all the worlds rejoiced and the stars glittered and the blossoms opened themselves unafraid though the hour was midnight and the fragrances of heaven and earth intermingled to form a sublime atmosphere at last He came, the Eternal, the Ineffable, the Primeval Person. Though unborn, the Lord took birth through Devaki first in His four-handed form, and then, upon her request, He assumed His Primal Form, as Lord Krishna, Refuge of the Universes, the Babe of Mathura.