page_title: Kalanemi
section_title: Previous birth of Kansa
hierarchical_section_title: Kalanemi / Previous birth of Kansa
caption_attribution_description: English: Marichi, a Rishi and son of Brahma. He is shown standing in a flat landscape. He wears a red dhoti with a gold shawl tied over his chest. He wears wooden sandals and holds a walking stick in his right hand. In his left hand he holds a pot. A long string of beads hangs around his neck and his head is shaved except for a tuft at the back. The painting is surrounded by a black border.
context_page_description: Kalanemi is a demon in Hindu mythology. He was the son of Hiranyaksha and brother of Andhaka. In this birth as Hiranyaksha's son, he was slain by Lord Vishnu while his brother was killed by Lord Shiva. In one of his rebirths as per his karmic deeds, he was born as Kansa, son of Ugrasena the king of Mathura. His sister was Devaki and her son Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu. Krishna eventually killed Kansa in this birth.In the epic Ramayana Kalanemi was Maricha's son and minister of Ravana and was assigned to kill Hanuman.
context_section_description: According to Hinduism's Karma principle for the cumulative actions of bad and good deeds resulting in "blessings or punishments". His elder brother was Andhaka. Kalannemi had a daughter, Vrinda whom was married to Jalandhara. Kalanemi had six sons who in their previous birth had been the sons of Marichi, a manasputra (mind son) of Brahma, considered a demigod being associated with Indra and believed to be one of the maruts with "powers of storm and battle". Marichi was also considered to be a prajapati ("projenitor or grandfather") or even as one of the seven saptarishis who also represented seven cosmic principles.
  In another birth, the six brothers were sons of Kalanemi, and being pious they received a boon from Brahma that no one would kill them. But Hiranyakashipu cursed them to sleep in patala (the netherworld). After much pleading the curse was moderated and they were to be reborn as the first six sons of Devaki. In that birth, Kalanemi would be reborn as Kamsa, son of Ugrasena, and would be their uncle who would eventually kill them all.
  The six brothers made fun of Brahma as he had married Saraswati, his own daughter. This infuriated Brahma who cursed the brothers to be born as asuras, and thus they were reborn as the six sons of Kalanemi. The rebirth cycle continued over the aeons and Kalanemi was then born as Kamsa. Kalanemi's six sons had to have two more earlier rebirths before they were born as Kamsa's nephews. Narada had informed Kamsa that his birth was the result of a rape of his mother by a gandharva, called Dramila, and that was the reason that Kamasa's mother disliked her son and had cursed that he would be killed by a member of his own family. When his sister Devaki was married to Vasudeva, a divine voice told him that their eighth son would kill him. Kamsa wanted to kill his sister then only before she could bear any children. But her husband prevailed on Kamsa with the promise that he would surrender to him all sons born to them.
  Devaki and her husband lived in confinement and as soon as a child was born to them, Kamsa would kill the child. After killing the first six sons of Devakai, he thought that their seventh child died before he took birth but actually Devi Mahamaya put the seventh child in the garbha of first wife of Yasudeva, Rohini who was staying in Gokul. When Krishna was born as the eighth son then a divine voice told Yasudev to put his son in Gokul at the house of Nanda and Yashodha and take their daughter who was born at that night, with him. Everyone thought that eight child is a girl but Kamsa did not spare her. Trying to kill the girl child, she flew away, being an incarnation of Mayadevi, and before disappearing announced that Kamsa's death would happen soon. Kamsa's efforts to kill the child failed, and finally Krishna killed him during an ambush. As Kamsa was killed by Krishna, a divine person, he attained moksha due to his constant thoughts on Krishna.
caption: Marichi, mind born son of Brahma
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