Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.4.14

tayābhihitam ākarṇya

kaḿsaḥ parama-vismitaḥ

devakīḿ vasudevaḿ ca

vimucya praśrito 'bravīt

SYNONYMS

tayā — by the goddess Durgā; abhihitam — the words spoken; ākarṇya — by hearing; kaḿsaḥ — Kaḿsa; parama-vismitaḥ — was struck with wonder; devakīm — unto Devakī; vasudevam ca — and Vasudeva; vimucya — releasing immediately; praśritaḥ — with great humility; abravīt — spoke as follows.

TRANSLATION

After hearing the words of the goddess Durgā, Kaḿsa was struck with wonder. Thus he approached his sister Devakī and brother-in-law Vasudeva, released them immediately from their shackles, and very humbly spoke as follows.

PURPORT

Kaḿsa was astonished because the goddess Durgā had become the daughter of Devakī. Since Devakī was a human being, how could the goddess Durgā become her daughter? This was one cause of his astonishment. Also, how is it that the eighth child of Devakī was a female? This also astonished him. Asuras are generally devotees of mother Durgā, Śakti, or of demigods, especially Lord Śiva. The appearance of Durgā in her original eight-armed feature, holding various weapons, immediately changed Kaḿsa's mind about Devakī's being an ordinary human. Devakī must have had some transcendental qualities; otherwise why would the goddess Durgā have taken birth from her womb? Under the circumstances, Kaḿsa, struck with wonder, wanted to compensate for his atrocities against his sister Devakī.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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