Knowledge Bank

Why Kamsa was killed?

Kamsa was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna. He was very cruel and wicked. Lord Krishna's mother was Devaki. At the time of her wedding, an oracle was heard that her son would kill Kamsa, Kamsa imprisoned Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. He killed their first six sons. The seventh pregnancy was transplanted to Rohini the second wife of Vasudeva and was born as Balarama. The eighth child was Krishna. His father carried him to Gokula secretly and left him in the custody of Yashoda and Nandagopa. Kamsa came to know later that his slayer was still alive and was growing up in Gokula. He sent several Asuras to Gokula to take the life of Krishna but failed every time. In the meantime, Kamsa imprisoned his own father Ugrasena, and took over the rulership. He perpetrated atrocities upon the people of Mathura. Many prominent Yadavas fled to safety. Krishna had to release Mathura from the clutches of Kamsa. That's why the Lord killed him.

Legend of Tiruvanaikoil Jambukeswarar Temple, Tamil Nadu

The tale of Sage Jambu is integral to the origin story of the Jambukeswarar Temple in Thiruvanaikoil, one of the five sacred halls where Shiva is believed to have danced. According to legend, Shiva, during deep meditation on Mount Kailas, was mocked by Parvati. Angered by this, Shiva sent Parvati to Earth to worship him at a sacred place. Parvati found a forest of Jamun trees on the banks of the Kaveri River. Using her divine power, she created a linga from water for her worship. In this forest, Sage Jambu was performing penance. One day, he offered Shiva a ripe and delicious Jamun fruit. Shiva ate the fruit and spat out the seed, which the sage swallowed as a gift from the deity. To his astonishment, the seed began to grow into a tree inside him. Shiva then instructed Sage Jambu to live in the forest of Jamun trees and predicted that Parvati, in the form of Akilandeswari, would come to worship the linga there. Sage Jambu moved to Tiruvanaikoyil, where the Jamun seed sprouted from his head and grew into a large Jamun tree. Under this tree, Akilandeswari worshiped the linga, establishing the sacred site of the Jambukeswarar Temple.