Much to Devaki's relief, Vasudev returned back safely with the daughter of Nand. As he set foot inside his desolate prison cell, the heavy gates ominously swung shut, the locks snapping shut with a resounding finality. The shackles swiftly reattached themselves to his weary feet.

In a sudden twist of fate, the girl, barely a moment later, opened her eyes and unleashed a piercing wail that reverberated through the air, resolute and unyielding.

The sound of her cries shattered the trance-like state of the guards, jolting them back to reality. Their eyes widened as they beheld the precious child cradled in Vasudev's arms, a sight that propelled them into immediate action.

Driven by fear, the guards hastened towards Kamsa, their footsteps echoing with urgency.

-------

Kamsa woke up with a jolt once again, this night had plagued him with endless nightmares, making it impossible for him to catch even a minute of sleep. The room was filled with his ragged breathing and the sound of the storm outside.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, Kamsa flinched at first hearing it.

"K-Kaun ?" He asked.

"Anakdundubhi, Rajan." A masculine voice from outside replied.

"Iss samaye kyu aaye ho ?" Kamsa asked.

"Rajan.... Devaki ne aathve santaan ko janm de diya hai." Anakdundubhi informed.

Listening to that Kamsa blood ran cold, as fear clutched his heart. His kaal has been born. Beads of sweat rolled down his face which had an expression of sheer terror.

"Rajan ?" Anakdundubhi's voice brought him to senses.

Kamsa leaped out of his bed hastily, quickly grabbing the his sword and heading outside as he tied it around his waist.

"Sabhi sainik mere saath chalo !" He ordered and guards followed him.

Kamsa's heart raced with every step, his mind plagued by thoughts of the child who could bring about his demise.

"Maharaj !" The guards rushed to Kamsa's aid as he tripped and fell down on the ground.

Kamsa stood back to his feet and set out for the prison house where Devaki and Vasudeva were being held. He stumbled some more and fell several times, the anxiety and urgency driving him forward despite the treacherous conditions.

As they reached the prison house, Kamsa's breath came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving with panic. Finally, they reached the cell where Devaki and Vasudeva were kept. Kamsa's eyes bore into Devaki, the fear, anger and desperation evident in his gaze.

"Usne janm le liya ! Laao use mujhe do !" Kamsa yelled as a guard unlocked the door and he stepped inside.

Devaki clutched the small baby in her arms, hiding her from the gaze of her wicked brother, "Putri huyi hai bhaiya. Yeh aathva putra nahi hai !"

Kamsa, upon seeing the infant girl, was overcome with bewilderment. A flicker of relief momentarily danced within him, only to be swiftly extinguished by the undeniable truth that this was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev.

"Yeh abodh balika aapka kuch nahi bigaad sakti. Iss par toh daya kijiye !" Devaki sobbed.

"Jo bhi hai ! Hai toh yeh teri aathvi santaan !" Kamsa said.

He lunged towards Devaki, pushing her away and seizing the baby from her by the feet, he violently raised her.

"Kamsa !" Vasudev shouted at the tyrant whirled the baby around and flung her against a stone.

However, she wasn't crushed. Instead, she rose up into the sky, giving up the body of an infant and taking on the divine form of a goddess.

With freely flowing hair, she rose upwards into the sky, adorned with divine garlands and unguents. The divine one who was always worshipped by gods, was attired in blue and yellow garments.

Her face was like the moon and she possessed eight extensive arms carrying bow, arrows, trident, sword, shield, chakra, conch shell and mace. Her complexion was like radiant lightning. Her eyes were like the rising sun. She was like the night shrouded in greater darkness, surrounded by a large number of bhutas.

Seeing Yogmaya herself in front of them, both Vasudev and Devaki joined their hands as tears flowed freely from their eyes. However Kamsa was shocked and scared.

The goddess laughed loudly, and in the voice that was like the evening clouds, she spoke, "Murkh Kamsa ! Mujhe maarne se tujhe kya milega ? Tera purvajanm ka shatru, ek baar punah tera kaal banke tere hi Rajya mei janm le chuka hai. Ab tu vyarth balako ki hatya na kar !"

And after saying so to Kamsa, Yogmaya disappeared from there.

Kamsa's gaze fell down on his hands, as realized that all his efforts had been in vain. He had imprisoned Devaki and her Vasudev and had mercilessly killed six of their children as soon as they were born. The child he had feared the most, the one prophesied to bring about his downfall, the one for whom he had committed such sins, was now out of his reach.

A wave of guilt washed over Kamsa as he realized the extent of his cruelty and the lives he had needlessly taken. The weight of his actions bore down on him as he realized that his fate was sealed. He had brought about his own downfall through his ruthless and cruel actions.

"Devaki aur Vasudev ko mukt kardo." Kamsa said.

The husband and wife were bewildered as the guards carried out this unusual order of their King and began to remove their shackles.

Mustering courage, he looked up at them, "Devaki, Vasudev.... Mai bahut bada paapi hu. Jis prakar Rakshas apne hi santaano ko maar deta hai, maine bhi tumhare 6 putro ka vadh kardiya. Iss baat ka mujhe bada khed hai. Mujhme tanik bhi karuna ab shesh nahi."

Devaki and Vasudev looked at each other and then at Kamsa, confused at his sudden change of heart.

"Uss Vishnu ke karan maine apni hi behen ke putro ka vadh kar diya... Oh ! Mai bada dusht hu ! Parantu tum dono Mahatma ho. Tum dono apne putro ki mrityu ka shok na karo, unhe kadachit apne karmo ka fal mila hai. Sabhi praani, praarabdh ke aadhin hai." Kamsa said.

Pausing for a moment he said, "Jis prakar mitti ke bane vastuo ka akaar banta aur bugadta hai, parantu mitti mei koi adal badal nahi hoti, uss hi prakaar tan ka bigadna aur banna hota rehta hai parantu aatma par iska koi prabhaav nahi padta. Jo iss tatva ko nahi jaante, woh iss anaatma deh ko hi aatma maan baithte hai. Yahi vastavik agyaan hai. Iske karan hi janm aur mrityu hote hai, aur jab tak isko na Jana jaa sake, tab tak manushya sukh aur dukh ke sansaar se mukt nahi ho pata."

Kamsa took a step towards Devaki, she clutched unto Vasudev's arms. But much to her surprise, Kamsa fell on his knees, touching her feet and shedding tears of regret.

"Behen, yadyapi maine tumhare putro ka vadh kiya hai, parantu tum iss baat ka shok na karo. Tum dono saadhu swabhav aur deenrakshak ho.... Meri dushtta ko kshama kardo." Kamsa sobbed.

Saying so, Kamsa thought upon the words of Yogmaya and then freed both Devaki and Vasudev from the prison.

Seeing that her brother was shedding the tears of guilt, the soft-hearted Devaki forgot all his crimes and said, "Kshama kiya."

With a sad smile, Vasudev said, "Tumne satya kaha Kamsa. Agyaan mei manushya iss deh ko hi satya samajh leta hai, aur usme bhed ki drishti ka janm ho jata hai. Iss bhed se manushya shok, harsh, bhaye, dvesh, lobh, moh aur mad se peedit ho jata hai. Woh apni vastavik aatma ko nahi dekh pata, aur bhagwaan se dur ho jata hai."

And when Vasudev and Devaki talked to Kamsa in this manner, in a somewhat happy state of mind, Kamsa took their leave and went back to his palace.

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A/N

6 bacche maar ke, mama chale tirth ko
👁️👁️

Anyway, to clear another BIG MYTH... Subhadra is not Yogmaya... Yup, that's right. Nowhere in Mahabharat is she mentioned to be Yogmaya. Even in Harivamsha, Subhadra is not said to be Yogmaya, instead Yogmaya is Ekamsha -

Then who is Subhadra ? We can't be too sure about that, but because she is the sister of Krishna and Balram, she must've been or divine origin.

Thus the closest guess from puranas would be that Subhadra is Shatrupa, the first woman created by Brahmadev, and who is regarded as the wife of Prajapati.
And this makes sense because even Bhagwaan Nar is called Prajapati at many places.