Figure in the Hindu festival stories
Devaki
Krishna's birth mother
In short
Devaki is the birth mother of Krishna in Hindu tradition and the wife of the Yadava prince Vasudeva. Imprisoned in Mathura by the tyrant Kansa, she saw six newborn sons killed before secretly giving birth to Krishna, the divine eighth child, on the midnight now celebrated as Janmashtami.
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Devaki’s story and role
In the Bhagavata Purana (Canto 10), the fullest source for the story, Devaki is a princess of the Yadava clan married to Vasudeva. As Kansa drives the newlyweds' chariot, a disembodied voice from the sky (akashvani) warns him that Devaki's eighth child will be his death. Enraged, Kansa nearly kills her on the spot; Vasudeva pleads for her life and promises to hand over every child she bears. Kansa relents but imprisons the couple, and one by one destroys their first six infants.
The seventh conception is divinely transferred by the goddess Yogamaya to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's other wife living in Gokul; this child is Balarama, and to Kansa it appears Devaki has miscarried. Her eighth child is Krishna himself, born at midnight in the prison amid storm and portents, the Divine descended to end Kansa's tyranny.
For the Janmashtami narrative, Devaki is the mother through whom the avatar enters the world. On divine instruction, Vasudeva carries the newborn out of the unlocked cell to safety in Gokul, and Devaki does not raise her own son through his childhood. She is reunited with Krishna only years later, after he returns to Mathura and kills Kansa, freeing his parents.
What Devaki represents
Devaki symbolises the faithful, suffering mother whose devotion endures through grief and captivity, and the sacred vessel through which the Divine chooses to be born into the world.
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About Devaki
Who is Devaki?
Devaki is the biological mother of Krishna and the wife of Vasudeva. According to the Bhagavata Purana, she was imprisoned in Mathura by the tyrant Kansa and gave birth to Krishna, her eighth child, on the night celebrated as Janmashtami.
Why did Kansa imprison Devaki?
A prophecy delivered by a voice from the sky at her wedding warned Kansa that Devaki's eighth son would kill him. To prevent this, he imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva and killed their first six newborn children.
Did Devaki raise Krishna?
No. To protect the newborn from Kansa, Vasudeva carried Krishna across the Yamuna to Gokul, where Nanda and Yashoda raised him. Devaki was reunited with her son only after Krishna returned to Mathura and killed Kansa.
How many children did Devaki have before Krishna?
In the Bhagavata Purana, Devaki bore six sons who were killed by Kansa. Her seventh conception, Balarama, was miraculously transferred to Rohini's womb, and her eighth child was Krishna.
Is Devaki worshipped during Janmashtami?
Devaki is honoured in the Janmashtami story as Krishna's mother, and her patient devotion is remembered, though the festival's central focus is the birth of Krishna himself.
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