As Kamsa drew his sword, Krishna pounced on Kamsa who was now standing in front of his high seat. Krishna seized Kamsa by his hair and crushed him to death, dragging him onto the wrestling areana.
The prophesy had been fulfilled. Kamsa was killed by Krishna, the eighth child of Devaki. Ugrasena was brought back to the throne and proclaimed as the king. All those who had fled from Mathura to escape the Kamsa’s regime had returned: for example, Yadus, Vrishnis, Madhus, Andhakas, Dasarkas and Kukuras. Peace and harmony had now been restored in Mathura.
Balarama and Krishna were initiated into the Gayatri mantra by their family priest Gargacharya. The boys were students at Ujjain under a renowned guru named Sandipani. They lived in the gurukulam with other students and served the guru with respect and devotion and learnt from the guru all the branches of learning, all the arts and sciences relevant for kings and returned home to Mathura. Many years later, a fellow-pupil named Kuchela visited Krishna at Dwaraka and they recounted their pleasant days learning under the guru Sandipani.
Krishna sent for Uddhava a kinsman and conveyed his message of love to the people of Brindavan. He met Akrura and sent him as an emissary to Hastinapura enquiring about the welfare of the sons of Pandu, Krishna’s cousins, who were now serving Dhritarashtra the king after the death of their father. Balarama and Krishna were now required to be in Mathura to settle scores with Jarasandha, the Magadha king and father-in-law of Kamsa. Jarasandha was assembling his troops to march into Mathura to avenge the death of Kamsa. Krishna’s army fought valiant battles against the troops of Jarasandha and defeated the latter. Jarasandha was vanquished but invaded Mathura again and again, eighteen times. Another invasion was by Kala-yavana, a foreign commander who tried to lay seige to the city of Mathura. Balarama and Krishna wanted to save the people from such repeated invasions. They built an impregnable island city called Dwaraka on the western sea and shifted their capital to this place. People of Mathura moved in large numbers to Dwaraka. The city of Mathura was abandoned to Jarasandha. Later, Bhima and Arjuna fight a battle with Jarasandha. Bhima overpowers and kills Jarasandha, at Krishna’s bidding.
Gokulam was Krishna’s childhood. Brindavan was Krishna’s boyhood. Mathura was Krishna’s youth. Dwaraka was Krishna’s manhood. Dwara remained Krishna’s capital until his life on earth and later it submerged under the ocean. After the Yadavas settled in Dwaraka, Krishna married Rukmini.
Bhishmaka was the king of Vidarbha. He had five sons, the eldest of whom was Rukmi, a cruel prince. He had a daughter called Rukmini. Rukmini had longed for Krishna having heard of his exquisite beauty and charm. All her relatives approved of her choice of Krishna, with the exception of Rukmi who wanted her to marry Sisupala, the king of Chedi. To defeat Rukmi’s evil designs, Rukmini sent a messenger to Krishna, "O my lover! Beloved of my heart! I have dreamt of you as my Lord. Come to me soon and claim me as your wife. I am being married to the Chedi king against my wish. Carry me away after proving your valor. We will be proceeding in a procession to the temple of Parvati outside the city, the day before the marriage day. You wait outside the city of Kundina, the capital of Vidarbha and capture me. If you do not come, I will cast off my body and quit from this world if I do not unite with you in wedlock." Krishna got the message and commanded his charioteer Daruka to make the arrangements for the journey to Vidarbha. Krishna’s chariot raced towards Kundina with the messenger of Rukmini and Krishna himself.
