Ugrasena was the father of Kamsa and the ruler of Mathura.
His story is mainly found in the Srimad Bhagavad Purana. He is the maternal
grandfather of Lord Krishna.
Ugrasena was not the hereditary king of Mathura. He acquired
the right to rule Mathura as Vasudeva, father of Sri Krishna, was not
interested in kingship.
When the rule of the solar race over the Mathura region
ended, Surasena, king of Yadava clan, occupied the throne of Mathura. His son
Vasudeva, father of Lord Krishna, did not wish to become the king. Ugrasena, a
chief of an important Yadava clan occupied the throne.
Ugrasena was a noble ruler but unfortunately, he had a son,
Kamsa, who was arrogant and oppressive. Kamsa found an evil ally in Jarasandha.
He married the daughters of Jarasandha who was ruler of Magadha.
Many a times, Ugrasena attempted to change the cruel and
inconsiderate behavior of Kamsa. But all advices of the wise king fell on deaf
ears. The advice given by Ugrasena to Kamsa is found in the Krishna Leela dramas
enacted in Vrindavan and Mathura.
Kamsa was not the biological son of Ugrasena
The popular belief is that Kamsa is
the son of Queen Padmavati and King Ugrasena of Mathura. But as per Bhagavad
Purana and other several other Puranas King Ugrasena did not father Kamsa.
Padmavati who was in her monthly periods walked in the
forest. Dramila saw her and felt attracted to her. He violated her and made her
pregnant.
Kamsa soon imprisoned Ugrasena and occupied the throne of
Mathura. He married off his sister Devaki to Vasudeva.
But Devaki and Vasudeva was imprisoned when a voice from the
sky predicted that the eight son of Devaki would annihilate Kamsa.
The eighth child was born and miraculously transported to
Gokul. All efforts to track down and kill the child proved futile.
Later Sri Krishna killed Kamsa. Freed his parents and
reinstated Ugrasena as the king of Mathura.
Mathura once again enjoyed the rule of law and justice under
Ugrasena.
But Sri Krishna had to shift his capital from Mathura to
Dwarka to avoid the constant fight with Jarasandha. Here too Ugrasena ruled
over the Yadavas.
Ugrasena Witnesses the End of Yadava Clan
When Dwapara Yuga was coming to an end, Sri Krishna decided
to put an end to his avatar. Soon Dharma (righteousness) started disappearing
and it was replaced by Adharma.
The Rishis realized what was happening on earth and decided
to pay their respect to Sri Krishna. Rishis led by Vishwamitra, Narada and
Kanva reached Dwarka. The Yadavas, who were into merrymaking and wanton
lifestyle, dressed up Shamba as a pregnant woman and decided to mock the
Rishis. They approached the rishis and asked them whether the woman would give
birth to a girl or boy.
The Rishis could not tolerate the behavior of the Yadavas
and cursed them that he would give birth to an iron pillar which would destroy
the Yadava clan.
Shamba soon gave birth to an iron pillar. King Ugrasena
asked the iron pillar to be powdered and thrown into the sea.
But the powder reached the shores and turned into iron reeds
and which eventually led to the death of the Yadavas.
A piece of the iron pillar was used to make the tip of the arrow which killed Sri Krishna.
Ugrasena too departed from the earth after this incident.
A piece of the iron pillar was used to make the tip of the arrow which killed Sri Krishna.
Ugrasena too departed from the earth after this incident.