Kapila is frequently mentioned in the lists of Vishnu avatars in the Puranas. According to the Puranic traditions, Vishnu took birth as Kapila, the son of Manu Swayambhu’s daughter Devahuti and Kardama Prajapati. The story of the divine descent of Vishnu as Kapila is called Kapila Gita and constitutes a large part of Skandha 3 of Bhagavata Purana.
Kardama followed the path of bhakti (devotion) and was rewarded by Vishnu. It is said that Vishnu revealed himself and promised Kardama that he was going to be born as his son Kapila in order to teach a philosophy. Kapila, once born, was worshipped as God by his parents.
Kapila then taught his mother Devahuti the principles of Samkhya and in particular devotion to God. Kapila had been incarnated to revive devotion to God as the way to salvation, which by that time had been almost lost among human beings, according to Bhagavata Purana.
Mother of Kapila became a sannyasin and utilized the separation from her son to strengthen meditation on him; by fixing her mind on Kapila (Vishnu), she attained Samadhi. Following the marga (path) of Kapila, she attained nirvana, Brahman, atman and bhagavan.