Text 68] The Advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Introduction
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There have been many similar instances, and Kaṁsa was the same type of king. Kaṁsa did not hesitate to kill his nephews and imprison his sister and his father. For demons to do such things is not astonishing. Nonetheless, although Kaṁsa was a demon, he was aware that Lord Viṣṇu cannot be killed, and thus he attained salvation. Even partial understanding of the activities of Lord Viṣṇu makes one eligible for salvation. Kaṁsa knew a little about Kṛṣṇa—that He could not be killed—and therefore he attained salvation although he thought of Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa, as an enemy. What then is to be said of one who knows Kṛṣṇa perfectly from the descriptions of  śāstras  like  Bhagavad-gītā ? It is therefore the duty of everyone to read  Bhagavad-gītā  and understand Kṛṣṇa perfectly. This will make one's life successful.
TEXT 68
आत्मानमिह सञ्जातं जानन् प्राग् विष्णुना हतम् । महासुरं कालनेमिं यदुभिः स व्यरुध्यत ॥६८॥
ātmānam iha sañjātaṁ jānan prāg viṣṇunā hatam mahāsuraṁ kālanemiṁ yadubhiḥ sa vyarudhyata
ātmānam—personally; iha—in this world; sañjātam—born again; jānan—understanding well; prāk—previously, before this birth; viṣṇunā—by Lord Viṣṇu; hatam—was killed; mahā-asuram—a great demon; kālanemiṁ—by the name Kālanemi; yadubhiḥ—with the members of the Yadu dynasty; saḥ—he (Kaṁsa); vyarudhyata—acted inimically.
TRANSLATION
In his previous birth, Kaṁsa had been a great demon named Kālanemi and been killed by Viṣṇu. Upon learning this information from Nārada, Kaṁsa became envious of everyone connected with the Yadu dynasty.
PURPORT
Persons who are demons, enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are called  asuras . As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā , the  asuras , because