In Hinduism, Devaki is the wife of Vasudeva and mother, by him, of Krishna and Balarama. Devaki and Vasudeva were imprisoned by her half-brother, Kamsa, due to a prophecy that one of their sons would kill him. Kamsa then killed six of their sons; the seventh, Balarama, escaped death by transferring to the womb of another woman. The eighth son, Krishna (who was actually an avatar of Vishnu, was born at midnight and taken by his father to be raised by Nanda and Yasoda in a neighboring village.