Hare Krsna,
I can draw a parallel between Narada instigating Kamsa to kill Devaki’s babies and Krsna instructing Arjuna to kill the enemy soldiers and Kauravas on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, The Lord’s plans are inconceivable. He can get wonderful acts done by his pure devotees.
Krsna tells Arjuna: “Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Jayadratha, Karṇa and the other great warriors have already been destroyed by Me. Therefore, kill them and do not be disturbed. Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies in battle.” (BG 11.34)
Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport that every plan is made by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is so kind and merciful to His devotees that He wants to give the credit to His devotees who carry out His plan according to His desire.
Similarly here, it is Krsna’s plan through Narada to deliver the six sons of Marici (reborn again through Devaki) as soon as possible. Therefore, the so-called ‘horrible acts of violence by Kamsa’ are only from a material standpoint. From a transcendental standpoint, every action is loaded with divine plan and mercy.
In Brhad Vaisnava Tosani (Srila Sanatana Goswami’s commentary of the 10th Canto), Srila Sanatana Goswami explains that Narada had all knowledge and thus knew that Kamsa had become peaceful, thinking that the Lord would not appear. The Lord would not go to Gokula since He was satisfied with Vasudeva and Devaki. Pastimes like killing Putana would not take place. This was Narada’s thinking.
This pastime also indicates Narada’s most merciful nature. He was acting for the benefit of the world by hastening the appearance of the Lord through speaking with Kamsa. This is described in Hari-vamsa.
This incident is similar to the Supreme Lord acting through Srngi to curse Pariksit Maharaja to die in seven days. This would quickly hasten the appearance of Srimad Bhagavatam delivered through the nectarian lips of Sukadeva Goswami to Pariksit Maharaja.
This is like fast-forwarding a movie to get to our favorite part. Similarly Narada is fast-forwarding the advent of Sri Krsna so that we can enter into His sweet Vrndavana pastimes quickly.
The Lord appears to accomplish many missions at the same time.
BG 4.8: To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.
Here Narada is acting as an instrument of the Lord to annihilate the miscreants (Kamsa and other demons) first so that this mission is out of the way before the Lord can engage in sweet pastimes with His devotees.
Overall, I see Narada’s extreme compassion and causeless mercy for the conditioned souls. He is assisting in the plan of the Lord to spread Krsna consciousness in the material world for our deliverance and pave the way for us to go back home, back to Godhead. The whole purpose of the mission of incarnations is to arouse Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere. Narada instigating Kamsa to kill the babies is just one event in the grand scheme of things. This is similar to Jagai and Madhai’s encounter with Nityananda prabhu before Lord Caitanya’s showering of His causeless mercy to these two brothers, and subsequently to all of us. We just need to surrender to the Lord’s desire and plan.Tthe mission is the same – to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes the Lord descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form. In this case, it is Sri Narada acting as a representative of the Lord to deal with Kamsa.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 