Krishna and Jarasandha

The Rajasuya Yagna was considered to be a prominent one because of two reasons;

a. It went on to establish the supremacy of the King performing the yagna over all the other kings of the land and 

b. It automatically qualified him a lace in the Indra Sabha in his after life. 

All those around Yudhishthira eulogized him and urged him to embark on the Rajasuya sacrifice. But Yudhishthira would not take a final decision without consulting the knower of all things, Krishna. He sent a messenger to Dwaraka, seeking Krishna’s advise. Krishna took the opportunity to visit Indraprastha where he could meet his cousins, aunt and sister. He proceeded in his celestial chariot that traveled like a ray of the sun.

On reaching Indraprastha, Krishna paid his regards to Yudhishthira and Kunti, affectionately embraced his other cousins and blessed his sister Subhadra. He then sat down to answer the king’s query about his eligibility to perform the Rajasuya.

Krishna told the mighty Pandava monarch, “I, however, have a concern. A survey of the kings in the country shows that you are superior to all of them. There is, however, one exception. And that is the Magadha king, Jarasandha. This evil oppressor of mankind is so powerful that even I had to abandon my capital, Mathura, for fear of him, and flee to the Western coast.

“We had to build a very strong fort at Dwaraka so that my people and I could live free of Jarasandha’s attacks. Jarasandha carries a grouse against us because I killed the evil king Kamsa who was married to two of his daughters. All kings have become Jarasandha’s vassals, and those who resist him are imprisoned in a fort. He has so far imprisoned eighty-six kings. After capturing fourteen more, he intends to offer them one by one as sacrifice to the god Rudra. He will surely not accept you as superior to him, and would do all he could to obstruct the sacrifice. He would seek eternal fame by defeating you.”

“What makes him so invincible?” Yudhishthira asked Krishna.

Krishna related Jarasandha’s story to the king.

The History:

Brihadratha, the mighty king of Magadha, married the twins of the Kasi ruler, both endowed with beauty and intelligence. The two wives gave him great happiness but failed to provide a son to carry on the dynasty. One day, he heard that a sage, Chanda kaushika, was camping at the outskirts of his capital. The king went with his wives to seek the blessings of the sage.

Brihadratha pleased the rishi by worshipping him and offering him valuable presents. When the king told the sage of his desire to have a son, the rishi blessed him and said, so be it. Just then a mango from the tree under which they were sitting, fell on the lap of Chandakausika. The holy man handed over the fruit to the king and asked him to give it to his wives. The sage left after assuring the king that he would get a son who would be a mighty monarch.

Being equally fond of both his wives, Brihadratha divided the fruit between them. Both of them conceived. When they delivered, each wife had half of a baby, having one arm, one leg, half a head and half a torso. The disappointed queens disposed of the sundered baby through a maid who threw the parts out through the backdoor of the palace.

A rakshasa woman, Jara by name, who lived on flesh, was foraging in the garbage for food. She found the two halves of the baby thrown by the maid. Fate playing a part, she joined the two symmetrical pieces together. A healthy baby was formed which started to howl in a thunderous voice. It was so large and heavy that Jara could not carry it away. The inmates of the palace came running to find out what the commotion was about. Jara handed over the baby to them and ran away. When the queens recognised the baby, they were overjoyed. The baby was given named Jarasandha meaning,  joined together by Jara.

Some time later, the rishi Chandakausika again visited Magadha. King Brihadrada received him with great respect and worshipped him. The learned one predicted to the king that the child born to him would grow in strength and conquer the whole world. All the kings of the earth would tremble before his might. After making this prediction, the sage went away to attend to his business. When Jarasandha came of age, Brihadrada retired to the forest, installing his son as ruler.

In time Jarasandha grew into a fearsome king. Being a friend of Kamsa, Jarasandha drove the Yadava tribe of Vrishnis along with our cousins, the Kukuras and the Andhakas, out of Mathura. Krishna recognized that Jarasandha was invincible and his death was not yet due, and to keep out of his way,  moved to Dwaraka.

Krishna told Yudhishthira that he would not be able to perform his Rajasuya unless Jarasandha was eliminated. This could be achieved only if Jarasandha was engaged in a personal combat, as the Magadha king was incapable of being vanquished in the battlefield. It was decided that Arjuna and Bhima, along with Krishna, should proceed to Magadha to put an end to this oppressor of kings.

  

The Fight:                                                      

On arriving at Magadha, Arjuna, Bhima and Krishna gained entry into the city disguised as brahmins. They did not want to be recognized as princes. Soon they were in the presence of Jarasandha.

Once they reached Jarasandha’s presence, they revealed their identity to him. Krishna demanded that all the kings that Jarasandha had imprisoned should be released. 

Jarasandha scornfully replied that he would add these three to those imprisoned.  “But,” he said, “I always defeat my foe in war before killing or imprisoning him. In your case, since you are without an army, I am prepared to fight you individually.”

It was decided that a combat between the king and one of the three visitors should be held. When asked to select his opponent, the proud Jarasandha pointed to Bhima, the one who looked the biggest and strongest. Jarasandha took the precaution of installing his son Sahadeva as king before the battle started, in the unlikely event of his being killed in the fight.

What followed was a war between two mountains. Bhima and Jarasandha were engaged in personal combat for fourteen days even as the earth shook under them. They clashed like elephants and let out roars that sent fear in the spines of those who heard them. Before entering the combat on the last day, Krishna picked up a small twig on their way to the wrestling arena. Bhima  managed to overwhelm Jarasandha who lay down exhausted during the course of the combat. Seizing this opportunity, Krishna pulled out the twig and separated it right down the middle. This was to tell Bhima that he should do the same to Jarasandha to defeat him.  

Bhima did as was told. There was a great roar from Jarasandha as he met his death.

Krishna released all the kings imprisoned by Jarasandha in the hill fortress known as Girivraja. The liberated kings worshipped Krishna and asked what command he had for them. Krishna told them that they were free to return to their kingdoms.

“You have Bhima to thank for your liberation,” Krishna told the kings. “He is the brother of the great king, Yudhishthira, who is holding a Rajasuya sacrifice. You should all assist the Pandava king in his Rajasuya.” The kings agreed in one voice. 

The new king of Maghada, Sahadeva, sought Krishna’s blessings and commenced his beneficial rule.

The victorious three were given a rousing welcome when they returned to Indraparastha. Krishna took leave of the Pandavas and left for Dwaraka, having accomplished his objective of eliminating Jarasandha.