Jarasandha
Encyclopedia
Jarasandha was a great and legendary king of Magadha
. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata
.
. His wives were the twin princesses of Benares. While he led a content life and was a famed king, he was unable to have children for a very long time. Frustrated over his inability to have children, he retreated to the forest and eventually ended up serving a sage named Chandakaushika. The sage took pity on him and on finding the actual cause for his sorrow, gave him a fruit and told him to give it to his wife who in turn will soon become pregnant. But the sage did not know that he had two wives. Not wishing to displease either wife, Brihadratha cut the fruit in half and gave it to both of them. Soon both the wives became pregnant and gave birth to two halves of a human body. These two lifeless halves were very horrifying to view. So, Brihadratha ordered these to be thrown in the forest. A demoness (Rakshasi) named "Jara" (or Barmata) found these two pieces and held each of these in her two palms. Incidentally when she brought both of her palms together,the two pieces joined together giving rise to a living child. The Child cried loudly which created panic for Jara. Not having the heart to eat a living child, the demoness gave it to the king and explained him all that happened. The father named the boy as Jarasandha (literally meaning "joined by Jara")
Chandakaushika arrived at the court and saw the child. He prophesied to Brihadratha that his son will be specially gifted and would be a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
In India, descendants of Jarasandh still exist and use joriya (which means piece of flesh named after their ancestor, "jarasandha") as their suffix while naming themselves.
, Jarasandh decided to get his two daughters 'Asti and Prapti' married to the heir apparent of Mathura, Kamsa
. Jarasandha had also lent his army and his personal advise to Kansa to create a coup d'etat in Mathura.
When Krishna
killed Kansa in Mathura, Jarasandha become enraged because of Krishna and the entire Yadavas clan on seeing his two daughters being widowed. So, Jarasandha attacked Mathura repeatedly. He attacked Mathura 17 times. Sensing danger over the repeated attack on Mathura by Jarasandha, Krishna relocated his capital city to Dwaraka. Dwaraka was an island and it was not possible for anyone to attack it at all. Hence, Jarasandha could not attack the Yadavas anymore.
was planning to make a Rajasuya yagna
or Ashwamedha Yagna
in order to become the emperor. Krishna
convinced him that Jarasandha was the only obstacle to oppose Yudhisthira from becoming an emperor. Jarasandha raided Mathura (Krishna's ancestral capital) unopposed by Krishna, who was aware of Jarasandha's military prowess; and instead moved capital to Dwaraka. Jarasandha had imprisoned 95 kings and was in need of 5 more kings, after which he could perform a major Yagna to Shiva
. So, Jarasandha was planning to make one last attack on Dwaraka after this Yagna. This would in turn make Jarasandha an emperor.
Thus, Krishna advised Yudhisthira that Jarasandha must be killed before Yudhisthira starts performing the Rajasuya yagna. Krishna knew that it was not possible for Yudhisthira to defeat Jarasandha in a conventional war as Jarashandha was a great military general, and had a boon of not being killed through any weapons. Instead, Krishna planned a clever scheme to make Bheema
wrestle with the proud but ageing Jarasandha (who was close to 80 at this time).
Like Karna
, Jarasandha was also very good in giving charity donations. After performing his Shiva pooja, he used to give whatever the Brahmins asked for. On one such occasion Krishna, Arjuna
and Bheema in the guise of Brahmins met Jarasandha. Krishna asked Jarasandha to choose any one of them for a wrestling match. Jarasandha chose Bheema, the strongman, to wrestle. Both of them fought for 27 days. Bheema did not know how to defeat Jarasandha. So, he sought the help of Krishna. Krishna knew the secret by which Jarasandha could be killed. Since, Jarasandha was brought to life when the two lifeless halves joined together, conversely, he can be killed only when these his body was torn into two halves and find a way as how these two don't merge. Krishna took a stick, he broke it into two and threw them in both directions. Bheema got the hint. He tore Jarasandha's body into two and threw the pieces in two directions. But, these two pieces came together and Jarasandha was able to attack Bheema again. Bheema got tired after several such futile attempts. He again sought the help of Krishna. This time, Lord Krishna took a stick, broke it into two and threw the left piece on right side and the right piece on the left side. Bheema precisely followed the same. Now, he tore Jarasandha's body into two and threw them in opposite directions. Thus, Jarasandha was killed as the two pieces could not merge into one.
After his death, the Pandavas released all the 95 kings imprisoned by Jarasandha and crowned his son, Sahdeva
as the king of Magadha
. Thus, these 95 kings along with Sahdeva, the new ruler of Magadha became an ally of Pandavas who took part in the great Mahabharat war later.
and Jarasandha lasts 27 days. Similarly, the dwanda-yuddha between Parasurama and Bhishma
lasts for 30 days, while that between Krishna
and Jambavan lasts for 28 days. Likewise, the dwandwa-yudda between king Vaali (Sugriva
's brother) and Dundubhi, a demon in the form of a water buffalo
, lasts for 45 days. Thus, in those days, many of the dwandwa-yuddas fought between two great warriors lasted for more than a month. It was only after a month long battle, the battle concluded by some unique strategies adapted by one warrior in order to gain an upper hand over his opponent.
portrayed the Jarasandha character and Kocharlakota Satyanarayana as Srikrishna. Balijepalli Lakshmikantham
wrote about 25 songs and poems for this film; while the music is scored by Galipenchala Narasimha Rao.
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
.
Legend about his birth
Brihadratha was the king of MagadhaMagadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
. His wives were the twin princesses of Benares. While he led a content life and was a famed king, he was unable to have children for a very long time. Frustrated over his inability to have children, he retreated to the forest and eventually ended up serving a sage named Chandakaushika. The sage took pity on him and on finding the actual cause for his sorrow, gave him a fruit and told him to give it to his wife who in turn will soon become pregnant. But the sage did not know that he had two wives. Not wishing to displease either wife, Brihadratha cut the fruit in half and gave it to both of them. Soon both the wives became pregnant and gave birth to two halves of a human body. These two lifeless halves were very horrifying to view. So, Brihadratha ordered these to be thrown in the forest. A demoness (Rakshasi) named "Jara" (or Barmata) found these two pieces and held each of these in her two palms. Incidentally when she brought both of her palms together,the two pieces joined together giving rise to a living child. The Child cried loudly which created panic for Jara. Not having the heart to eat a living child, the demoness gave it to the king and explained him all that happened. The father named the boy as Jarasandha (literally meaning "joined by Jara")
Chandakaushika arrived at the court and saw the child. He prophesied to Brihadratha that his son will be specially gifted and would be a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
In India, descendants of Jarasandh still exist and use joriya (which means piece of flesh named after their ancestor, "jarasandha") as their suffix while naming themselves.
Life
Jarasandha became a famed and powerful king, extending his empire far and wide. He prevailed over many kings, and was crowned emperor of Magadha. Even while Jarasandha's power continued to grow, he had concerns over his future & that of the empires, as he had no heirs. Therefore, on the advice of his close friend king BanasuraBanasura
Bana , in Hindu mythology, was a thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. Banasura was a powerful and terrible asura. All people, even the king of earth and Devas of heaven, were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present-day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur ,...
, Jarasandh decided to get his two daughters 'Asti and Prapti' married to the heir apparent of Mathura, Kamsa
Kamsa
In Hinduism, Kamsa or Kansa , often known as Kans in Hindi, is the brother of Devaki, and ruler of the Vrishni kingdom with its capital at Mathura. His father was King Ugrasena and mother was Queen Padmavati...
. Jarasandha had also lent his army and his personal advise to Kansa to create a coup d'etat in Mathura.
When Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
killed Kansa in Mathura, Jarasandha become enraged because of Krishna and the entire Yadavas clan on seeing his two daughters being widowed. So, Jarasandha attacked Mathura repeatedly. He attacked Mathura 17 times. Sensing danger over the repeated attack on Mathura by Jarasandha, Krishna relocated his capital city to Dwaraka. Dwaraka was an island and it was not possible for anyone to attack it at all. Hence, Jarasandha could not attack the Yadavas anymore.
Death
YudhisthiraYudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
was planning to make a Rajasuya yagna
Rajasuya
Rajasuya was a sacrifice, described in detail in the Mahabharata, performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor...
or Ashwamedha Yagna
Ashvamedha
The Ashvamedha was one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda...
in order to become the emperor. Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
convinced him that Jarasandha was the only obstacle to oppose Yudhisthira from becoming an emperor. Jarasandha raided Mathura (Krishna's ancestral capital) unopposed by Krishna, who was aware of Jarasandha's military prowess; and instead moved capital to Dwaraka. Jarasandha had imprisoned 95 kings and was in need of 5 more kings, after which he could perform a major Yagna to Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. So, Jarasandha was planning to make one last attack on Dwaraka after this Yagna. This would in turn make Jarasandha an emperor.
Thus, Krishna advised Yudhisthira that Jarasandha must be killed before Yudhisthira starts performing the Rajasuya yagna. Krishna knew that it was not possible for Yudhisthira to defeat Jarasandha in a conventional war as Jarashandha was a great military general, and had a boon of not being killed through any weapons. Instead, Krishna planned a clever scheme to make Bheema
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
wrestle with the proud but ageing Jarasandha (who was close to 80 at this time).
Like Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
, Jarasandha was also very good in giving charity donations. After performing his Shiva pooja, he used to give whatever the Brahmins asked for. On one such occasion Krishna, Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
and Bheema in the guise of Brahmins met Jarasandha. Krishna asked Jarasandha to choose any one of them for a wrestling match. Jarasandha chose Bheema, the strongman, to wrestle. Both of them fought for 27 days. Bheema did not know how to defeat Jarasandha. So, he sought the help of Krishna. Krishna knew the secret by which Jarasandha could be killed. Since, Jarasandha was brought to life when the two lifeless halves joined together, conversely, he can be killed only when these his body was torn into two halves and find a way as how these two don't merge. Krishna took a stick, he broke it into two and threw them in both directions. Bheema got the hint. He tore Jarasandha's body into two and threw the pieces in two directions. But, these two pieces came together and Jarasandha was able to attack Bheema again. Bheema got tired after several such futile attempts. He again sought the help of Krishna. This time, Lord Krishna took a stick, broke it into two and threw the left piece on right side and the right piece on the left side. Bheema precisely followed the same. Now, he tore Jarasandha's body into two and threw them in opposite directions. Thus, Jarasandha was killed as the two pieces could not merge into one.
After his death, the Pandavas released all the 95 kings imprisoned by Jarasandha and crowned his son, Sahdeva
Sahadeva of Magadha
Sahadeva was a ruler of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. In the Mahabharata, he is mentioned as the son of Jarasandha, who was placed on the throne of Magadha by the Pandavas on the former's death in a duel with the Pandava prince BhimaAccording to the Puranas, he was killed in the Kurukshetra...
as the king of Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
. Thus, these 95 kings along with Sahdeva, the new ruler of Magadha became an ally of Pandavas who took part in the great Mahabharat war later.
Other Dwandwa yuddhas
A Dwandwa yudda refers to a one on one duel between two warriors. This does not involve the destruction of an entire army. The Mallayudda (wrestling) between BhimaBhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
and Jarasandha lasts 27 days. Similarly, the dwanda-yuddha between Parasurama and Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...
lasts for 30 days, while that between Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and Jambavan lasts for 28 days. Likewise, the dwandwa-yudda between king Vaali (Sugriva
Sugriva
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
's brother) and Dundubhi, a demon in the form of a water buffalo
Water buffalo
The water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
, lasts for 45 days. Thus, in those days, many of the dwandwa-yuddas fought between two great warriors lasted for more than a month. It was only after a month long battle, the battle concluded by some unique strategies adapted by one warrior in order to gain an upper hand over his opponent.
1938 Telugu film
The story of Jarasandha was made as Telugu film in 1938 entitled Krishna Jarasandha by Raja Venkatarama Apparao Bahadur of Mirzapuram and directed by Chitrapu Narasimha Rao. Veteran stage actor Vemuri GaggaiahVemuri Gaggaiah
Vemuri Gaggaiah was popular Telugu theater and film actor. He was well known for the horrifying cruel roles.-Life sketch:...
portrayed the Jarasandha character and Kocharlakota Satyanarayana as Srikrishna. Balijepalli Lakshmikantham
Balijepalli Lakshmikantham
Balijepalli Lakshmikantham or Lakshmikantha Kavi actor, poet, dramatist and freedom fighter. He is remembered for the masterpiece Harischandra written in 1924, which is popular even today and has been played by many drama troupes...
wrote about 25 songs and poems for this film; while the music is scored by Galipenchala Narasimha Rao.