Jarasandha

The word Jarasandha has been explained as a combination of two Sanskrit words: jara (जरा) and sandha (सन्ध), "joining". a Rakshasi Jara picked the two halves of Jarasandha together after finding them near a tree. When the two halves came together, a boy was formed and cried loudly. Jara carried the son and returned it to the King. In return for saving Brihadratha's son, he was named Jarasandha after her. The meaning of Jarasandha is "the one who is joined by Jara".[1][2]

Birth of Jarasandha

Jara merges two parts of Jarasandha

Jarasandha's father king Brihadratha was married to the twin daughters of the king of Kashi. Brihadratha loved both his wives equally, but had no sons. Once sage Chandakaushika visited his kingdom and gave a mango to the king as a boon. The king divided the mango equally and gave to both of his wives. Soon, both 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 Rakshasi Jara found the two pieces and held each of them in her two palms. Incidentally, when she brought both of her palms together, the two pieces joined 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 to him all that had happened. The father was overjoyed to see him.[3]

Chandakaushika arrived at the court and saved the child. He prophesied to Brihadratha that his son would be specially gifted and would be a great devotee of the god Shiva.

Battle between Balarama and Jarasandha. Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana series.

Bhima and Jarasandh Wrestling

Kansa, the tyrannical ruler of Mathura, acquired Jarasandha's attention. Impressed with his bravery, Jarasandha made Kansa his son-in-law by marrying off his two daughters. That means Jarasandha was a relative of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna killed Kansa as announced by a divine prophecy. Jarasandh got infuriated as his daughters were widowed. Thereafter, Jarasandha vowed to kill Krishna.

Jarasandha was a major hurdle before emperor Yudhishthira when the latter decided to perform the Rajasuya yagna. As Jarasandha was a poweful warrior, it was extremely necessary for Pandavas to eliminate him. Lord Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna disguised as Brahmins travelled to Magadha and met Jarasandha. After a formal meeting, Jarasandha enquired about their intentions. Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna revealed their actual identification. Lord Krishna then challenged Jarasandha for duel and gave him freedom to choose any one belligerent. Jarasandha selected Bhima for duel. Both Bhima and Jarasandha were accomplished wrestlers. The duel continued for several days and neither of them was willing to give up. Bhima overpowered Iarasandha after a long duel and almost took Jarasandha to death but Bhima was unable to kill Jarasandha. When Bhima looked at Krishna for guidance, Krishna picked a twig and dissected it into two halves and threw the parts in opposite directions. Bhima complied with his instructions and dissected the body of Jarasandha. He threw the dissected parts in opposite directions. Jarasandha was killed as two halves of the body could not conjoin.

Jarasandha's son Sahadeva (not to be confused with youngest Pandava), was placed on throne of Magadha and he agreed to be a vassal to the Pandavas. He was killed in the Kurukshetra war by Shakuni along with his cousin brother Jayadeva.