Arjuna and Vasudeva

With his other enemies dead, Krishna declares the time has come to kill the invincible Jarasandha. He reveals the king's one weakness and outlines a plan that hinges on Bhima's strength, Arjuna's valor, and his own policy. Yudhishthira must decide whether to entrust his brothers to this perilous mission.

Krishna, Bhima, and Arjuna depart for Jarasandha's kingdom, disguised as brahmanas who have completed their studies. Their journey east, across the great rivers of the land, is a silent march of contained fury, so potent that observers feel the outcome is already decided.

Disguised as snataka brahmanas but adorned like warriors, Krishna, Bhima, and Arjuna enter Jarasandha's palace during a ceremony. The king greets them with honor but then challenges their disguise and their breach of his mountain. Krishna defends their actions as fitting for an enemy and declares the king will witness their kshatriya energy today.

Facing the impregnable city of Girivraja, Krishna and the Pandavas bypass its main gate—a worshipped site—and go to the sacred Chaitya mountain peak. With their bare arms, they break the ancient, hallowed rock, creating their own entrance in a direct challenge to the king's authority.

As they approach the impregnable city, Krishna points out its five protective mountains and narrates its sacred history to Arjuna. He describes a land blessed by sages and serpents, a place where Jarasandha's pride has grown unchecked — a pride they have come to strike down.

With the Pandavas gone to the forest, Dhritarashtra sits in his palace, consumed by a grief that puzzles his charioteer Sanjaya. The blind king then lays bare the full horror of what happened in the assembly hall — the disrobing, the omens, the warnings he ignored — and admits that his own love for his son has doomed them all.