Krishna narrates the miraculous birth of Jarasandha
Yudhishthira asks how Jarasandha became so formidable that even Krishna has not destroyed him. Krishna recounts the king’s origin: born as two separate half-bodies from two queens, discarded, and then fused into one powerful, whole child by a rakshasi (demoness) named Jara.
Yudhishthira wanted to understand the enemy. Who was Jarasandha, and why had even Krishna’s power not yet destroyed him? Krishna replied, “O king! Listen to Jarasandha’s valour and prowess. Learn why he has been spared by us, though he has caused us displeasure in many ways.”
The story began with King Brihadratha of Magadha, a ruler of immense power, fortune, and splendor, who married the twin daughters of the king of Kashi. He made a contract to love them equally. But as his youth passed in pleasure, no son was born to carry forward his lineage, despite many rites and sacrifices.
One day, Brihadratha learned that the sage Chandakoushika, weary from ascetic pursuits, was resting under a tree in his realm. The king and his queens rushed to serve him with all kinds of jewels. Satisfied, the truth-speaking sage offered a boon. In despair, Brihadratha said he was about to renounce his kingdom for the forest, having no son to inherit it.
As the sage meditated under a mango tree, a perfect, unblemished fruit fell into his lap. He picked it up, pronounced a mantra over it, and gave it to the king as a means of obtaining a son. Remembering his contract, Brihadratha gave the single fruit to both his wives. They divided it equally and ate.
In time, both queens conceived. But when the time for birth arrived, each delivered a horrifying half-body—one eye, one arm, one leg, half a stomach, half a face. In misery and fear, the sisters ordered the midwives to discard the living half-bodies. They were wrapped up and thrown out at a crossroads.
There, a rakshasi (demoness) named Jara, who lived on flesh and blood, found them. Driven by destiny, she united the two halves to make them easier to carry. As soon as they touched, they fused into a single, whole, and powerfully built child. The infant balled his copper-red fists, put them in his mouth, and roared like a monsoon cloud.
The sound alarmed the entire palace. The two queens, weak but with breasts full of milk, rushed out. Seeing the king’s desperate desire for a son and the strong child, Jara reflected that she should not steal a child from a king who wanted one so badly. Assuming a beautiful human form with a complexion like pure gold, she addressed Brihadratha.
“O Brihadratha! This is your son. Accept him from me as a gift. He was born in the wombs of your two wives, as a result of the boon granted by the brahmana. He was abandoned by the midwives, but has been saved by me.”
The overjoyed king accepted the child. The queens sprinkled him with their gushing milk. The king, delighted, asked the radiant being who she was. She was Jara. And the child, united by her, was given the name Jarasandha.