Krishna and his tricks on Jarasandha.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Brihadratha was the king of Magadha, and married to the twin daughters of king of Kashi, but had no children. One day, sage Chandrakaushika visited him and presented him with a fruit, which could produce a child if eaten by his wife. Brihadratha divided the fruit in two and gave one piece each to both his wives. The wives soon got pregnant and eventually gave birth to not one but, half a child each! The people present were horrified at the sight and the two halves were thrown in to the forest. A rakshasi named Jara, came across the two halves. She picked both up with her two hands, and was surprised that the halves joined together to form a healthy baby. Feeling guilty of eating a baby alive, she handed the baby back to the king who was overjoyed to see his son! He was then named Jarasandha (i.e. joined by Jara), and also got blessed with the boon that he could only be killed if we was torn apart into pieces, just like how he was born.

Many years later, Yudhishthira wanted to perform Rajasuya yagna (sacrifice to claim his sovereignty), but knew that Jarasandha would not accept it. Krishna suggested to first defeat Jarasandha before the yagna. So Yudhishthira, Arjuna and Bheema along with Krishna visited Jarasandha disguised as Brahmins and challenged him to a duel. However, Jarasandha realised they were no Brahmins and they had to reveal their true identity. They also asked him to choose who he wanted to duel, with Jarasandha picking Bheema.

The fight went on for many days, with both the parties matching each other blow by blow. Eventually, Jarasandha began to tire out and Bheema too was at his wits end as to how he could defeat him, and looked to Krishna for help. That is when Krishna indicated about Jarasandha’s boon to him by breaking a twig and throwing it away in different directions. Some other versions mention how Krishna mentioned about Jarasandha’s boon not by actions but by indirectly saying it out loud. Either way, Bhima understood Krishna’s hint, lifted Jarasandha in the air and pressed his knee against Jarasandha’s backbone, killing him instantly

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.