According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Jarasandha was a powerful king ofMagadha. He was a descendant of king Brihadratha, the creator of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to Vayu Purana, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 2600 years followed by the Haryanka dynasty.
Etymology
The word Jarasandha has been explained as a combination of two Sanskrit words: jara and sandha, "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".
Legend about his birth
Jarasandha is considered the incarnation of the Danava king Viprachitti. 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 fruit to the king as a boon. The king divided the fruit 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. 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.
, the 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. Angry, Jarasandha attacked Mathura with an army of 23 Akshohinis. His allies were Shishupala, Bhagadatta, Rukmi, Vinda-Anuvinda, Paundraka, Dantavakra and others. But Krishna and Balarama easily destroyed the whole army, except for Jarasandha and his allies. A humiliated Jarasandha attacked Mathura 17 times, but was repeatedly defeated. During the 18th attack, the Yavana king Kalayavana also attacked Mathura with a very huge army. With his yogic powers, Krishna summoned Vishwakarma and asked him to build an impregnable fortress in an island near the sea, which was done in no time and named Dwaraka. Krishna somehow dealt with Kalayavana and his army. When he and Balarama saw Jarasandha's army, they pretended to be afraid and started running away, with Jarasandha in hot pursuit. Reaching Mount Prasravana, the duo ascended the hill. Jarasandha set fire to the whole hill, but Krishna and Balarama escaped unscathed and went to Dwaraka. Jarasandha was a major hurdle before emperor Yudhishthira when the latter decided to perform the Rajasuya yagna. As Jarasandha was a powerful 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 Jarasandha 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, 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.
