Krishnavatara VII: The Book of Yudhishthira Read online

  ‘Order them to go away. If they won’t listen to you, seize them and throw them down the hill,’ shouted Jarasandha.

  One of the sacred mulls, who had come with Meghasandhi intervened: ‘Lord, one of them appeared to be an expert in body combat. He said that as the Head of the Holy Order of the sacred mulls, the mighty lord should give him the honour of participating in the ritual combat’.

  Jarasandha smiled; he was always ready to perform this worship of Lord Rudra and never failed to wrestle with a visitor who claimed to be an expert; if the visitor came near to overcoming him, he would crush him in his arms regardless of the canons of the Mull Vidya.

  ‘Very well,’ said Jarasandha. ‘Tell them that they will be lodged in the citadel till tomorrow morning. Give them food. After worshipping the Lord tomorrow, I shall wrestle with them. But warn them, that I will, if any of them plays a foul trick, crush his bones by a fatal embrace, and kick his carcass down the hill.’

  Suddenly there were shouts and counter-shouts near the gate of the citadel.

  Jarasandha turned to the Mull-raj, the Head Mull, sitting near him and asked: ‘What is that noise for? Go and enquire. If the newly-arrived men create any mischief, bind them hand and foot.’

  Before the Mull-raj reached the gates of the citadel, the three visitors had climbed the wall and were standing on the parapet, shouting slogans of victory. The tallest among them made challenging gestures by thumping his thighs with his palms in defiance.

  This defiance was too much for Jarasandha. He rose from his throne and asked four sacred mulls to follow him. He approached the gate on which the three visitors had descended from the top of the parapet.

  Jarasandha proceeded towards them and asked: ‘Who are you and why have you come? Why did you defy my mulls and disobey my orders?’

  ‘We entered your citadel this way to make it clear that only friends enter through gates; enemies jump over them. We are your enemies’.

  Jarasandha roared with laughter. ‘You, are my enemies! I will crush you in a moment like flies. But are you worthy of entering the ritual Bahu Vidya with me? If not, you will have to wrestle with my mulls’.

  ‘You want to know whether I am worthy of wrestling with you. That is strange. Surely you recognize me,’ said Krishna. ‘You have been seeking me all your life and now I have come to seek you.’

  ‘I, seeking you!’ Jarasandha asked indignantly, narrowing his eyes. ‘Where have I met you?’ he asked.

  ‘Several times,’ replied Krishna. ‘Have you forgotten Gomantaka? I might have killed you then, but I let you go. Again you came to find me in Mathura, but could not; you had to vent your frustration by burning down the town’. Krishna added: ‘It was a mortal blow to your conceit’.

  Jarasandha laughed heartily. ‘My conceit! You mean my faith in the Lord Rudra. That is never shaken.’

  By a glance, the mulls who were standing there, sought permission from the master to finish off this presumptuous upstart, but Jarasandha, by a gesture, stopped them. He wanted to wreck his vengeance in his own way.

  ‘Have you forgotten your visit to Kundinapura when I was welcomed by noble Damaghosh, the King of Vidarbha?’ Krishna continued: ‘Again I met you at Kampilya at the swayamvara of the Princess of Panchala. Under my advice, you had to leave the assembly of kings to escape incurring ridicule.’

  Jarasandha stroked his beard thoughtfully; he had never forgotten the incident. ‘That is an old story,’ he said. ‘You are lying. I left Kampilya because I thought it fit to do so.’

  Jarasandha was for a moment inclined to order his mulls to tear Krishna to pieces. However, he did not do so; he felt he was being humiliated before them and the only way out he had was to humiliate Vaasudeva before them first.

  ‘I remember you now,’ said Jarasandha with a contemptuous laugh. ‘You are the cowherd—and a coward too—who ran away from Mathura instead of facing me as a true kshatriya in the battlefield. How can I touch you with my sacred hands in the ritual body combat? Now that you have sought me, I assure you that I will not let you go alive’. He gritted his teeth.

  Krishna laughed and said: ‘When the time comes, my hands will not be sacred as not to deal with you. But as at Princess Draupadi’s swayamvara, I have come here to warn you, maybe for the last time: “Desist from offering human sacrifice and I will forgive you all your other acts of adharma”’.

  ‘Don’t be presumptuous, cowherd. Who are you to tell me what dharma is? Who are you to forgive me?’ asked Jarasandha.

  ‘I am here to tell you what it is. You have kept 98 Rajanyas in prison and propose to offer their heads to the Lord Rudra when the quota of one hundred is completed. You are only waiting for the auspicious time when the Lord Surya (Sun) enters the Makar rashi (Capricorn). I am here to warn you not to do such a demoniac deed,’ said Krishna.

  Again the sacred mulls, by their look, sought permission of their master to dispose of Krishna, but Jarasandha stopped them. ‘We should not kill a guest during the ritual before the Lord Rudra unless he resorts to some trick.’

  Jarasandha could also see that the sacred mulls in their heart of hearts were enjoying the humiliation which was inflicted on him by this cowherd.

  ‘Wait a little. I will deal with you. This time you will not escape me,’ said Jarasandha.

  Krishna said. ‘I am ready whenever and wherever you wish’.

  ‘Let me deal with this young man first,’ Jarasandha turned to Arjuna and said: ‘Do you want to wrestle with me, young man? But I do not wrestle with men who are effeminate as you are with golden rings in your ears. I will see you that you are disposed of when the time comes’. Then turning to Bhima, he asked: ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I am Bhimasen, son of King Pandu and brother of King Yudhishthira of Indraprastha,’ replied Bhima. ‘You consider Mull Vidya sacred to the God of gods—the Lord Rudra. So do I. I am ready to enter into a body combat with you. I promise you that your conceit will be broken.’

  ‘Well, you are impertinent. Go now. Meghasandhi will look after you. We will meet here tomorrow after the morning ritual. Get ready to die if you play any tricks’.

  Bhima smiled. ‘It might be the other way about.’

  Contemptuously, Jarasandha turned his back on the visitors and went towards the shrine. But the humiliation to which he had been subjected time and again by the cowherd began to smart as if an old wound had been opened.

  6. THE WRATH OF THE GODS

  In order to attract the people of Girivraja to witness his super-human powers, Jarasandha had it announced in the settlement that “the noble Lord of Magadha, the revered Head of the Cult of Mull Vidya, the mightiest of monarchs, the Emperor Jarasandha, will participate in the ritual of bahu-yuddha (body combat) tomorrow morning with Bhimasen, the son of noble King Pandu of Bharatas, who has arrived with his brother Arjuna and cowherd, Krishna Vaasudeva.”

  The announcement inviting the residents of Girivraja to witness the ritual of body combat, created a terrific impact upon their minds. Strange rumours began to circulate in the settlement about this invitation, the like of which had never been made to the people before.

  So far the mulls had seen to it that nobody dared to whisper a word against what Jarasandha said or did; if anyone ventured to do so, his bones would be broken by them and no complaint against them would be heard by the Emperor.

  However, on account of the royal announcement, no one could stop the people from talking openly about the visitors. They had heard the name of Krishna Vaasudeva, the Yadava chief, who some years ago had killed Kamsa, the King of Mathura, and the Emperor’s son-in-law.

  The young looked forward to the event with enthusiasm and irrepressible curiosity, even some hope. The old believed that Jarasandha was immortal; no one could kill him, no one could match him in body combat; Bhimasen, the son of Pandu, however powerful he might be, he was sure to be worsted in the contest and killed. They shook their heads dolefully; it was most unwise of Krishna Vaasudeva to have walked into the trap.
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  The Rajanyas of Girivraja, terrorized into submission by the mulls, were anxious to see how Jarasandha would fare at the hands of Krishna Vaasudeva, who was considered almost a god by the Aryas.

  Whispers were going around that Prince Meghasandhi was planning some move; what it was, nobody could imagine and nobody dared discuss.

  They had also heard—not without relish—the report of the conversation between Krishna and their dread Emperor. For the first time, they learnt from these reports that Krishna Vaasudeva had defeated Jarasandha at Gomantaka; that later, Krishna with the other Yadavas had escaped from Mathura, thus frustrating the purpose of Jarasandha’s invasion and that Jarasandha had had to rest satisfied with burning down Mathura; that, also at the behest of Krishna, he had had to withdraw from the assembly of kings at the swayamvara of Krishnaa Draupadi, Princess of Panchala.

  It was also reported that when they had met the day before, Krishna had asked Jarasandha to release the ninety-eight Rajanyas; and give up the idea of offering them to the sacred fire. However, Jarasandha had rejected the request.

  The next morning, all the mulls, with their tiger-skins were on duty in the citadel as well as on the two sides of the path which led to it.

  The whole of the settlement came to see the ritual—men, women and children. They did not want to miss such a unique and breath-taking occasion. They sensed the importance of the ritual; something frightful was going to emerge; Jarasandha was immortal, and that only meant death of the three visitors.

  All the kshatriyas attended the ritual of body combat bringing with them whatever arms they were permitted to carry on such occasions.

  The spacious court-yard in front of the shrine was crowded. When Bhima, flanked by Krishna and Arjuna, stepped into it, there was first a hush, then a whisper of admiration. It was not difficult to identify Bhima; he was tall, stout and sinewy. There could be no mistake about Krishna Vaasudeva; his mien was so full of dignity; his skin as soft as of a young woman’s; his smile was so charming. The third in the group, handsome and lithe, was surely Bhima’s brother Arjuna, who was selected by Draupadi at the swayamvara, from which their Emperor had had to withdraw unceremoniously.

  The heralds announced the Emperor’s arrival. He was accompanied by the old royal preceptor, who looked at the visitors with pity; unknowingly they had walked into the arms of the God of death. The audience received the Emperor in silence, folded their hands and bowed their heads till they touched the ground.

  As he entered, wearing a lion-skin, Jarasandha looked very formidable. His beard and long hair had been tightly plastered to his cheeks and head giving him the fierce look of a white-maned lion.

  Bhima went to the wrestling pit, handed the deer-skin which he wore to Arjuna and stood ready, wearing only the girth.

  Jarasandha walked majestically to the shrine to offer worship to Lord Rudra, his guardian deity. He prostrated himself before the deity, and poured water and placed flowers on the shrine.

  By a gesture, Jarasandha asked Bhima also to offer worship to the Lord Rudra. Bhima came to the shrine and offered mute prayers, first to the Lord Rudra to give him strength, then to the Master to give him courage, and then lastly to his mother for her blessing. Then he glanced affectionately at Krishna and Arjuna, and was happy to find their response indicated that they had complete confidence in him. He was sure of justifying their confidence.

  Then he stepped into the wrestling pit and slapped his thighs in defiance.

  Jarasandha handed the lion-skin which he wore to the Head Mull and slapped his thighs in responsive defiance.

  Immediately he jumped forward to contact Bhima. Bhima stepped away. For some time, they tried to contact each other, but did not succeed.

  There was complete silence in the assembled crowd. Both the combatants were equally matched, both stout and stalwart and with arms displaying tense muscles.

  In spite of his age, Jarasandha had the agility of a youth and the skill of a master. He could anticipate Bhima’s every move and circumvent it.

  After some skirmishes, they were locked in an embrace.

  The combatants began to breathe heavily, Jarasandha more than Bhima. When he felt that his breath was running short, Jarasandha made an attempt to throttle Bhima, at the same time kicking him in the groin.

  Bhima immediately saw how Jarasandha had changed his tactics and was now bent on killing him.

  The combat was reaching a dangerous stage. Bhima glanced at Krishna, who silently tore a leaf from top to bottom. He took the hint. By a supreme effort, he felled Jarasandha to the ground, put one of his feet on Jarasandha’s leg and caught the other in both his hands. Using all his muscular power, he began tearing Jarasandha’s body apart.

  A violent shriek issued from the Emperor’s mouth, turned into a gurgle and died out abruptly. There was crackling of bones. Jarasandha was torn into two from the skull downwards. Bhima threw away the two halves of the redoubtable Emperor.

  He felt relieved. He had won. But, when he looked at the bleeding halves of Jarasandha, his eyes protruded with horror. He could not believe what he saw. The two halves, though torn asunder and bleeding heavily, were rolling towards each other.

  The two halves came together and became cemented to each other.

  Jarasandha opened his eyes sat up, shook his body, balanced himself on his legs and challenged Bhima to resume the combat.

  Tottering with fatigue, Bhima felt nervous; evidently Jarasandha was immortal. He turned to Krishna before resuming the combat, which, he felt, would be his last. However, he saw Krishna, who was smiling at him, had a leaf in his hands; he tore it into two and threw the right one on the left and the left one on the right. Bhima understood the significance of Krishna’s advice.

  Waves and waves of strength surged through Bhima’s body. He repeated the trick and again tore the body of Jarasandha apart. This time the right half was thrown on the left side and the left half on the right side. Each of the halves lay inert in pools of blood.

  When Bhima saw that the two halves did not come together, he felt sure that Jarasandha the favourite of the Lord Rudra was now dead. Rills of perspiration ran down his body. Bespattered with blood, he climbed out of the wrestling pit.

  Krishna came and embraced Bhima, who could not stand any longer and sat down where he was.

  The crowd in panic, began to run hither and thither. The women were in terror. The children began to weep, clinging to their mothers. Many rushed to the gates.

  The sacred mulls, who could not believe that their master could die, realized that he was really dead and were in panic; they expected that the vengeance of the people of Girivraja would fall on them.

  At a gesture from Meghasandhi, the kshatriyas sprang into action. With swords in their hands, they surrounded the mulls, no longer scared.

  As the people realized that their dreaded monarch was really dead and the hated mulls were rendered powerless, a sense of relief filled their hearts.

  All along, Sahadeva had been hypnotized by his father’s terror-striking behavior. Arjuna, as instructed by Krishna, brought him to where they were standing. He fell at Krishna’s feet. In a voice choked with emotion, he shouted ‘Victory to Krishna Vaasudeva.’

  Krishna lifted Sahadeva and said: ‘Your father was a great man, but he did not know how to use his greatness to uphold dharma. Combine your father’s valour with devotion to dharma. As your first act in your career as the king of Magadha, release the Rajanyas.’

  Sahadeva called for Jarasandha’s chariot and with Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna, drove to the top of the hill where the Rajanyas were kept prisoner. Seeing Krishna, the mulls guarding the caves ran away. Then the caves were opened and the captive Rajanyas released. Their joy was unbounded. With tears in their eyes, they saluted the heroes when they were informed by Arjuna that Jarasandha was no more and that Sahadeva was now the King of Magadha.

  Meghasandhi and his brothers and the hierarchs of the kshatriyas took the halves of the dead body of Jarasandha
to the funeral ground and cremated it with due ceremony.

  No one felt unhappy at Jarasandha’s tragic death.

  He had lived by terror and invited the wrath of the gods.

  The inhabitants of Girivraja breathed freely. The shadow of terror, under which they had lived for decades had disappeared.

  The mulls, deprived of their protector and the sanctity surrounding them, promptly sensed the danger of being massacred by the kshatriyas. They fell at the feet of Bhima and begged of him to allow them to go to their own country.

  Bhima expansively said: ‘Don’t worry. I will give you my word: no harm will come to you. But, why not come with me to Indraprastha? I have got the finest mulls and wonderful akhadas.[7] Baliya, the toothless, is our mullaj (Head mull).’

  ‘Baliya of Hastinapur? We have heard of him,’ said the head mull.

  ‘You will soon meet his grand-son, Gopu, who is my mull-brother,’ said Bhima. ‘Come to Indraprastha.’

  ‘We will, we will’, shouted the mulls with one voice. Sahadeva knew that the kshatriyas of Girivraja were determined to put the mulls to the sword. So he tried to intervene. ‘They have been the cause of all our troubles,’ he said.

  Bhima affectionately patting Sahadeva on the back, said: ‘The cause of all this is gone. If the mulls have to be put to the sword as instruments of Jarasandha, your father, then you will have to be put to the sword too; you were also his agent. Forget him and forgive all his instruments. Begin your reign auspiciously by proclaiming an amnesty for all. You should announce that those mulls who want to leave Girivraja can leave with their dependants and possessions.’

  Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna stayed in Girivraja as the guests of Sahadeva till the obsequial ceremonies of Jarasandha were over. In the meantime, they were joined by the Yadava and Bhaarat maharathis, who, under the leadership of Uddhava, had stayed back in Videha, near enough to intervene, if necessary.

  Messages were sent to the kings of the adjoining countries—Jarasandha was dead: Sahadeva had been crowned King of Maghadha; the Rajanyas had been released from captivity; Krishna Vaasudeva had worked the miracle of stopping the human sacrifice.