SB 1.15.9 (1965)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 9
Yat tejasa nripasironghrimahat makhartham Arya anujas tava gajayuta satwaviryah. Tena ahritah pramathanatha makhaya bhupa Yanmochitas tadanayan valim adhware te.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Yat—whose, Tejasa—by influence, Nripasironghri—one whose feet is adored by the heads of kings, Mahat—the great, Makharthe—for the matter of sacrifice, Arya—respectable, Anuja—younger brother, Tava—your, Gajayuta—ten thousands of elephants, Satwavirya—powerful existence, Tena—by him, Ahrita—collected Pramathanatha—the Lord of the ghosts (Mahabhairava), Makhaya—for sacrifice, Bhupa—Kings, Yanmochitas—by whom they were released, Tadanyan—all of them brought about, Valim—taxes, Adhware—presented.
TRANSLATION
Your respectable younger brother who possesses the strength of ten thousands of elephants killed, by His Grace only, Jarasandha whose feet was worshipped by many kings, these Kings were brought by him for being sacrificed in the Mahabhairava Yajna performed by Jarasandha but they were thus released and later on paid tributes to your majesty.
PURPORT
Jarasandha was a very powerful king of Magadha and the history of his birth and activities are also very interesting. His father king Vrihadratha was also a very prosperous and powerful king of Magadha but he had no son although the king married two daughters of the king of Kashi. Being disappointed in getting a son from either of the two queens the king along with his wives left home for living in the forest for austerities but in the forest he was benedicted by one great Rishi to have a son and he gave him one mango to be eaten by the queens. The queens did so and were very soon pregnant. The king was very happy to see the queens bearing a child within the womb but when the ripe time approached the two queens delivered one child in two one parts from each of the queen's womb. The child in two parts were thrown in the forest where a great she-demon used to live and she was glad to have some delicate flesh and blood from the bifurcated newly born child. Out of curiosity she joined the two parts and the child became complete and regained life. The she-demon was known as Jara and she being compassionate with the childless king went to the king and presented him the nice child. The King was very much pleased with the she-demon and wanted to reward her according to her desire. The she-demon expressed her desire that the child be named after her name and thus the child was surnamed as Jarasandha or one who was joined by Jara the she-demon. In fact this Jarasandha was born as one of the part and parcel of demon Viprachitti. The saint by whose benediction the queens bore the child was called Chanda Kousik who foretold about the child before his father Vrihadratha.
As he possessed demonical qualities from birth naturally he became a great devotee of Lord Shiva Who is the Lord of all ghostly and demoniac men. Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and so also King Jarasandha. He used to sacrifice all arrested kings before the Lord Mahabhairva and by his military power he defeated many small kings and arrested them for butchering before the Mahabhairava. There are many devotees of the Mahabhairava or Kalabhairava in the province of Bihar formerly called Magadha. He was relative of Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna and therefore after Kansa's death King Jarasandha became a great enemy of Krishna and there were many fightings between Jarasandha and Krishna. Lord Krishna wanted to kill him but He also wanted that others who served as militarymen for Jarasandha might not be killed. Therefore a plan was adopted to kill him. Krishna, Bhima Arjuna all three together went to Jarasandha in the dress of poor Brahmins and begged chartiy from king Jarasandha. Jarasandha never refused charity to any Brahmin and he performed many sacrifices also and still he was not in par with devotional service. Lord Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna asked Jarasandha the facility of combating with him and it was settled that Jarasandha would fight with Bhima only. So all of them were both guests and combatants of Jarasandha and Bhima and Jarasandha fought every day for several days. Bhima became disappointed in killing Jarasandha but Krishna gave him hints about Jarasandha's beginning of life being joined together and thus Bhima disected him again in two parts and he was killed by Bhima. All the kings who were detained in the concentration camp for being killed before the Mahabhairava, were thus released by Bhima and the kings thus feeling obliged to the Pandavas paid tribute to King Yudhisihira.