Liberation of King Jarāsandha
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snatches a stick of sugarcane and, by catching it tightly in its trunk, strikes the other. Each elephant heavily strikes his enemy's shoulders, arms, collarbones, chest, thighs, waist, and legs, and in this way the sticks of sugarcane are smashed. Similarly, all the clubs used by Jarāsandha and Bhīmasena were broken, and so the two enemies prepared to fight with their strong-fisted hands. Both Jarāsandha and Bhīmasena were very angry, and they began to smash each other with their fists. The striking of their fists sounded like the striking of iron bars or like the sound of thunderbolts, and they appeared to be like two elephants fighting. Unfortunately, however, neither was able to defeat the other because both were very expert in fighting, both were of equal strength, and their fighting techniques were equal also. Neither Jarāsandha nor Bhīmasena became fatigued or defeated in the fighting, although they struck each other continually. At the end of a day's fighting, both lived at night as friends in Jarāsandha's palace, and the next day they fought again. In this way they passed twenty-seven days in fighting.
On the twenty-eighth day, Bhīmasena told Krṣṇa, "My dear Krṣṇa, I must frankly admit that I cannot conquer Jarāsandha." Lord Krṣṇa, however, knew the mystery of the birth of Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha was born in two different parts from two different mothers. When his father saw that the baby was useless, he threw the two parts in the forest, where they were later found by a black-hearted witch named Jarā. She managed to join the two parts of the baby from top to bottom. Knowing this, Lord Krṣṇa therefore also knew how to kill him. He gave hints to Bhīmasena that since Jarāsandha was brought to life by the joining of the two parts of his body, he could be killed by the separation of these two parts. Thus Lord Krṣṇa transferred His power into the body of Bhīmasena and informed him of the device by which Jarāsandha could be killed. Lord Krṣṇa immediately picked up a twig from a tree and, taking it in His hand, bifurcated it. In this way He hinted to Bhīmasena how Jarāsandha could be killed. Lord Krṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is omnipotent, and if He wants to kill someone, no one can save that person. Similarly, if He wants to save someone, no one can kill him.
Informed by the hints of Lord Krṣṇa, Bhīmasena immediately took hold of the legs of Jarāsandha and threw him to the ground. When Jarāsandha fell to the ground, Bhīmasena immediately pressed one of Jarāsandha's legs to the ground and took hold of the other leg with his two hands. Catching Jarāsandha in this way, he tore his body in two, beginning from the anus up to the head. As an elephant breaks the branches of a tree in two, so Bhīmasena separated the body of Jarāsandha. The audience