Liberation of King Jarasandha 131

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, collar-
bones, chest, thighs, waist, and legs, and in this way the sticks of sugar-
cane are smashed. Similarly, all the clubs used by Jarasandha and Bhimasena
were broken, and so the two enemies prepared to fight with their strong-
fisted hands. Both Jarasandha and Bhimasena 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, how-
ever, 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 Jarasandha nor Bhimasena 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 Jarasandha’s palace, and
the next day they fought again. In this way they passed twenty-seven days
in fighting.

On the twenty-eighth day, Bhimasena told Krsna, ““My dear Krsna, I
must frankly admit that I cannot conquer Jarasandha.” Lord Krsna, how-
ever, knew the mystery of the birth of Jarasandha. Jarasandha 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 Jara. She managed
to join the two parts of the baby from top to bottom. Knowing this,
Lord Krsna therefore also knew how to kill him. He gave hints to Bhima-
sena that since Jarasandha 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 Krsna transferred His power into the body of Bhimasena and
informed him of the device by which Jarasandha could be killed. Lord
Krsna immediately picked up a twig from a tree and, taking it in His hand,
bifurcated it. In this way He hinted to Bhimasena how Jarasandha could
be killed. Lord Krsna, 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 Krsna, Bhimasena immediately took hold
of the legs of Jarasandha and threw him to the ground. When Jarasandha
fell to the ground, Bhimasena immediately pressed one of Jarasandha’s
legs to the ground and took hold of the other leg with his two hands.
Catching Jarasandha 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 Bhimasena separated the body of Jardsandha. The audience
