BHIMA KILLS JARASANDHA

When Yudhisthira was crowned emperor of the world, he arranged to perform a Rajasuya sacrifice. Before the sacrifice could begin, he needed to subjugate all the world’s minor kings.

Yudhisthira, therefore, sent his brothers all over the world to ask the kings to pay taxes. If a king wanted to challenge Yudhisthira’s sovereignty, he simply had to refuse the request for tax.

In all the world, only King Jarasandha refused to pay his tax. So Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna visitedJarasandha and challenged him to fight with one of them. Jarasandha chose to fight with Bhima.

As the two combatants became immersed in the fight, it seemed that neither of them could win because they were so equally matched. However, on the twenty-eighth day, Krishna gave Bhima a hint about the unique way in which he could kill Jarasandha.

Bhima understood Krishna’s hint, and he ripped Jarasandha’s body into two halves, where it had been joined as a baby by the witch Jara.