Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 10.50 Summary

This chapter relates how Lord Krsna defeated Jarasandha seventeen times in battle and then constructed the city of Dvaraka.

After Kamsa was killed, his two queens, Asti and Prapti, went to the home of their father, Jarasandha, and sorrowfully described to him how Krsna had made them widows. Upon hearing this account, King Jarasandha became angry. He vowed to rid the earth of all the Yadavas, and he gathered an immense army to lay siege to Mathura. When Sri Krsna saw Jarasandha attacking, the Lord considered the reasons for His descent to this world and then decided to destroy Jarasandha's army, which was a burden to the earth.

Two effulgent chariots suddenly appeared, equipped with drivers and furnishings, together with all the Lord's personal weapons. Seeing this, Lord Krsna addressed Lord Baladeva, "My dear brother, Jarasandha is now attacking Mathura-puri, so please mount Your chariot and let Us go destroy the enemy's army." The two Lords took up Their weapons, mounted Their chariots and went forth from the city.

When Lord Krsna came before His opponent's army, He sounded His conchshell, striking fear into His enemies' hearts. King Jarasandha surrounded Krsna and Balarama with his soldiers, chariots and so on, and the women of the city, having climbed up to the roofs of the palaces, became extremely unhappy because they could not see the Lords. Then Krsna twanged His bow and started to rain down a torrent of arrows upon the enemy soldiers. Soon Jarasandha's unfathomable army had been annihilated.

Then Lord Baladeva arrested Jarasandha and was about to bind him up with ropes when Sri Krsna had Baladeva release the King. Lord Krsna reasoned that Jarasandha would assemble another army and return again to fight; this would facilitate Krsna's goal of removing the earth's burden. Released, Jarasandha returned to Magadha and vowed to perform austerities with the aim of avenging his defeat. The other kings advised him that his defeat was only a reaction of his karma. Thus informed, King Jarasandha withdrew to his kingdom with a heavy heart.

Sri Krsna rejoined the citizens of Mathura, who began rejoicing, singing songs of triumph and arranging victory celebrations. The Lord brought all the warriors' jewelry and ornaments that had been picked up from the battlefield and presented them to Maharaja Ugrasena.

Jarasandha attacked the Yadavas in Mathura seventeen times, and each time his armies were totally destroyed. Then, as Jarasandha prepared to attack for the eighteenth time, a warrior named Kalayavana, who had been searching for a worthy opponent, was sent by Narada Muni to fight the Yadavas. With thirty million soldiers Kalayavana laid siege to the Yadava capital. Lord Krsna looked upon this attack with concern, for He knew that with Jarasandha's arrival imminent, there was a serious danger that the simultaneous attack of these two enemies might endanger the Yadavas. Therefore the Lord constructed a wonderful city within the sea as a safe haven for the Yadavas; then He brought them all there by His mystic power. This city was fully populated with members of all four social orders, and within it no one felt the pangs of thirst and hunger. The various demigods, headed by Indra, each offered as tribute to Lord Krsna the same opulences they had originally obtained from Him to establish their positions of authority.

Once He saw His subjects safely settled, Lord Sri Krsna took permission from Lord Baladeva and went out of Mathura unarmed.

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Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari