The Miraculous Birth of Jarasandha

Yudhishthira now appeared reassured. He wished to know more about Jarasandha. Krishna said, "Jarasandha's father, King Brihadratha, ruled Magadha. He had married two princesses of Kashi (Varanasi). Unfortunately, the king had no children, and as he grew older, he began to worry about this.

"Once, Sage Chandrakaushik came to Magadha. For some time, he sat beneath a mango tree. When King Brihadratha received news of the sage's arrival, he immediately set out to seek his blessings.

"The king touched the sage's feet and told him about his unhappiness at having no children. The sage had just closed his eyes and begun to meditate when a mango fell from the tree.

"The sage picked up the fruit, gave it to the king, and told him to have one of his queens eat it. The king gave the mango to his queens. Alas, the two queens split the mango in half, and each ate one half.

"Nine months later, each queen bore half a baby. The queens ordered a servant to dispose of the two halves at a secluded spot outside the city.

"A demoness called Jara saw the two halves of the baby and put them on a plate to eat them. And voilà—the two halves joined to form a baby boy, who started moving and crying! The baby was named Jarasandha, meaning 'joined by Jara'."