Vrihadratha was the King of Magadha. He was proud with his three Akshauhnīs of troops. He was handsome and full of energy., wealthy and enormously powerful. He was like a second Indra. He was glorious like Sūrya and forgiving like Prithvi. But in anger he was like Yamā, whereas in wealth he resembled Vaishravaṇa (Kubera). This king married the twin daughters of the Kāshi King. He promised them he would love them equally. He lived happily with them like a mighty elephant with two she-elephants, or the vast Ocean with Gaṅga and Yamuna. Though he lived happily with his two wives, they bore him no sons, even with yagnas and rituals.
One day he came to know of Muni Chandra-Kaushika of the eminent Gautama lineage who happened to be in his capital, resting under a mango tree. Vrihadratha went to see this Muni with his two wives. They paid him great respect and gifted him many presents. The rishi was so pleased with all this that he promised the king any boon.
The king bowed to the saintly man and tearfully said he had no son to continue his lineage, adding, of what use would any boon be. He was planning to go to the forest for an ascetic life. Thereupon the Muni began to meditate. Right then a beautiful juicy mango fall on his lap from a branch of the tree. The Muni, endowing the fruit with some incantations, gave the fruit to the king. He advised the king not to renounce the kingdom.
The king accepted the fruit reverentially and handed the fruit to his two wives. They divided the fruit equally and ate it. And soon thereafter both of them conceived. The king was overjoyed. Then, in due course babies were born to the queens, but alas, each was only half a baby, each with one eye, one arm and so forth. The terrified mothers abandoned the strange babies. The attending midwives wrapped up the babies, took them out through the back-door and threw the babies away.
Soon after than a Rākshasi named Jara took these baby-fragments and joined them together to be able to carry them in one pack. When she did this a single baby was formed. Moreover, she could not life this baby which had become strong and heavy. It closed its fists and put them in its moth, and started to roar. Frightened by this all the inmates of the palace, including the king, came out, along with the twin-sisters-queens. The Rākshasi then respectfully handed over the baby to King Vrihadratha who profusely thanked her. The beautiful queens then amply fed the baby with their milk.
The Rākshasi then said to the king that her name was Jara, and that she had been living happily in the king’s palace, and that every say she wandered from place to place. When she was created she was called Grihadēdeni (House-goddess). She had been put in the world to destroy Dāṇavas. Whoever painted her face on the walls of his house would be prosperous. Or else, that household would be destroyed. With her painting of on their walls, people worshiped her. To them did some good. She happened to see the fragments that she united. Actually she could even swallow Mount Meru, so this was nothing for her.
After saying all this Jara disappeared. The king arranged to celebrate the arrival of the babies and well as to honor the Rākshasi Jara. And he announced that since the baby had been united by Jara, it would be called Jarāsandha. The baby gradually grew stronger and stronger, fuller and fuller like the moon, and brought lots of joy to the family.
[The akshauhiṇī is a measure of the numerical strength of an army in the MB. One akshauhiṇṇ consisted of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses, as well as 109,350 infantry: Bk I.15-23.]
Spurts of Thought 