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Jarasandha (Lectures & Conversations)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.12 -- London, July 13, 1973:

Just like Jarāsandha was fighting with Bhīma. During daytime the fighting was going on, and at night Bhīma was a guest of Jarāsandha. As guest is honored, respected, all the parties... But during daytime the fighting was going on. And this fighting went on for twenty-eight days. Still, there was no decision. Then Kṛṣṇa gave hint, Bhīmasena, that "Jarāsandha has got a defect. He is joined, two bodies joined. So if you bifurcate him, then he will be killed." So later on Bhīmasena took that policy, and Jarāsandha was killed.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, December 12, 1976:

When Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma went to Jarāsandha... Jarāsandha was very powerful king. So before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's becoming the emperor, it was the system that all the other kings within this world, they must submit, either submit or fight. So Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma went to Jarāsandha. He was very charitable to the brāhmaṇas, and these three persons went there, dressing themselves as poor brāhmaṇas. So in the assembly they begged from Jarāsandha, "Sir, we have come to beg from you for fight." Kṛṣṇa, to save the other soldiers, He advised that "Let us fight with Jarāsandha alone. Why he should unnecessarily bring so many soldiers and we have to also? Why these poor soldiers will give life? Better go, let us individually fight." So Jarāsandha could understand that "They are kṣatriyas. They have come in the dress of a brāhmaṇa to beg," because kṣatriya cannot beg. So he accepted, "Yes." Then he selected Bhīma to fight with him. He rejected Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa also, that "You are not fit for fighting with me." So there was fighting for twenty-eight days. Fighting was going on from morning to evening. And at night they were friends. Bhīma, Arjuna, and Kṛṣṇa was the guest, and he received them as guests. They were eating together, talking together. In the morning again fighting. This is kṣatriya. It is sport, sporting, but that sporting was meant for... Until one dies, the fighting will go on.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Bombay, March 28, 1974:

So this teaching for the nondevotees. And to punish them, to chastise them, Kṛṣṇa appears. You have seen Kṛṣṇa's life. You will read in our Kṛṣṇa Book up to Ninth Chapter. There was simply killing. No, after Tenth Chapter. When He was in Dvārakā His business was only killing. So many demons, so many Ariṣṭāsura, Aghāsura, Bakāsura, Pūtanāsura, and Jarāsandha, Dantavakra. So this is vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. This is one side.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:

In the Kurukṣetra war, the two brothers, I mean to say, cousin-brothers are fighting. But after finishing the fighting there is no enmity. These people are going to their camp, they are coming, talking or taking lunch. Very friendly. Friendly. There was another fight between Bhīma and Jarāsandha. The whole day there was fighting. It was decided that one should be killed. That's a fact. The fighting between kṣatriyas it will not end unless one of them is killed. That is kṣatriya spirit. So they know... Bhīma and Jarāsandha knew it very well that this fighting is going on until one is dead, one of the belligerent parties. But at night Bhīma is the guest of Jarāsandha, eating together, talking friendly. This is brahminical culture. For duty's sake, for some cause, we may fight. That's all right. But that does not mean we shall remain inimical always.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.2 -- Rome, May 26, 1974:

Just like Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha and Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma. There was many times fight with Jarāsandha and Kṛṣṇa. But he brought many, many unlimited number of soldiers, and they were killed. So this time Kṛṣṇa wanted to kill only Jarāsandha, not so many innocent soldiers. So therefore Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, and Bhīma went to Jarāsandha, and they went in the dress of brāhmaṇa. So Jarāsandha was very charitable to the brāhmaṇas. So when they... As brāhmaṇas, they wanted something. "Yes, what do you want?" Then they said that "We want to fight with you." So Jarāsandha could understand, "They are in disguise. They are kṣatriyas." So Jarāsandha said, "Yes, accepted. Then who will fight with me? You are three." Then they challenged also, "Anyone. Anyone. You can accept." So Jarāsandha said that "Kṛṣṇa, He fled away." Kṛṣṇa is Ranchor. Sometimes He did that. The purpose was to save the innocent soldiers, and He would take another chance to kill Jarāsandha. But he thought that He fled away. Anyway, so he said that "Kṛṣṇa is afraid of me. I cannot fight with Him. I reject Him. And Arjuna is younger than me; so I cannot fight with who is younger, inferior, to me. But I can accept Bhīma, to fight with him."

Lecture on SB 1.2.2 -- Rome, May 26, 1974:

So there was fight with Bhīma and Jarāsandha. This is kṣatriya spirit. He could not deny. They were guests, these three men, namely Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna... They were guests. So they would fight the whole day, or, say, in the morning, after taking their breakfast, they'd begin fighting. And the fighting will go on. And at night they are guests. They were received very well. They would dine together, talk together, friendly. You see? So this is kṣatriya spirit. And in this way, for twenty-seven or twenty-eight days, the fighting was going on. Later on, Jarāsandha was killed by the hint of Kṛṣṇa. This is kṣatriya spirit. Similarly, brāhmaṇa spirit. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13).

Lecture on SB 1.15.50 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1973:

So the kṣatriyas were very chivalrous. In every action there is fight. And this gambling was allowed for the kṣatriyas. If the opposite party challenges, "I want to play with you gambling," "Yes." The kṣatriya cannot deny. If somebody, opposite party comes, "I want to fight with you," "Yes, come on." Just like Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha was requested by Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma that "We have come to you to fight with you. Any one of us, you can select, and that is our request." Jarāsandha, he immediately accepted, "Yes." So he rejected Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. He said, "Kṛṣṇa is a coward. I do not wish to fight. And Arjuna, Arjuna is less strong then me, so I don't wish to fight with him. Now, the only combatant is Bhīma. So I shall fight with him." So during daytime they would fight, all day. And after daytime they are friends. All these three gentlemen, Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna and Bhīma, were guests of Jarāsandha. From evening, they will eat together, talk together, laugh together, and then in the morning they will fight. This is kṣatriya spirit.

Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:

Similarly, the kṣatriyas' qualification—they want to rule over. A kṣatriya never goes away from fighting. He is never afraid of fighting. He never, I mean to say, he is afraid of the challenge of the other party. Just like Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha was a kṣatriya, and he was... At the same time, a kṣatriya's quality is charitable. Formerly the kings, they would distribute! money like anything. They would collect money by taxing, but at the same time, they would distribute.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Tokyo, May 1, 1972:

If you want to finish your individuality and merge into the existence of God, that is not very difficult job. Even the enemies of Kṛṣṇa—Kaṁsa, Jarāsandha, Dantavakra, Śiśupāla, and many demons—they also merged into the existence of Kṛṣṇa. The enemies also given the liberation to merge into the existence of Kṛṣṇa. That is not very difficult job. But to keep your individuality and serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is your actual position, constitutional position.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: From Mahābhārata we can understand that when Bhīma, Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa went to Jarāsandha to fight with him, enemy, so in the daytime they were fighting like enemies, and at night Kṛṣṇa, Bhīma and Arjuna were guests in the house of the same Jarāsandha.

Buddhist Monk (1): Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. At night they were guests. They were talking very friendly, and there is no enmity. But in daytime they'll fight. (laughter)

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 2, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. (break) Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...when I don't remember, "Get out." This is Māyāvāda philosophy. "So long I require your help, I catch your hand. And as soon as I don't require, please get out" (break)

Gargamuni: We have Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He, he was worshiping Viṣṇu at home, and he was trying to kill Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, there are many Vaiṣṇavas like Jarāsandha-apparently worshiping Viṣṇu—but trying to kill Kṛṣṇa. Jarāsandha-Vaiṣṇava.

Jayapatākā: So what is the value of such worship of Viṣṇu?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Jayapatākā: So what is the benefit of such worship of Viṣṇu? Jarāsandha worship?

Prabhupāda: They will get material opulence. Asuras, they want material opulence. They, they do not understand what is spiritual life or spiritual happiness, what is devotional service. Neither they'd like to understand. Which way?

Morning Walk -- April 8, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: (chants japa) (break). They'll talk of Kṛṣṇa, so many things but they're not devotees. Just like Kaṁsa. They may talk of Kṛṣṇa or think of Kṛṣṇa, but they don't accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme. Therefore they are demons. This is the test. They'll read Bhagavad-gītā, but they'll not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme. And that is the demonic. māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuriṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they are demons, therefore their so-called knowledge is useless. Apahṛta-jñāna. And apparently, they seem to be very learned scholar, but there is no knowledge. There is no knowledge. This is the demonic... Just like Rāvaṇa. He was very much advanced student in Vedic literature. But he was a demon. So simply by studying Vedas one does not become out of the jurisdiction of demons. Just like Jarasandha. He was also worshiping Viṣṇu. But he was a demon. He was a demon. His purpose was different. The yajñic brāhmaṇas, they also could not understand Kṛṣṇa. So this is the crucial test. If one does not understand Kṛṣṇa and become submissive to surrender, he remains a demon, however big scholar he may be.

Room Conversation -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Yes. Formality, you should be respectful. Suppose your enemy—that is etiquette-comes in your room. But when he has come to your room, you should offer him respect: "Come on, come on. Sit down." That is etiquette. You know that "He's my enemy." That... The etiquette according to Vedic civilization: gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akuto-bhayam. Even your enemy comes at your home, you should treat with him in such a nice way that he'll forget that you are his enemy. Gṛhe śatrum... That was... Just like Jarāsandha and Bhīma. They, they wanted that "We want to fight with you..." (Break) Unless one of the kings died... (Break) ...a strong flavor, and it is continually, continues. So long it is alive, the flavor is there. So where is that art, where is that science? When you have... Where is that scientist amongst the human society? They are very much proud of their scientific advancement.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- July 17, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughter) Kṛṣṇa married sixteen thousand wives, and each wife he gave big palaces made of marble, furniture ivory, and silk and gold, and then again He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms, not that one wife is crying for sixteen thousand days, no. Ready (indistinct). And that is Kṛṣṇa. That was also just to give them protection. When they were all kidnapped by Jarāsandha... No? Bhaumāsura. So when they were released, so asked them, "Go home." So in India, if a girl is kidnapped and she lives outside home for three days, nobody will marry her. That system is still now. So they said that "You are asking to go home but we will not be accepted." "Then what do you want?" "Now You marry us." "All right, come on." (laughter) Wholesale, sixteen thousand wives. This is Kṛṣṇa. We are not captivated by Kṛṣṇa, a Guruji Mahārāja. We know what is Kṛṣṇa. Then we accept He is God. He has proved Himself that He is God. Our Kṛṣṇa is not going to marry a society girl secretary. He is not so cheap.

Morning Walk -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: (break) ...is also known as Magadha. Magadha. That is the... Candragupta and others, they were reigning in Bihar, emperor of India. Jarāsandha also belonged to Bihar. (break) ...a great scientist?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Pradyumna: Just one thing. What does... It said in a text in just one wife-about Jarāsandha. Jarāsandha. Actually the story in Mahābhārata is that one half came from one wife and another half came from another.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Pradyumna: And it said, amyasya mati bayayam sakale dve bṛhad-rathāt ye mātra jarayā cāpi sundite. And they're joined by sundite, by Jara. Jīvo jīvete krīdāṁ kriyā jarāsandho 'bhavat sūta. So jīva jīva? Become...

Prabhupāda: Become alive. Jīva. Become alive.

Pradyumna: You had here, "O living entity, just be alive"?

Prabhupāda: Jīva, addressing jīvete. "Be alive."

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Hari-śauri: Is that Jarāsandha?

Pradyumna: Then translation, "In the womb of two other wives, two parts were begotten from Bṛhadratha. The mothers, seeing such parts, rejected them. Later on, one she-demon by the name Jara joined the parts." Then sounded like "engaged"?

Prabhupāda: Playfully.

Pradyumna: Playfully, "joined the parts playfully"?

Prabhupāda: Joining playfully.

Pradyumna: Then she said, jīva jīva?

Prabhupāda: "Get into life! Get into life!"

Pradyumna: "And having been joined by Jara in this way..." "In this way, having been joined by Jara, the son Jarāsandha was born. And by joining the parts playfully, saying, 'Get into life.' "

Prabhupāda: She found two parts. Generally just like play in our childhood some doll is broken. So we used to put the head again.

Pradyumna: Ah.

Prabhupāda: So similarly, the head is there: "Join, join! You live! You live!" Like that. You had no opportunity to play like that? Every...

Morning Walk -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Jagadīśa: Vāmanadeva also went in disguise. And Kṛṣṇa, Bhīma, and Arjuna went in disguise. They killed Jarāsandha.

Haṁsadūta: In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you wrote about Prahlāda Mahārāja, they tried to find out "Where are these Vaiṣṇavas? They must be coming in disguise to teach the boys Hare Kṛṣṇa."

Prabhupāda: What is the wrong there?

Dr. Patel: (indistinct) American gangsters. You can't be gangsters. They will be gangsters.

Trivikrama: For Kṛṣṇa we can be anything.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: So you are scientist, devotee, and kṣatriya. As kṣatriya you'll force: (laughing) "You must believe this, or I will kill you." (laughter) And as scientist, the convincing argument... And as devotee, Kṛṣṇa will help you. That's all Yuddhyasva mām anusmara (BG 8.7). That is Kṛṣṇa's word, "Fight! And remember Me." That's all. Combination kṣatriya, devotee, and scientist. Very good combination. Kṣatriya does not know beyond two things—victory or death. No third thing. That is kṣatriya. In a fighting, if I do not gain victory, then I must die. Two things. That is kṣatriya spirit. Whenever there is fight between the two kṣatriya, one must die. That is last word. No compromise. Jarāsandha and Bhīma, fighting for twenty-eight days, in the evening they were friends, but the fighting went on until one is dead. That is kṣatriya's fighting. Where is that spirit now? I think in Europe also there was the knights.

Gargamuni: Chivalry.

Room Conversation Varnasrama System Must Be Introduced -- February 14, 1977, Mayapura:

Hari-śauri: Because even the yavanas and mlecchas were following the kṣatriya system in Kṛṣṇa's time. Just like Jarāsandha. He had all the chivalrous respect of a kṣatriya even though he was a demon. But nowadays everybody's... No one is...

Prabhupāda: Everybody's śūdra. Nobody's brāhmaṇa, nobody's...

Hari-śauri: No.

Prabhupāda: Śūdra is to be controlled only. They are never given to be freedom. Just like in America. The blacks were slaves. They were under control. And since you have given them equal rights they are disturbing, most disturbing, always creating a fearful situation, uncultured and drunkards. What training they have got? They have got equal right? That is best, to keep them under control as slaves but give them sufficient food, sufficient cloth, not more than that. Then they will be satisfied.

Second Meeting with Mr. Dwivedi -- April 24, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: If you... If you think kuṭumbakam. Suppose some kuṭumba has come to your house. You ask him, "Go out"? This is our system. Gṛhe śatrum api prāptam. This is Indian culture. When you receive somebody at your home, even if he's your enemy-gṛhe śatrum api prāptam—you should treat with him in such a way that he'll forget that he's your enemy. Viśvastam akutobhayam. That was India's culture. Bhīma went to Jarāsandha to fight. Whole day it was fight. It was kṣatriya's fight. Unless one is dead, the fight will continue. So Bhīma and Jarāsandha were equally powerful, so no decision. But still, he was guest at Jarāsandha's house. At night they were eating together, talking together. This is India's culture. They forgot. Arjuna went to see in the battlefield to Duryodhana. And Duryodhana immediately said, "Come here, my brother. You have come. What do you want? How can I help you? You want your kingdom without fight? I can give you." He said, "No, no, that is not my business." This is kṣatriya. He... He thought that "He has come to beg." "No, no, that already... That we shall decide in the battlefield." This is kṣatriya. But when he's at my place, I offer, "All right, if you want without fight, you can take." This is... They... This is India's culture. Ei sab mahābhārata hai, "History of Greater India." (Hindi) Apkara Gandhiji (Hindi) fiction hai.

Room Conversation -- August 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Then Tṛṇāvarta, big, big yuddha. Then Aghāsura, Bakāsura, Śakaṭāsura, this asura, this asura, that asura, in childhood, in Vṛndāvana, so many. Then, when He went to Mathurā, big, big elephant, big, big wrestler. Then Kaṁsa. Then, after Kaṁsa, then Jarāsandha, Pauṇḍraka, then kidnapping His wives. Fighting, only fighting. And these rascals say, "I do not like this Kṛṣṇa." You have heard that? He is creating his own Kṛṣṇa, this Gandhi.

Yaśomatīnandana: They also say, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that the Kṛṣṇa of Mahābhārata is different from Kṛṣṇa of Bhāgavata.

Page Title:Jarasandha (Lectures & Conversations)
Compiler:Laksmipriya
Created:31 of May, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=9, Con=13, Let=0
No. of Quotes:22