Jarasandha, with a twist

Though the folk bard follows the outline of the classical myth, his practical wisdom and the unexpected ending make this version quite unique.

Brihaspatha, King of Magadha, had two wives, but no children even after 12 years of marriage. One day, sage Shankumuni walked into his palace. Brihaspatha fell at his feet and said, ‘Swami, your feet are my sole refuge. I have performed several acts of charity, but God hasn’t looked upon me with kindness. Without an offspring, I shall be deprived of salvation and land in hell. You must save my family from extinction.’

The sage showed mercy on him. ‘Do not despair. There’s a sweet mango tree on Shivagiri peak in Mount Shrishaila where I meditated for 100 years. The tree yields a single fruit once in 100 years. That fruit fell into my palm. I am giving it to you. When your queen eats this fruit, she will bear you a child.’

Brihaspatha summoned his two wives and said: ‘You two are like my two eyes. So I shall cut this fruit in half and give each of you an equal share. Partake of this with devotion. You will not be called childless in the future!’

The queens ate the sweet fruit heartily. By the power of the divine fruit and the sage’s blessings, both the wives became pregnant. After they had completed nine months, both women went into labour on the same day, in the same month, same week and gave birth at exactly the same time.

When the news reached Brihaspatha, he came along with elders, ministers and nobles to see the child. Midwives, who’d assisted in the childbirth, came running to the king. ‘Swami, please come and see the boys your queens have given birth to. They have borne half a child each with half a head, half a nose, one eye, one hand and one leg each. We are frightened to look at them!’

When the king saw the broken infants, he was gravely worried. His wives fell at his feet and said, ‘Swami, the sight of these half children is frightening. Please have them thrown in the forest and relieve us of our fears.’ Just then, there came a Malayali sorceress Jarasandini. She looked at Brihaspatha and his wives.

‘There is no need for fear when we have the deity Bethaleswara,’ she said, picking up the two half infants and carrying them to the Bethaleswara shrine. Laying them before the deity, she threw some magical ash into the fire and stood chanting spells with her eyes closed. The smoke rising from the fire filled the entire shrine. The sorceress picked up her magic wand, and put the two half infants together, chanting more spells. With a crack of a thunderbolt, the two halves joined to become one living child.

At the sight of the crying child, the two wives were filled with joy. The older queen said ‘the child is mine’. The younger one also said, ‘the child is mine’. When the sorceress saw the two women fighting over the child, she pacified them by saying, ‘I shall make sure both of you get the child’. Chanting some spells, when she placed her magic wand on the child and uttered ‘Jai Bethaleswara’, there were two infants. Here’s what Jarasandini told them: ‘To those who love these children, and to their deadly foes, they will appear as two. But the world will see them as one child.’

The wives picked up the two infants and left for the palace after receiving her blessings. Since it was through Jarasandini’s kindness that the child had come to life, they named him Jarasandha.

Translated by Laxmi Chandrashekar

The author, a retired professor of English, is a well-known theatre and television artiste and an award-winning translator.

Folktales from the Mahabharata is a monthly column that features lesser-known episodes from ‘Janapada Mahabharata’ sung by eminent folk-artiste Bettada Beedu
Siddhashetty and published by Dr P K Rajashekara.