Miscellaneous - Religion   

Weakness destroys man

CHENNAI : Human relationships and social institutions are by nature fragile, and hence it is important to nurture them with care because once severed they can never be the same again. Similarly, one's weakness, like Achilles' heel, is bound to destroy if one allows others to exploit it. This has been proved time and again especially in the case of powerful persons who due to an inflated ego and pride in their capabilities never pay heed to their vulnerability. Jarasandha is a case in point.

In his discourse on the Mahabharata, Sri B. Sundar Kumar said Yudhishthira wished to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice as advised by Sage Narada to please his father Pandu in heaven. He expressed his mind to Lord Krishna knowing well that He would counsel him about the right course of action. A king performed this sacrifice to be acknowledged as the emperor.

After due consideration Krishna named Jarasandha as the one who had to be vanquished before he could perform the Rajasuya for He had fought 18 times with him without success. It may be intriguing why the Lord who is invincible should let him off so many times. The reason was the circumstances of his birth and the divine power he had as foretold by Sage Chandakausika at the time of his birth.

The sage had blessed his father King Brihadratha with a mango and he had shared it equally between his two wives as a result of which they both gave birth to half a child each. Horrified by the monstrosities, the nurse abandoned them outside the city gates. A Rakshasi, Jara, by name, found them and they fused together into a baby in her hands miraculously. She gave the baby to the king without eating it and out of gratitude the king named his child after her.

Jarasandha was thus no ordinary person; besides he was a great devotee of Rudra. Krishna had a reason for killing him. He had held captive thousands of kings to be given in sacrifice and Krishna wanted to rescue them as they had prayed to Him to release them. Krishna told the Pandavas, "God will favour the man who has Dharma on his side. It is our duty to destroy Jarasandha and rid the world of a powerful monster." Jarasandha chose to fight with Bhima and he was able to kill the tyrant by utilising his weakness of having been joined together.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cartoonscape
Solution to Puzzle 8517
The Hindu Crossword 8518
Weakness destroys man
dated February 4, 1956: UN chief on Charter
dated February 4, 1956: Bulganin renews offer
Weather

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu