Jarāsandha, the powerful king of Magadha, stood before Bhīma, Krishna, and Arjuna, his words sharp with disdain. He refused to fight Krishna, calling him a coward whose valor was uncertain, accusing him of abandoning Mathura to seek refuge by the sea. Turning to the Pandavas, Jarāsandha declared that Arjuna, though equal in age, lacked the strength to face him, but Bhīma was a worthy opponent, matched in might. With these words, Jarāsandha handed a great mace to Bhīmasena, took another for himself, and together they strode out from the city. On the battlefield, the two heroes met, equally matched and wild with the fury of combat. Their maces crashed together like thunderbolts, the sound echoing as their weapons clashed like the tusks of battling elephants. They circled each other, moving left and right with the grace and intricacy of dancers upon a stage. The maces struck with blinding speed, smashing against shoulders, hips, feet, knees, and heads. The force of their blows shattered the maces, just as the branches of the sun are broken when two blazing elephants collide. Undeterred, the warriors battered each other with their iron-hard fists, the fierce slapping of their palms resounding like thunder. Skill, strength, and vigor were equal between them; neither's speed diminished, and the battle was so evenly matched that it became indistinguishable who had the upper hand. For twenty-seven days, the fight raged on, with their friends watching through the nights. At last, Bhīma, weary and frustrated, turned to Krishna, his maternal cousin, and confessed, "O Mādhava, I am not able to defeat Jarāsandha in battle." Krishna, knowing the secret of Jarāsandha’s birth and death—that his life was sustained by the joining of two halves by the entity Jara—strengthened Bhīma with his own energy and pondered how to end the struggle. Having conceived a way to slay Jarāsandha, Krishna, whose vision never fails, gave Bhīma a sign by tearing a branch apart, demonstrating what must be done. Understanding the hint, Bhīma, mighty and foremost among fighters, seized Jarāsandha by the feet and hurled him to the ground. Placing one foot upon Jarāsandha's leg and grasping the other with his arms, Bhīma tore him asunder from the anus, like a great elephant splitting a branch. Those present witnessed the body split into two parts—one with a single leg, thigh, testicle, hip, back, breast, and shoulder; the other with one arm, eye, brow, and ear. A great outcry arose at the death of the king of Magadha. Bhīma was embraced and honored by Krishna and the victorious, infallible ones. The Lord, creator of beings and master of himself, then anointed Sahadeva, Jarāsandha’s son, as king of the Magadhas, and released the kings who had been imprisoned by Jarāsandha. Thus concluded the seventy-second chapter, "The Slaying of Jarāsandha," in the second half of the Tenth Book of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa. After Jarāsandha's death, Śuka narrated that sixteen thousand eight hundred kings, defeated in battle and imprisoned, emerged from the mountain cave where they had been held. Dirty and clad in soiled garments, emaciated by hunger, their faces dried up and tormented by confinement, they beheld before them the dark-complexioned Lord, Krishna, dressed in yellow silk. They saw him marked with the Śrīvatsa, four-armed, with lotus-like reddish eyes, a beautiful, gracious face, and shining makara-shaped earrings. In his hands he held a lotus, mace, conch, and discus, adorned with a crown, necklace, bracelets, a girdle, and armlets. His neck shone with the finest jewels, garlanded with forest flowers. The kings drank in the sight of Krishna with their eyes, as if tasting him with their tongues; they seemed to smell him with their noses and embrace him with their arms. Freed from sin, they bowed their heads at Hari’s feet. Delighted by the sight of Krishna, the fatigue of captivity vanished from them. With palms joined, the kings praised Hṛṣīkeśa, saying, "Salutations to you, Lord of gods, imperishable remover of the distress of those who take refuge! We have sought your shelter, O Krishna—protect us, who are weary of this terrible cycle of birth and death." They continued, "O Madhusūdana, we do not blame you for the loss of our kingdoms at the hands of the Magadhan; O Lord, for us kings, your favor is the cause. A king, swollen with pride from sovereignty and opulence, does not attain true welfare; deluded by your māyā, he considers impermanent riches to be unshakable. Just as children imagine water in a mirage, so too do those lacking discernment mistake illusory things for reality." "Formerly, blinded by the intoxication of prosperity, we, driven by the desire to conquer, competed with one another, mercilessly destroying our own subjects, O Lord, recklessly disregarding death before us. Those very riches, O Krishna, have been swept away by your profound and irresistible power; by time, by your form, and by your compassion, our pride is destroyed, and we remember your feet." "Therefore, we no longer desire a kingdom, which is like a mirage, with a body that is ever subject to decay and pain; O Lord, we long to worship you, for the fruit of such acts, both in this life and after, is pleasing to the ear. Instruct us in the means by which, even as we wander in this world, our remembrance of your lotus feet may never cease. Obeisance again and again to Krishna, son of Vasudeva, to Hari, the Supreme Self, to Govinda, destroyer of the distress of those who take refuge in him." Śuka said that, thus praised by the freed kings, the compassionate Lord, shelter of all, addressed them with gentle words. Krishna said, "From this day forth, O kings, firm devotion to me, the Self, the Lord of all, will arise in you, as you have earnestly desired. By good fortune, O kings, you have resolved rightly and spoken truthfully; behold how pride in wealth and power drives men mad." He continued, "Haihaya, Nahuṣa, Vena, Rāvaṇa, Naraka, and others—lords of gods, demons, and men—were cast down from their positions by pride in prosperity. Knowing this, that all arising from body and so on is perishable, worship me through sacrifices, and protect your subjects with righteousness." Thus, the kings were restored, their hearts transformed, and the Lord’s wisdom filled the land.