Sishupala Challenges the Appropriateness of Offering the First Honor to Krishna at Yudhishtra's Rajasuya Yagna : Episode 79
This increases Duryodhana's envy, and his parents are worried for him. At this juncture, the King of Kalinga arranges for the swayamwaram of his daughter Bhanumathi, in which Jarasandha and Shishupala also participate. Karna fights with these kings and brings Bhanumati for his friend Duryodhana. Duryodhana marries Bhanumati. Karna marries Subhangi, a princess from Chandramalai. In the course of time, Draupadi gives birth to one son each for the five Pandavas. Arjuna and Subhadra have a son called Abhimanyu. Duryodhana and Bhanumathi have a son called Lakshmana and a daughter called Lakshmi.
At this juncture Yudhishtra wants to perform the Rajasuya Yagna, and he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna tells him that this called for acceptance by all the kings, and Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, would never agree for this. Jarasandha has ambitions of becoming a world conqueror, and for this he has imprisoned 86 kings belonging to different countries in preparation of Naramedha Yagna. So if Yudhishtra wants to perform the Rajasuya Yagna, he would have to kill Jarasandha first.
Yudhishtra orders Bhima to fight Jarasandha. Dressed as Brahmins, Krishna, Bhima and Arjuna set out for Magadha.
At Magadha, Bhima and Jarasandha wrestle with each other. Both are equally powerful. Bhima breaks Jarasandha asunder and throws them away but the two pieces join together and Jarasandha comes back alive. Arjuna is perplexed by this sight, and asks Krishna the reason. Krishna tells him the story of Jarasandha's birth. Brihadratha, the king of Magadha had two wives, but they do not have children. The king seeks blessings from Sage Chandakaushika and he gives him a fruit to be given to the queen whom he desires to become pregnant. The king loves both his queens equally; so he gives half of the fruit to each of them. The queens gives birth to half pieces of a human baby. The king, terrified by the sight, gives it to the maids to throw the pieces away. A demoness called Jara who is assailed by terrible hunger pangs comes there and picks the two pices together. The two pices then come together. Since the lifeless pieces were joined together and given life by Jara, the baby came to be known as Jarasandha - united by Jara.
Arjuna, hearing the story, wonders how Jarasandha could then be killed. Krishna smiles and manifests a blade of grass in his hands. Then he looks meaningfully at Bhima, tears the grass into two and throws each of the blads in the opposite directions. Bhima understands what he has to do; he once again rips Jarasandha into two, but throws the halves in the opposite directions, and the two pices cannot join together now. Finally, Jarasandha is killed.
A messenger conveys to Shishupala the death of his godfather. Shishupala swears he would kill Krishna, the person behind Jarasandha's death, or be killed himself.
All the kings accede to Yudhishtra's Rajasuya Yagna and his declaring himself a world conqueror. Dritarashtra consents to this too, but Dushasana opposes it vehemently. Bhima and Vidura explain that Yudhishtra's victory is their too, and they should not be envious of him. Shakuni objects, saying that Yudhishtra's becoming a 'Chakravarthi' meant that they would have to abide by his orders. Bhishma tells Dushasana that he could have called Jarasandha for a bout of wrestling, defeated him and then made it possible for Duryodhaa to perform a similar Yagna. And nobody would have objected to it. He then tells Dritarashtra that he had to control the obstinate behavior of his wayward children, else they will have to face destruction. Dritarashtra orders all of them that they must attend the Yagna. Dushasana leaves in a huff, but Duryodhana bows and accepts the king's order more reverentially. Later he explains to Shakuni and Dushasana his reasoning. He believes that he would make 'Chakravarthi Yudhishtra' bow to him at the Yagna.
Shishupala sets out for Indraprastha, determined to stop the proceedings. At the assembly, Yudhishtra welcomes and thanks Sage Vyasa, Grandfather Bhishma, Acharya Drona, King Dritarashtra individually and collectively thanks everyone for their presence. He then humbly says that being young and inexperienced, he does not know how to convene the Yagna in the appropriate manner, and requests Bhishma to guide him. Bhishma says he will have to individually pay respects to elders, vedic scholars, friends, and sages, but he first choose one most worthy person to offer the 'first respect'.
Yudhishtra says Bhishma himself is the most appropriate person for receiving the respects; besides, how could he decide who was the most important amongst all the equally worthy ones such as Sage Vyasa, his own guru Drona and others? Bhishma says he had abdicated the throne and renounced worldly life; so he wan't fit for receiving the special honor. Sage Vyasa and Drona were beyond politics. He then suggests that Krishna, being the incarnation of the all pervading and omniscient Lord Vishnu, was the most appropriate for receiving the highest honor.
Yudhishtra proceeds to pay homage to Krishna. Shishupala intervenes and asks the proceedings to be stopped. He then calls Bhishma an old impotent man who was probably a eunuch and it is no wonder he renounced a householder's life. Being worthless himself, Bhishma has chosen Krishna, another worthless person. He then lets free a barrage of invectives, calling a Krishna a womaniser, a coward and a cheat. Balarama and the Pandavas raise a strong note of caution, but Krishna is cool.
Krishna reminds his brother that Shishupala's mother and their aunt had extracted a promise from Krishna that he should not kill her son. When Shishupala was born with an extra head and an extra pair of arms, she had heard the prophecy that the child's extra head and arms would disappear when he is held by his future slayer. When Krishna had paid his aunt a visit and held the baby, the miraculous event happened, and Shishupala's mother was alarmed. Krishna said if that was Shishupala's destiny, nothing could be done to avert it; but he would respect a mother's sentiments and wait till Shishupala insulted him a hundred times, after which he could not give a guarantee. He then starts counting the number of times he is insulted by picking and throwing a flower from a garland.
Shishupala mounts his verbal attack, unmindful of the likely threat.
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