Jarāsaṃdha Yuddha

After Kaṃsa died, his father-in-law Jarāsaṃdha, king of Magadha, swore to take revenge. He attacked Mathurā eighteen times against Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Balarāma. One attack ended with a fire set round Gomanta Parvata, from which the two brothers leapt to safety. These attacks led Bhagavān Kṛshṇa to decide to build a new city, Dvārakā, on the western sea-coast.

Jarāsaṃdha’s vow of revenge

When the news of Kaṃsa’s death reached Magadha, King Jarāsaṃdha was filled with grief and rage. Kaṃsa was his son-in-law, for Jarāsaṃdha’s daughters Asti and Prāpti had been Kaṃsa’s wives. Jarāsaṃdha was one of the most powerful kings of his age, a great warrior whose name made other kings afraid. At once he decided to march on Mathurā, destroy Kṛshṇa and Balarāma, and avenge Kaṃsa. (Vishṇu Parva, chapter 35)

The first attack on Mathurā

Jarāsaṃdha gathered a huge army of allied kings and marched on Mathurā. The text names many kings who joined him. The battle lasted seventeen days. Kṛshṇa and Balarāma led the defence of Mathurā with great courage. Although Jarāsaṃdha’s forces were so large, the two brothers drove the attack back. (Vishṇu Parva, chapter 36)

Jarāsaṃdha withdraws: the voice from the sky

At a hard moment in the battle, Jarāsaṃdha came close to Balarāma in single combat. Then an ākāśavāṇī (a divine voice from the sky) spoke. It said that Jarāsaṃdha would not die at the hands of Balarāma. At this voice Jarāsaṃdha drew back. He gathered fresh forces and came again. In all, Jarāsaṃdha made eighteen attacks on Mathurā. (Vishṇu Parva, chapter 37)

The siege of Gomanta Parvata

In one of the most striking moments of this long war, Kṛshṇa and Balarāma took their stand on the great Gomanta Parvata and used the mountain as a stronghold. Jarāsaṃdha would not let them escape again. He ringed the whole mountain with his army and then set it on fire, lighting flames on every side until the mountain was a blaze. (Vishṇu Parva, chapters 41 to 42; the Gomanta account is given in more detail in chapters 40 to 44)

The leap from Gomanta Parvata

Kṛshṇa and Balarāma were trapped on the burning mountain with the fire closing in on every side. They did not give in or beg. They leapt from the top of the mountain down to the plain below. They landed safely and at once fought Jarāsaṃdha’s forces on the ground. The battle on the plain was fierce, but again Jarāsaṃdha was beaten and driven back from Mathurā. (Vishṇu Parva, chapters 43 to 44)

The decision to build Dvārakā

Jarāsaṃdha made eighteen attacks one after another, and each time the defenders of Mathurā had to throw back a huge army. The people of Mathurā lived in constant danger. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa thought about this. Defending an inland city against an enemy with Jarāsaṃdha’s strength would mean endless suffering for the people of Mathurā. So he decided to found a new city, Dvārakā, on a peninsula on the western coast of Bhārata, with the sea on three sides, a place easy to defend where the Yādavas could live in safety. This decision marked the move from the Mathurā years of Kṛshṇa’s life to the Dvārakā years. The building of Dvārakā came after the killing of Kālayavana. (Vishṇu Parva, chapters 55 to 59)

Sources

  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, chapters 35 to 37 (the vow, the first attack, the voice from the sky)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, chapters 41 to 44 (Gomanta Parvata)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, chapters 40 to 44 (the Gomanta account in more detail)
  • Harivaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, chapters 55 to 59 (the decision to build Dvārakā)