Ranchod: The Story of How Krishna Earned This Name

When discussing Krishna, it is essential to comprehend his core essence. He assumes numerous roles and possesses various qualities: he can be a playful child, a mischievous troublemaker, a captivating musician, a graceful dancer, a charming lover, a brave warrior, a fierce conqueror of his enemies, a man who leaves broken hearts in his wake, a skilled leader and kingmaker, a polite and well-mannered individual, a highly accomplished yogi, and a very colorful figure.

Different individuals perceive Krishna differently. For instance, Duryodhana views him as a cheerful troublemaker who enjoys indulging in eating, drinking, singing, dancing, making love, fighting, conversing with older women, and playing with children. Duryodhana does not consider him a god.

Krishna’s divine activities, referred to as his “leelas,” occur in various contexts with different people. Some of these occurrences involve the milkmaids of Vraja, while others involve the Pandavas. These diverse experiences have given rise to numerous names and descriptions associated with Krishna.

One such narrative revolves around how Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, met his demise due to Krishna’s cleverness, resulting in Krishna earning the epithet “Ranchod.”

The story goes like this:

King Brihadratha of Magadha was married to twin daughters of the King of Kashi. Despite enjoying all the material comforts of life, he remained childless, which left him in despair. When the sage Chandakaushika visited his kingdom, Brihadratha served him with great respect. Pleased with this hospitality, the sage granted Brihadratha a boon, and the king requested a son. The sage gave him a mango and instructed him to give it to one of his wives. Since Brihadratha loved both his wives equally, he cut the mango in two halves and fed them to both.

Nine months later, both queens gave birth to half of a child each, which horrified their attendants. They disposed of the two halves outside the kingdom, where a demoness named Jara found them. Hoping to take the halves home for a meal, she placed them side by side in a basket, and miraculously, they joined together to form a complete human child. Realizing this must be the son of the King of Magadha, Jara brought the child to the palace, and he was named Jarasandha in her honor.

Jarasandha grew into a powerful king, and he formed alliances with other kings, including Kansa of Mathura. When Krishna killed Kansa, Jarasandha became his enemy. He attacked Mathura seventeen times, causing significant damage and weakening the Yadavas.

Krishna received alarming news that Jarasandha had formed an alliance with several other kings to annihilate the Yadava clan. The alliance included Emperor Damghosha of Chedi, Dantavakra of Karusa, Rukmi of Vidarbha, and the brothers Vind and Anuvinda of Avanti. Their sole objective was to destroy Mathura and the Yadava clan.

The Kingdom of Hastinapur expressed its inability to help the Yadavas. Faced with this formidable alliance and the imminent threat, Krishna suggested relocating the Yadava capital from Mathura to Dwaraka. Although this idea was met with initial resistance, Krishna’s wisdom prevailed.

Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods, was summoned to reveal the plan for Dwaraka, which was already built underwater. With unanimous consent, the Yadavas relocated to Dwaraka.

When everyone in the Yadava group agreed, they decided to move their capital to Dwaraka. At the same time, Jarasandha and his army arrived at Mathura, but the city was empty. In his anger, Jarasandha destroyed the city and insulted Krishna, calling him a coward named “Ranchod” for running away from battle.

Surprisingly, Krishna wasn’t bothered by this new name. He understood that sometimes, it’s necessary to sacrifice one’s reputation for the greater good.

Krishna had five cousins, the Pandavas, who had recently gained control of a kingdom called Indraprastha. The eldest Pandava, Yudhishtra, wished to perform the Rajasuya Yagya, a ceremony that required him to be recognized as an emperor by neighboring kingdoms. To achieve this, Yudhishtra had to defeat Jarasandha and become the emperor. Not knowing how to do this, he sought Krishna’s assistance. Krishna suggested that he, along with Arjuna and Bhima, would disguise themselves as Brahmins and challenge Jarasandha to a wrestling match.

When they reached Magadha, Krishna, Arjuna, and Bhima revealed their true identities and challenged Jarasandha. However, Jarasandha refused to fight Krishna due to his low social status as a cowherd and Arjuna for being too young. He agreed to face Bhima as he seemed strong and worthy.

Bhima and Jarasandha battled for days, evenly matched and unable to defeat each other. Bhima sought Krishna’s help, who, knowing Jarasandha’s background, broke a twig in two and threw the halves far apart.

Bhima understood the hint and split Jarasandha’s body in two after throwing him to the ground, preventing the halves from rejoining. Krishna then installed Jarasandha’s son as the king of Magadha, and in return, he agreed to be a vassal to the Pandavas.