The battle with Jarasandha was a massacre.

Jarasandha had a huge army. Of that, there was no doubt.

It was said that Jarasandha army, when he attacked Mathura for the first time, consisted of 23 Akshauhinis!

(One Akshauhini consists of 21870 chariots, 21870 elephants, 65610 horses and 109350 infantry.

It must be probably be added that the Kurkshetra war, which was fought between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and which was meant to be a war to end all wars, was started with 7 Akshauhinis on the side of Yudhishtara and 11 Akshauinis on the side of the Kauravas!)

That was how much, Jarasandha hated the Yadavas.

As soon as Krishna saw the huge army approaching Mathura, the first thing he did was to make sure that his people – the common people of Mathura were safe inside the fortifications of Mathura.

And then leading his small army, Krishna and Balarama started for meeting the challenge of Jarasandha. It is also believed that this was the first time that Krishna pulled out his Saranga bow for the attack.

Despite his huge army and sheer brute strength, the first attack of Jarasandha was a massacre.

The Yadavas just won. And Krishna and Balarama were mostly responsible for routing the warriors in Jarasandha's army.

In the battle, which Jarasandha himself led from the front, it just did not matter, what Jarasandha did.

Whomever he threw against Krishna and Balarama, they just perished. The elephant section, the horses, the infantry.... Balarama just ploughed through them. Krishna for his part was brilliant with his bow and his horses seemed to obey his thought and moved beautiful, weaving in and around Jarasandha's army, causing mass havoc.

Finally, after a very short battle, soon, a very few number of people were left over in Jarasandha's army.

Letting a huge cry, Balarama pulled his mace and made his way to Jarasandha.

Jarasandha really did not have a chance. Balarama was phenomenally powerful. And added on top of it, he was the master of the mace.

Jarasandha just toppled as Balarama literally toyed with him in the battlefield. The fight was over real soon, and furiously, Balarama tied up Jarasandha and dragged him and was about to kill him...

"Stop!"

Krishna just let lose an arrow on the few remaining soldiers and drove with effortless ease towards his brother and came in between Balarama and his target.

Balarama looked furious as he waved Krishna aside even without bothering to pull down his weapon. "I am going to kill this man." Balarama said in a hoarse voice as he pulled his bow string even tauter.

"You should not." Krishna said and he did not even move an inch from the place.

That was when Balarama pulled down his weapon. Krishna usually did not stop him. Not usually. Not unless....

"Letting him live is a mistake, Krishna," Balarama said a little uncertainly. "This man is not going to stop. Even this humiliating defeat is not going to teach this man a lesson."

"We will give him another chance to learn his lesson." Krishna said even more quietly.

That was when Balarama understood. He threw his weapon to the chariot floor and looked angrily at Jarasandha, with contempt.

Balarama waved away the King of Magadha carelessly. "I have no desire to see your face. Move away from here."

Balarama did not even bother gracing Jarasandha with another look, as he drove inside the city of Mathura.

Krishna gave another glance at the numb, bewildered and defeated Jarasandha and followed his brother as the rest of the army of Jarasandha had already been routed or they were just running away.

A thoroughly vexed and completely disgraced Jarasandha walked away from the place.

**********

Naturally, he sought revenge and promised to come back and kill the brothers in a better attack.

Even after this, Jarasandha did not attack Mathura once. He attacked Mathura seventeen times.

And he was defeated all the seventeen times.

(It is believed that the very purpose for Krishna's life was to destroy the asuras and the warrior class of the world before the onset of the last yuga – the Kali Yuga.

It could be that Krishna realized that Jarasandha was not a man who could accept defeat and that no matter what, Jarasandha would keep trying to defeat the Yadavas and bring more and more asuras and other warriors to help him in the place.

As this was the very purpose of Krishna's life, it is believed that he let Jarasandha alone live, after massacring Jasandha's army, in all the seventeen times.)

However, the seventeen battles were taking a toll and all was not well in the city of Mathura.....