Jarasandha Ka Akhara
At 1 km from Son Bhandar, and 5 km from Rajgir Railway Station, Jarasandha Ka Akhara is a historical place situated near Son Bhandar in Rajgir. It is one of the historical places in Rajgir, and among the must-visit Rajgir Tourist Places. Jarasandha Akhara, or Akhada, better known as Ranbhumi which literally means battlefield, is located near Vaibhavgiri Hill. This is the place where martial arts were practiced by Jarasandha and his army. He used to unite all kings and warriors who were against Lord Krishna during that time and train them here. Also, Jarasandha Ka Akhara was the site where the epic battle took place between Bhima and Jarasandha. According to legend, Jarasandha planned to conduct a Yagna to please the goddess Chandi. For this Yagna, he had imprisoned 95 kings and required 5 more kings, after which he was planning to perform the Yagna, sacrificing all the 100 kings. Jarasandha thought that this Yagna will make him win the powerful Yadava Army. The kings captured by Jarasandha wrote a secret missive to Krishna to rescue them from Jarasandha. Krishna planned a clever scheme to eliminate Jarasandha by making Bhima wrestle with the Jarasandha in a duel. Both fought for 14 days. Bheema lost hope to win the battle and sought the help of Krishna. Krishna - who knew of the secret of Jarasandha's birth - took a blade of grass or twig and split it into two and threw it in opposite directions. Bheema understood the clue and split Jarasandha's body into two, slaying the king. The walls of this arena are high and many parts are made for practicing mall in it. The most important thing in the arena of Jarasandh is the soil here, which is bright-coloured. It is said that Jarasandha used to mix hundreds of litters of milk and curd daily in this soil.
