Once, there was a king called Jarasandh, whose two daughters were married to Kans. After Kans's death, his daughters were widowed and came to their father. Jarasandh was furious and wanted to avenge his son-in-law's death. He attacked Mathura 17 times, only to be defeated and humiliated by Balram each time. One of his friends told him about the story of King Kalyavan, the King of the Yavanas and how he had a boon that no weapon could harm him. Jarasandh went to Kalyavan for help and Kalyavan announced war on Mathura. When he reached Mathura, only Krishna came for war and said that he didn't want to stake the lives of so many people in war. Kalyavan agreed and told that only the two of them will fight. Krishna and Kalyavan went to a far away place. They got ready for a combat, and as it was about to start, Krishna ran away from the place. Kalyavan chased him, and they reached a cave where King Muchukund, a scion of King Ikshvaku was sleeping. King Muchukund had a boon that whoever disturbed his sleep would burn to ashes. In the same cave, Kalyavan called Krishna 'Rannchhod', meaning 'leaving the battlefield'. Saying that, Kalyavan woke up Muchukund, and according to his boon, turned to ashes.
This was the story behind the name 'Rannchhod'
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Krishna Katha
Historical FictionSri Krishna is the beloved Boatman who untiringly plies His Boat of Consciousness between our unparalleled thoughts and his unrivalled spirituality. For our Kanha, the Gita is his Heart, his Vision, his Fulfilment. For us, the Gita is humanity's bre...
