Jambavantha
Encyclopedia
Jambavan also known as Jamvanta, Jambavantha, Jambavat, or Jambuvan the King of the Bears, is a sloth bear
in Indian epic tradition (though he is also described as a gorilla
in other scriptures), immortal to all but his father Vishnu
. In the Valmiki
Ramayana
however, he is described as being a Vanara
or monkey. Several times he is mentioned as Kapishreshtha (Foremost among the monkeys) and other epithets generally given to the Vanaras. He is known as Riksharaj (King of the Rikshas). Rikshas are described as something like Vanaras but in later versions of Ramayana Rikshas are described as bears. He was created by Brahma, to assist Rama
in his struggle against Ravana
. Jambavan was present at the churning of the ocean
, and is supposed to have circled Vamana
seven times when he was acquiring the three worlds from Mahabali
. He was the King of the Himalayas who had incarnated as a bear in order to serve Rama. He had received a boon from Lord Rama that he would have a long life, be handsome and would have the strength of ten million lions.
In the epic Ramayana
, Jambavantha helped Rama find his wife Sita
and fight her abductor,Ravana. Later, it is he who makes Hanuman
realize his immense capabilities and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka.
In the Mahabharata
, Jambavantha had killed a lion, who had acquired a gem called Syamantaka
from Prasena after killing him. According to a Hindu legend, this gem was later renamed as the Koh-i-Noor
diamond of the present day. Krishna
was suspected of killing Prasena for the jewel, so he tracked Prasena's steps until he learned that he had been killed by a lion who had been killed by a bear. Krishna tracked Jambavantha to his cave and a fight ensued. After twenty-eight days, realizing who Krishna was, Jambavantha submitted. He gave Krishna the gem and also presented him his daughter Jambavati
, who became one of Krishna's wives.
and a few others. Sugriva was residing on mount Rishyamukha with these advisers. Jambavantha advised Sugriva to send Hanuman to identify Rama
and Lakshmana
, to find out who they were and what their purpose was.
He was very powerful when he was young. He said this while he was encouraging Hanuman to cross the 100 Yojana Sea and go to Lanka in search of Sita
. He was so powerful that he circled 7 times to God when God grew so huge to measure all three loka i.e. heaven, earth, and patal (below earth) in two simple steps. Jambavantha circled (parikrama) seven times to God in a brief time. So he could have easily jumped 100 Yojana Sea had he been young.
Once during a duel with Ravana
, Jambavan was quick and ferocious. He gave Ravana mighty punches with his hands and finally kicked him on his chest, knocking Ravana unconscious and making him fall flat in his chariot. As a result, the charioteer withdrew Ravana from the battle. Earlier, Ravana had dueled Hanuman, who is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva
, and Sugriva
, known to be the son of Surya.
Once at the foot of Mount Mahendra, where Hanuman is about to take a leap and mentions that he could have jumped over the ocean to Lanka except that he got injured when he was beating the drum for Vishnu during the Vamana Avatara when the great god measured the three worlds. Vamana's shoulder struck Jambavan and he was injured which limited his mobility.
And once during the Samudra-Manthan,he was present at the time of the event. He got to know about the all-curing plant Vishalyakarni from the gods there and he later used this information to order Hanumana to help an injured and unconscious Laxmana in the great battle with the Lanka emperor,Ravana.
Sloth Bear
The sloth bear , also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution...
in Indian epic tradition (though he is also described as a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
in other scriptures), immortal to all but his father Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. In the Valmiki
Valmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
however, he is described as being a Vanara
Vanara
Vānara popularly refers to a group of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. They possessed supernatural powers and could change their shapes...
or monkey. Several times he is mentioned as Kapishreshtha (Foremost among the monkeys) and other epithets generally given to the Vanaras. He is known as Riksharaj (King of the Rikshas). Rikshas are described as something like Vanaras but in later versions of Ramayana Rikshas are described as bears. He was created by Brahma, to assist Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
in his struggle against Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
. Jambavan was present at the churning of the ocean
Ocean of milk
In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the center of the seven oceans that surround loka or directional space and separate it from aloka or non-directional space. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. The gods and demons worked together for a millennium to churn the sea...
, and is supposed to have circled Vamana
Vamana
Vamana is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age, or the Treta yuga. Also he is the first Avatar of Vishnu which appears with a completely human form, though it was that of a dwarf brahmin. He is also sometimes known as...
seven times when he was acquiring the three worlds from Mahabali
Mahabali
Mahabali , also known as Bali or Māveli was a benevolent Asura King, and the grandson of Prahlada. The festival of Onam commemorates his yearly homecoming after being sent down to the underworld by Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu.-Conquest of the Universe and banishment:Bali, an asura, was the...
. He was the King of the Himalayas who had incarnated as a bear in order to serve Rama. He had received a boon from Lord Rama that he would have a long life, be handsome and would have the strength of ten million lions.
In the epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, Jambavantha helped Rama find his wife Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and fight her abductor,Ravana. Later, it is he who makes Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
realize his immense capabilities and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka.
In the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Jambavantha had killed a lion, who had acquired a gem called Syamantaka
Syamantaka
Syamantaka mani, or the Syamantaka Jewel, is perhaps the most famous jewel in Indian Mythology, supposed to be blessed with magical powers.- Origin :...
from Prasena after killing him. According to a Hindu legend, this gem was later renamed as the Koh-i-Noor
Koh-i-Noor
The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...
diamond of the present day. Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
was suspected of killing Prasena for the jewel, so he tracked Prasena's steps until he learned that he had been killed by a lion who had been killed by a bear. Krishna tracked Jambavantha to his cave and a fight ensued. After twenty-eight days, realizing who Krishna was, Jambavantha submitted. He gave Krishna the gem and also presented him his daughter Jambavati
Jambavati
Jambavati is the only daughter of the king-bear Jambavan. Her story is told in the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana. She received the famous "Syamantaka Jewel" as a gift from her father and she married to Lord Krishna and occupied the third most prominent position of his eight principal queens...
, who became one of Krishna's wives.
Role in Ramayana
Jambavantha was considered very experienced and intelligent. He had a good knowledge of running a kingdom. Sugriva’s advisers included Jambavantha, Nala, Neela, HanumanHanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
and a few others. Sugriva was residing on mount Rishyamukha with these advisers. Jambavantha advised Sugriva to send Hanuman to identify Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
, to find out who they were and what their purpose was.
He was very powerful when he was young. He said this while he was encouraging Hanuman to cross the 100 Yojana Sea and go to Lanka in search of Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
. He was so powerful that he circled 7 times to God when God grew so huge to measure all three loka i.e. heaven, earth, and patal (below earth) in two simple steps. Jambavantha circled (parikrama) seven times to God in a brief time. So he could have easily jumped 100 Yojana Sea had he been young.
Once during a duel with Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, Jambavan was quick and ferocious. He gave Ravana mighty punches with his hands and finally kicked him on his chest, knocking Ravana unconscious and making him fall flat in his chariot. As a result, the charioteer withdrew Ravana from the battle. Earlier, Ravana had dueled Hanuman, who is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, and Sugriva
Sugriva
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
, known to be the son of Surya.
The city of Jamvanta
- Jamthun (जामथुन) - Jamthun village in Ratlam tahsil in Ratlam districtRatlam DistrictRatlam District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Ratlam is administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Ratlam District has an area of 4,861 km²...
in Madhya PradeshMadhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, located in northwest of Ratlam city, has traces of ancient habitation. It is known as the city of Jamvanta (जाम्वन्त) or Jamvanta Nagari. Ancient bricks have been found in excavations. There is a water tank of very ancient style. There is a need for further excavation.
Others
Jambavan mentions two incidents in his life in the Ramayana.Once at the foot of Mount Mahendra, where Hanuman is about to take a leap and mentions that he could have jumped over the ocean to Lanka except that he got injured when he was beating the drum for Vishnu during the Vamana Avatara when the great god measured the three worlds. Vamana's shoulder struck Jambavan and he was injured which limited his mobility.
And once during the Samudra-Manthan,he was present at the time of the event. He got to know about the all-curing plant Vishalyakarni from the gods there and he later used this information to order Hanumana to help an injured and unconscious Laxmana in the great battle with the Lanka emperor,Ravana.
External links
- Jambavantha motivating Hanuman for the task of leaping the ocean. in Valmiki Ramayana - Kishkindha Kanda in Prose Sarga 65 - Accessed August 14 2006.
- Story of Syamantaka from www.tirumala.org - Accessed August 14 2006.
- Jambavantha - A Rksha Warrior