Jahnu () is a hermit-king in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, belonging to the
Chandravamsha dynasty. The son of King Ajamīḍha, Jahnu abdicates his kingdom in favour of his son, Balākāśva, or sometimes Ajaka, and retires to perform a penance. According to the
Harivamsa and
Brahma Purana, he is also the husband of
Kāveri.
Legend
Curse on Ganga
Jahnu's curse on the goddess
Ganga is described in the
Brahma Purana:
Descent of Ganga
As prophesied, Jahnu appears in the legend of
Ganga and
Bhagiratha
Bhagiratha (, ) is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty in Hindu Literature, Hindu literature. He is best known for his legend of bringing the sacred river Ganges, personified as the Hinduism, Hindu river goddess Ganges in Hinduism, Ganga, f ...
. When the goddess Ganga descended upon the earth after being released from
Shiva's locks, her torrential waters wreaked havoc upon Jahnu's fields and penance. Angered by this, the great sage drank up all the Ganges' waters to punish her. Seeing this, the devas prayed to the sage to release Ganga, so that she could proceed on her mission to release the souls of the ancestors of Bhagiratha. Jahnu relented, and he released the Ganges from his ear. For this, the
Ganges river
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
is also known as ''Jahnavi'', meaning "daughter of Jahnu".
References
{{Rishis of Hindu mythology
Rishis