Jambavati () is chronologically the second ''
Ashtabharya'' of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
god
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
. She is the only daughter of the bear-king
Jambavan
Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts.
He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...
. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen
Syamantaka jewel.
Nomenclature
Jambavati, a patronymic, means daughter of
Jambavan
Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts.
He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...
. Sridhara, a commentator on the ''
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
'', identifies her with Krishna's wife Rohini. However, another commentator, Ratnagarbha, disagrees.
The ''
Harivamsa'' also suggests that Rohini may be an alternate name of Jambavati.
Jambavati is also given the epithets Narendraputri and Kapindraputra.
Legend
In the epic ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'',
Jambavan
Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts.
He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...
is introduced as Jambavati's father.
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' and the ''Harivamsa'' calls him the king of bears.
Jambavati is an incarnation of the goddess
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, along with the
junior wives of Krishna, as well as the Ashtabharya.
Marriage to Krishna
The marriage of Jambavati and
Satyabhama
Satyabhama (IAST'': Satyabhāmā)'' , also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as an incarnation of Bhumi, an aspect of Lakshmi. She is the goddess and the per ...
to Krishna is closely linked with the story of
Syamantaka, the precious jewel, which has its mention in the
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus.
The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...
and the
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
. The precious jewel originally belonged to the sun-god,
Surya
Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...
. Surya, pleased with his devotee – the
Yadava
The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage.
The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...
nobleman,
Satrajit, gave him the dazzling gem as a gift. When Satrajit returned to the capital city of
Dvaraka with the jewel, people mistook him for Surya because of his dazzling glory. Krishna, impressed by the lustrous stone, asked him to present the jewel to
Ugrasena
Ugrasena () is a character mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He is the King of Mathura, a kingdom that was established by the Vrishni tribes from the Yadavamsha clan. His son Kamsa was a cousin of Krishna's mother, Devaki. King Ugrase ...
, Mathura's king and Krishna's grandfather, but Satrajit did not comply.
Subsequently, Satrajit presented the Syamantaka to his brother Prasena, who was a counsellor. Prasena, who wore the jewel often, was attacked by a lion one day while hunting in the forest. He is killed in a fierce battle, and the lion fled with the jewel. The lion failed to retain the jewel, as shortly after the battle, it enters Jambavan's mountain cave, only to get killed. Jambavan, who seized the glittering jewel from the clutches of the lion, gives it to his young son to play with.
Back in Dvaraka, following the disappearance of Prasena, it was rumoured that Krishna, who had an eye on the Syamantaka jewel, had Prasena murdered and stolen the jewel. Krishna, who was accused of this false allegation, went out with other Yadavas in search of Prasena to establish his innocence by finding the jewel. He followed the trail that Prasena had taken and discovered the corpses of Prasena. He then followed the trail of the lion and reached the cave, where the dead lion was lying. Krishna told his fellow Yadavas to wait outside, while he entered the cave alone. Inside he saw a little child playing with the priceless jewel. As Krishna approached Jambavan's son, the child's nanny cried aloud, alerting
Jambavan
Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts.
He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...
. The two then engaged in furious combat for 27–28 days (as per ''Bhagavata Purana'') or 21 days (as per ''Vishnu Purana''). As Jambavan gradually grew tired, he realized that Krishna was none other than his benefactor Rama from the ''
Treta Yuga
''Treta Yuga'' (IAST: ''Tretā-yuga'') (Devanagari: त्रेतायुग), in Hinduism, is the second and second-best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara ...
''. In gratitude and devotion to Krishna who spared his life, Jambavan gave up his fight and returned the jewel to Krishna.
Jambavan
Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts.
He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...
offered his maiden daughter Jambavati in marriage to Krishna, along with the Syamantaka jewel. Krishna accepted the proposal and married Jambavati. They then moved to Dvaraka.
Meanwhile, Yadavas who accompanied Krishna to the cave had returned to the kingdom presuming Krishna as dead. Every member of the royal family had assembled to mourn his death. After returning to Dvaraka, Krishna narrated the story of the recovery of the jewel and his marriage to Jambavati. He then returned the jewel to Satrajit in the presence of
Ugrasena
Ugrasena () is a character mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He is the King of Mathura, a kingdom that was established by the Vrishni tribes from the Yadavamsha clan. His son Kamsa was a cousin of Krishna's mother, Devaki. King Ugrase ...
. Satrajit felt shy and ashamed to receive it, as he had realized his error of judgment and his greediness. He then offered his daughter
Satyabhama
Satyabhama (IAST'': Satyabhāmā)'' , also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as an incarnation of Bhumi, an aspect of Lakshmi. She is the goddess and the per ...
in marriage to Krishna, along with the precious jewel. Krishna married Satyabhama, but refused the gem.
Birth of Samba
The ''Mahabharata'' and the ''
Devi Bhagavata Purana
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (, '), also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the eighteen Mahapurana (Hinduism), Mahapuranas as per Shiva Purana of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit language, Sanskrit by Vyasa, Veda Vyasa ...
'' narrate a story of the birth of Samba, Jambavati's chief son. Jambavati was unhappy when she realized that only she had not borne any children to Krishna while all the other wives had many children. She approached Krishna to find a solution and to be blessed with a son like the handsome
Pradyumna, Krishna's first-born son from his chief wife
Rukmini
Rukmini (, ) is a Devi, Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and ...
. Then Krishna went to the hermitage of the sage
Upamanyu in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
and as advised by the sage, he started to pray to the god
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
. He did penance for six months in various postures; once holding a skull and a rod, then standing on one leg only in the next month and surviving on water only, during the third month he did penance standing on his toes and living on air only. Pleased with the austerities, Shiva finally appeared before Krishna as
Ardhanarishvara, the half-female-half-male form of the god, asked him to ask a boon. Krishna then sought a son from Jambavati, which was granted. A son was born soon thereafter who was named
Samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
, after the form Shiva had appeared before Krishna.
Children
According to the ''
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
'', Jambavati was the mother of Samba, Sumitra, Purujit, Shatajit, Sahasrajit, Vijaya, Chitraketu, Vasuman, Dravida, and Kratu. The ''Vishnu Purana'' says that she has many sons headed by
Samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
.
Samba grew up to be a nuisance to the
Yadava
The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage.
The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...
s, Krishna's clan. His marriage to Lakshmana, the daughter of
Duryodhana
Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...
(the head of the
Kaurava
''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...
s) ended up in his capture by Duryodhana. He was finally rescued by Krishna and his brother
Balarama
Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana.
The fir ...
. Samba once pretended to be a pregnant woman and his friends asked some sages who would raise the child. Offended by the mischief, the sages cursed that an iron pestle will be born to Samba, and would destroy the Yadavas. The curse came true, leading to the death of Krishna's clan in the
Mausala Parva.
Death
After the disappearance of Krishna, Jambavati along with Rukmini and other ladies
ascended the funeral pyre.
In popular culture
In Puranic literature, Jambavati has been an epic character in ''Bhagavata Purana'', ''Mahabharata'', ''Harivamsa,'' and ''Vishnu Purana''. The legend of the fight between Jambavan and Krishna over the Syamantaka jewel has been prominently featured.
The
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.[Vijayanagara](_blank) emperor,
Krishnadevaraya, composed a drama called the ''Jambava Kalyanam''. Ekaramantha wrote a poem with the theme ''Jambavati Parinayam'' (meaning: Jambavati's marriage).
References
{{Krishna
Consorts of Krishna
Characters in the Bhagavata Purana