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 rakshasa king Ravana.[Patricia Turner, Charles Russell Coulter. Dictionary of ancient deities. 2001, page 248] Jambavan was present at the Samudra Manthana, and is supposed to have circled Vamana 21 times in a single leap, when he was acquiring the three worlds from Mahabali. He is considered to be one of the strongest divine beings of Hinduism.
Jambavan, together with Parashurama and Hanuman, is considered to be one of the few to have been present for the birth of both Rama and Krishna. His daughter Jambavati was married to Krishna.
Nomenclature
Jambavan is also known as:
Legends
Birth
In the beginning, when
Brahma was sitting on the lotus from the navel of
Vishnu, he started meditating and yawned, from which a bear was born, which later became Jambavan. It is said he was called Jambavan either because he was born on Jambudvipa, or because he was born while yawning. He was present at the time when Vishnu fought
Madhu-Kaitabha. At the time of Ramayana, he was 6
old.
Ramayana
In the epic
Ramayana, Jambavan helped Rama find his wife
Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. It is he who makes
Hanuman realise his immense capabilities, and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka.
Later, he accompanies Vanara Army in the deadly war againt demons of
Lanka. He witnessed war as a strategist and physician not engaging in it directly but showed his might againt
Ravana and his son
Indrajit. He pierced Indrajit’s chest with Indrajit’s own trident which he fired on Jambavan and threw him back to Lanka after he wounded
Rama and
Lakshmana with Nagapasha. He also kicked Ravana in his chest and fainted him, forcing him his charioteer to flee along with him. He also killed Ravana’s generals by crushing them under huge trees.
Mahabharata
In the
Mahabharata, Jambavan had killed a lion, who had acquired a gem called
syamantaka from Prasena, after killing him. 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 Jambavan to his cave, and a fight ensued. The combat between Krishna and Jambavan ensued for 27/28 days (per Bhagavata Purana) and 21 days (per Vishnu Purana), after which Jambavan began to grow tired. Realising who Krishna was, Jambavan submitted. He gave Krishna the gem, and also presented him his daughter
Jambavati, who became one of Krishna's wives.
Temple
The only temple of Jambuvanta is located at Jamkhed, in the Jalana district. His temple is in a cave on the hill north of Jamkhed. The temple is about 2 kilometres away from Jamkhed village.
Another temple known as "Jambuvant Gufa" located at Ranavav, Gujarat, India where combat between bhagvan shree krishna and Rikshraj Jambuvant happens.
See also
External links
