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Jambavan

 In Hinduism, Jambavana also known as Jambavanta is the divine-king of bears, created by the god Brahma to assist the avatar Rama in his struggle against the Lanka king Ravana.[1] Jambavanta is an Asian black bear or sloth bear in Indian epic tradition, though he is also described as a monkey in other scriptures.[1] Jambavana 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.

Jambavan, together with Parasuram and Hanuman, is considered to be one of the few to have been present for both Ram and Krishna avatars. His daughter Jambavati was married to Krishna. He was also presented for the churning of the ocean and thus witness to the Kurma avatar, and further the Vaman avatar, Jambavan may well be the longest-lived of the Chiranjeevi and have been witness to nine avatars.[2]

Names[edit source]

Jambavana as depicted in Yakshagana (a dance drama)

Jambavan is also known as

Several times he is mentioned as Kapishreshtha (Foremost among the monkeys), and other epithets are generally given to the Vanaras. He is known as Riksharaj (King of the Rikshas). Rikshas are earlier described as similar to Vanaras but in later versions of Ramayana, Rikshas are described as bears.

Legends[edit source]

Ramayana[edit source]

In the epic Ramayana, Jambavantha helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. It is he who makes Hanuman realize his immense capabilities and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka.[4]

The Syamantaka gem[edit source]

In the Mahabharata, Jambavantha 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 Jambavantha 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. Then 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.[5]

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