Jambavan

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Hindu mythological bear

title: "Jambavan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["characters-in-the-ramayana", "people-related-to-krishna", "bear-deities", "characters-in-the-bhagavata-purana"] description: "Hindu mythological bear" topic_path: "general/characters-in-the-ramayana" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambavan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Hindu mythological bear ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox deity"]

FieldValue
typeHindu
textsRamayana, Bhagavata Purana
image[[File:Jambavan.jpg
altJambavan
captionPainting of Jambavan
affiliationHinduism
siblingsHimavat, Narada
childrenJambavati (daughter)
deity_ofKing of the Bears
member_ofChiranjivi
::

| type = Hindu | texts = Ramayana, Bhagavata Purana | image = [[File:Jambavan.jpg|170px|]] | alt = Jambavan | caption = Painting of Jambavan | affiliation = Hinduism | guru = | siblings = Himavat, Narada | children = Jambavati (daughter) | deity_of = King of the Bears | member_of = Chiranjivi

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. In the Ramayana, he helps Hanuman realise his potential, just before his famous leap over to the island of Lanka. 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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Jambavanta.JPG" caption="Jambavana as depicted in [[Yakshagana]] (a dance drama)"] ::

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 and Kaitabha. At the time of Ramayana, he was 6 manvantaras 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 against demons of Lanka. He witnessed war as a strategist and physician not engaging in it directly but showed his might against 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.

References

References

  1. (6 December 2021). "Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities". McFarland.
  2. www.wisdomlib.org. (2012-06-29). "Jambavan, Jāmbavān: 4 definitions".
  3. Patricia Turner, Charles Russell Coulter. ''Dictionary of ancient deities''. 2001, page 248
  4. "Jambavan Fights Krishna (Syamantaka Mani Legend, Part 5)".
  5. www.wisdomlib.org. (2019-01-28). "Story of Jāmbavān".
  6. Mani, Vettam. (2015-01-01). "Puranic Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Work with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature". Motilal Banarsidass.
  7. (25 May 2022). "Jambuwant Temple: The only temple of Jambuwant Maharaj in Ramayana".

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