Who is jambavan – graphic
Who is Jambavan?
Jambavan, also known as Jamwant, is the king of the bears in Hindu texts. He is believed to be immortal and is the son of Lord Brahma.
Jambavan is said to have witnessed nine out of the ten incarnations of Mahavishnu, thus he is known for his longevity.
He was the King of the Himalaya who had incarnated as a bear to serve Rama. He had received a boon from Lord Ram that he would have a long life and the strength of ten million lions.
What’s the story behind Jambavan’s birth?
Jambavan is the Chiranjeevi (one without death) Bear in the Ramayana. His age or date of birth cannot be ascertained.
The story of the Birth of Jambavan begins when there was no earth or living being.
As per Hindu belief, one day time of Brahma ended and night had started. Then suddenly demons Madhu and Kaitabha was born from the ear-wax of Lord Vishnu. They began to create trouble in the waters.
They saw Brahma, God of creation, sitting on a lotus which appeared from the navel of Vishnu & challenged him to fight. Four-faced Brahma was afraid of the demons and his middle face began to sweat. The sweat flowed from the cheeks to loins.
Jambavan appeared from that sweat.
As he was the first person who entered the region of Jambudwipa he came to be known as Jambavan. At the time of Ramayana it is believed that Jambavan was six Manvantaras old.
This immortal bear is said to be endowed with the strength of ten million lions and the wisdom and foresight of Gods themselves. He was a brilliant leader, an able strategist, and formidable opponent.
How did Jambavan lose his strength?
Jambavan saw Vamana or Vishnu pushing the demon king Bali to Patala, the netherworld.
The dwarf Vamana turned into Trivikrama. He was gigantic and measured the three worlds in two steps. On seeing this, Jambavan wanted to circumambulate Trivikrama.
When he was doing the circumambulation, he accidentally collides with Trivikrama and gets injured losing all his strength.
Earlier, he had been as strong as Hanuman and could accomplish the feats Hanuman performed.