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KB 1970-2-1 / The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel
1 / The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel
There was a king of the name Satrajit within the jurisdiction
of Dvarakadhama. He was a great devotee of the sun-god,
who awarded him the benediction of a jewel known as Syamantaka.
Because of this Syamantaka jewel, there was a misunderstanding
between King Satrajit and the Yadu dynasty. Later on the matter
was settled when Satrajit voluntarily offered Krsna his
daughter, Satyabhama, along with the jewel Syamantaka.
Not only was Satyabhama married to Krsna on account of the
Syamantaka jewel, but Jambavati, the daughter of Jambavan,
was also married to Krsna.
These two marriages took place before the appearance of
Pradyumna, as described in the last chapter. How King
Satrajit offended the Yadu dynasty and how he later on came to
his senses and offered his daughter and the Syamantaka jewel to
Krsna is described as follows.
Since he was a great devotee of the sun-god, King Satrajit
gradually entered into a very friendly relationship with him.
The sun-god was much pleased with him and delivered to him an
exceptional jewel known as Syamantaka. When this jewel was
worn by Satrajit in a locket around his neck, he appeared
exactly like an imitation sun-god. Putting on this jewel, he
would enter the city of Dvaraka, and people would think
that the sun-god had come into the city to see Krsna. They knew
that Krsna, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was
sometimes visited by the demigods, so while Satrajit was
visiting the city of Dvaraka all the inhabitants except Krsna
took him to be the sun-god himself. Although King Satrajit was
known to everyone, he could not be recognized because of the
dazzling effulgence of the Syamantaka jewel.
Once, mistaking him to be the sun-god, some of the
important citizens of Dvaraka immediately went to Krsna to
inform Him that the sun-god had arrived to see Him. At that
time, Krsna was playing chess. One of the important residents
of Dvaraka spoke thus: "My dear Lord Narayana, You are the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Your plenary portion of
Narayana or Visnu, You have four hands with different symbols -
- the conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower. You are actually
the owner of everything, but in spite of Your being the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Narayana, You have descended in
Vrndavana to act as the child of Yasodamata, who sometimes used
to tie You up with her ropes, and You are celebrated, therefore,
by the name Damodara."
That Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, as
accepted by the citizens of Dvaraka, was later on confirmed by
the great Mayavadi philosophical leader, Sankaracarya. By
accepting the Lord as impersonal, he did not reject the Lord's
personal form. He meant that everything which has form
in this material world is subjected to creation, maintenance
and annihilation, but the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Narayana, does not have a material form subjected to
these limitations. In order to convince the less
intelligent class of men who take Krsna to be an ordinary human
being, Sankaracarya therefore said that God is impersonal. This
impersonality means that He is not a person of this material
condition. He is a transcendental personality without a
material body.
The citizens of Dvaraka addressed Lord Krsna not only as
Damodara, but also as Govinda, which indicates that Krsna is
very affectionate to the cows and calves; and just to refer to
their intimate connection with Krsna, they addressed Him as
Yadunandana. He is the son of Vasudeva, born in
the Yadu dynasty. In this way, the citizens of Dvaraka
concluded that they were addressing Krsna as the supreme master
of the whole universe. They addressed Krsna in many different
ways, proud of being citizens of Dvaraka who could see Krsna
daily.
When Satrajit was visiting the city of Dvaraka, the citizens
felt great pride to think that although Krsna was living in
Dvaraka like an ordinary human being, the demigods were coming
to see Him. Thus they informed Lord Krsna that the sun-god,
with his appealing bodily effulgence, was coming to see Him.
The citizens of Dvaraka confirmed that the sun-god's coming
into Dvaraka was not very wonderful, because people all over
the universe who were searching after the Supreme Personality
of Godhead knew that He had appeared in the family of the Yadu
dynasty and was living in Dvaraka as one of the members of that
family. Thus the citizens expressed their joy on this occasion.
On hearing the statement of His citizens, the all-pervasive
Personality of Godhead, Krsna, simply smiled. Being pleased
with the citizens of Dvaraka, Krsna informed them that the
person whom they described as the sun-god was actually King
Satrajit, who had come to visit Dvaraka City to show his
opulence in the form of the valuable jewel obtained from the
sun-god.
Satrajit, however, did not come to see Krsna; he was instead
overwhelmed by the jewel of Syamantaka. He installed the
jewel in a temple to be worshiped by brahmanas he engaged for
this purpose. This is an instance of a less intelligent person
worshiping a material thing. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated
that less intelligent persons, in order to get immediate
results from their fruitive activities, worship the demigods
who are created within this universe. The word "materialist"
means one concerned with gratification of the senses within
this material world. Although Krsna later asked for this
Syamantaka jewel, King Satrajit did not deliver it to him,
but he installed the jewel for his purposes of
worship. And who would not worship that jewel? The Syamantaka
jewel was so powerful that it was daily producing a
large quantity of gold. A quantity of gold is counted by a
measurement called a bhara. According to Vedic formulas, one
bhara is equal to sixteen pounds of gold; one mound
equals eighty-two pounds. The jewel was producing about
170 pounds of gold every day. Besides that, it is learned from
Vedic literature that in whatever part of the world this jewel
is worshiped there is no possibility of famine; not only that,
but wherever the jewel is present, there is no possibility
of anything inauspicious, such as pestilence or disease.
Lord Krsna wanted to teach the world that the best of
everything should be offered to the ruling chief of the country.
King Ugrasena was the overlord of many dynasties and happened
to be the grandfather of Krsna, and Krsna asked Satrajit to
present the Syamantaka jewel to King Ugrasena. Krsna pleaded
that the best should be offered to the King. But Satrajit,
being a worshiper of the demigods, had become too materialistic
and, instead of accepting the request of Krsna, thought it
wiser to worship the jewel in order to get the 170 pounds of
gold every day. Materialistic persons who can achieve such huge
quantities of gold every day are not interested in Krsna
consciousness. Sometimes, therefore, in order to show special
favor, Krsna takes away great accumulations of
materialistic wealth from a person and thus makes him a great
devotee. But Satrajit refused to abide by the order of Krsna
and did not deliver the jewel to Him.
After this incident, Satrajit's younger brother, in order to
display the opulence of the family, took the jewel, put it on
his neck and rode on horseback into the forest making a show
of his material opulence. While the brother of Satrajit,
who was known as Prasena, was moving here and there in the
forest, a big lion attacked him, killing both him and the horse
on which he was riding, and took away the jewel to his cave.
The news was received by the gorilla king, Jambavan, who
then killed that lion in the cave and took away the jewel.
Jambavan had been a great devotee of the Lord since the time of
Lord Ramacandra, so he did not take the valuable jewel as
something he very much needed. He gave it to his young son to
play with as a toy.
In the city, when Satrajit's younger brother Prasena did not
return from the forest with the jewel, Satrajit became very
upset. He did not know that his brother had been killed by a
lion and that the lion had been killed by Jambavan. He was
thinking instead that because Krsna wanted that jewel and it
had not been delivered to Him, Krsna might have therefore taken
the jewel away from Prasena by force and killed him. This idea
grew into a rumor which was being spread by Satrajit in
every part of Dvaraka.
The false rumor that Krsna had killed Prasena and had taken
away the jewel was spread everywhere like wildfire. Krsna did
not like to be defamed in that way, and therefore He decided
that He would go to the forest and find the Syamantaka jewel,
taking with Him some of the inhabitants of Dvaraka. Along with
important men of Dvaraka, Krsna went to search out
Prasena, the brother of Satrajit, and He found him dead, killed
by the lion. At the same time, Krsna also found the lion which
had been killed by Jambavan, who is generally called by the
name Rksa. It was found that the lion had been killed by the
hand of Rksa without the assistance of any weapon. Krsna and
the citizens of Dvaraka then found in the forest a great tunnel,
said to be the path to Rksa's house. Krsna knew that the
inhabitants of Dvaraka would be afraid to enter the tunnel;
therefore He asked them to remain outside, and He Himself
entered the dark tunnel alone to find Rksa, Jambavan. After
entering the tunnel, Krsna saw that the very valuable jewel
known as Syamantaka had been given to the son of Rksa as a toy,
and in order to take the jewel from the child, He went
there and stood before him. When the nurse who was taking
care of Rksa's child saw Krsna standing before her, she was
afraid, thinking the valuable Syamantaka jewel might be taken
away by Him. She began to cry loudly out of
fear.
Hearing the nurse crying, Jambavan appeared on the scene in a
very angry mood. Jambavan was actually a great devotee of Lord
Krsna, but because he was in an angry mood he could not
recognize his master; he thought Him to be an ordinary man.
This brings to mind the statement of the Bhagavad-gita in which
the Lord advises Arjuna to get free from anger, greed and lust
in order to rise up to the spiritual platform. Lust, anger and
greed run parallel in the heart and check one's progress on the
spiritual path.
Not recognizing his master, Jambavan first challenged Him to
fight. There was then a great fight between Krsna and Jambavan
in which they fought like two opposing vultures. Whenever there
is an eatable corpse the vultures fight heartily over the prey.
Krsna and Jambavan first of all began fighting with weapons,
then with stones, then with big trees, then hand to hand, until
at last they were hitting one another with their fists, and
the blows were like the striking of thunderbolts. Each was
expecting victory over the other, but the fighting continued
for days, both in daytime and at night, without
stopping. In this way the fighting continued for twenty-eight
days.
Although Jambavan was the strongest living entity of that time,
practically all the joints of his bodily limbs became slackened
and his strength reduced to practically nil after
being constantly struck by the fists of Sri Krsna.
Feeling very tired, with perspiration all over his body,
Jambavan was astonished. Who was this opponent who was
weakening him? Jambavan was quite aware of his own
superhuman bodily strength, but when he felt tired from being
struck by Krsna, he could understand that Krsna was no one else
but his worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This incident has a special significance for devotees. In the
beginning, Jambavan could not understand Krsna because his
vision was obscured by material attachment. He was attached to
his boy and to the greatly valuable Syamantaka jewel, which he
did not want to spare for Krsna. In fact, when Krsna came there
he became angry, thinking that He had come to take away the
jewel. This is the material position; although one is very
strong in body, that cannot help him understand Krsna.
In a sporting attitude, Krsna wanted to engage in a mock fight
with His devotee. As we have experienced from the pages of the
Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all
the propensities and instincts of a human being. Sometimes, in
a sportive spirit, He wishes to fight to make a show of bodily
strength, and when He so desires, He selects one of His
suitable devotees to give Him that pleasure. Krsna desired this
pleasure of mock fighting with Jambavan. Although Jambavan was
a devotee by nature, he was without knowledge of
Krsna while giving service to the Lord by his bodily
strength. But as soon as Krsna was pleased by the fighting,
Jambavan immediately understood that his opponent was none
other than the Supreme Lord Himself. The conclusion is that he
could understand Krsna by his service. Krsna is sometimes
satisfied by fighting also.
Jambavan therefore said to the Lord, "My dear Lord, I can now
understand who You are. You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord Visnu, the source of everyone's strength, wealth,
reputation, beauty, wisdom and renunciation." This statement of
Jambavan's is confirmed by the Vedanta-sutra, wherein the
Supreme Lord is declared to be the source of everything.
Jambavan identified Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality, Lord
Visnu: "My dear Lord, You are the creator of the creators of
the universal affairs." This statement is very instructive to
the ordinary man, who is amazed by the activities of a person
with an exceptional brain. The ordinary man is surprised to see
the inventions of a great scientist, but the statement of
Jambavan confirms that although a scientist may be a creator of
many wonderful things, Krsna is the creator of the scientist.
He is not only the creator of one scientist, but of
millions and trillions, all over the universe. Jambavan said
further, "You are not only creator of the creator, but
You are also creator of the material elements which are
manipulated by the so-called creators." Scientists
utilize the physical elements or laws of material nature and do
something wonderful, but actually such laws and elements are
also the creation of Krsna. This is actual scientific
understanding. Less intelligent men do not try to understand
who created the brain of the scientist; they are simply
satisfied by seeing the wonderful creation or invention
of the scientist.
Jambavan continued: "My dear Lord, the time factor which
combines all the physical elements is also Your representative.
You are the supreme time factor in which all creation takes
place, is maintained, and is finally annihilated. And not
only the physical elements and the time factors but also the
persons who manipulate the ingredients and advantages of
creation are part and parcel of You. The living entity is not,
therefore, an independent creator. By studying all factors in
the right perspective, one can see that You are the supreme
controller and Lord of everything. My dear Lord, I can
therefore understand that You are the same Supreme Personality
of Godhead whom I worship as Lord Ramacandra. My Lord
Ramacandra wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I
saw personally how the ocean became agitated simply by my Lord'
s glancing over it. And when the whole ocean became agitated,
the living entities like the whales, alligators and timingila
fish, all became perturbed. [The timingila fish in the ocean
can swallow big aquatics like whales in one gulp.] In this way
the ocean was forced to give way and allow Ramacandra to cross
to the island known as Lanka [now supposed to
be Ceylon]. This construction of a bridge over the
ocean from Cape Comorin to Ceylon is still well-known to
everyone. After the construction of the bridge, a fire was set
all over the kingdom of Ravana. During the fighting with Ravana,
each and every part of Ravana's limbs was slashed and cut into
pieces by Your sharp arrows, and his head fell to the face of
the earth. Now I can understand that You are none other than my
Lord Ramacandra. No one else has such immeasurable strength; no
one else could defeat me in this way."
Lord Krsna became satisfied by the prayers and statements of
Jambavan, and to mitigate the pains of his body, He began
to smear the lotus palm of His hand all over the
body of Jambavan. Jambavan at once felt relieved from the
fatigue of the great fight. Lord Krsna then addressed him as
King Jambavan, because he and not the lion was actually the
king of the forest; with his naked hand,
without a weopon, Jambavan had killed the lion. Krsna informed
Jambavan that He had come to him to ask for the Syamantaka
jewel because since the Syamantaka jewel had been stolen His
name had been defamed by the less intelligent. Krsna plainly
informed him that He had come there to ask him for the jewel in
order to be free from this defamation. Jambavan understood the
whole situation, and to satisfy the Lord he not only
immediately delivered the Syamantaka jewel, but he
also brought his daughter Jambavati, who was of marriageable
age, and presented her to Lord Krsna.
The episode of Jambavati's marriage with Krsna and the
delivery of the jewel known as Syamantaka was finished within
the mountain cave. Although the fighting between Krsna and
Jambavan went on for twenty-eight days, the inhabitants of
Dvaraka waited outside the tunnel for twelve days, and after
that they decided that something undesirable must have happened.
They could not understand what had actually
happened for certain, and being very sorry and tired, they had
returned to the city of Dvaraka.
All the members of the family, namely the mother of Krsna,
Devaki, His father Vasudeva, and His chief wife Rukmini, along
with all other friends, relatives and residents of the palace,
became very sorry when the citizens returned home without Krsna.
Because of their natural affection for Krsna, they began to
call Satrajit ill names, for he was the cause of Krsna's
disappearance. They went to worship the goddess Candrabhaga,
praying for the return of Krsna. The goddess was satisfied by
the prayers of the citizens of Dvaraka, and she immediately
offered them her benediction. Simultaneously, Krsna appeared on
the scene accompanied by His new wife Jambavati, and all the
inhabitants of Dvaraka and relatives of Krsna became joyful.
The inhabitants of Dvaraka became as joyful as someone
receiving a dear relative back from the dead. The inhabitants
of Dvaraka had concluded that Krsna had been put into great
difficulties due to the fighting; therefore, they had become
almost hopeless of His return. But when they saw that Krsna had
actually returned, not alone but with a new wife, Jambavati,
they immediately performed another celebration ceremony.
King Ugrasena then called for a meeting of all important kings
and chiefs. He also invited Satrajit, and Krsna explained
before the whole assembly the incident of the
recovery of the jewel from Jambavan. Krsna wanted to return the
valuable jewel to King Satrajit. Satrajit, however, became
ashamed because he had unnecessarily defamed Krsna. He accepted
the jewel in his hand, but he remained silent, bending his head
downwards, and without speaking anything in the assembly of the
kings and chiefs, he returned home with the jewel. Then he
thought about how he could clear himself from the abominable
action he had performed by defaming Krsna. He was conscious
that he had offended Krsna very grievously and that he had to
find a remedial measure so that Krsna would again be pleased
with him.
King Satrajit was eager to get relief from the anxiety he had
foolishly created due to being attracted by a material thing,
specifically the Syamantaka jewel. Satrajit was truly afflicted
by the offense he had committed toward Krsna, and he sincerely
wanted to rectify it. From within, Krsna gave him good
intelligence, and Satrajit decided to hand over to Krsna both
the jewel and his beautiful daughter, Satyabhama. There was no
alternative for mitigating the situation, and therefore he
arranged the marriage ceremony of Krsna and his beautiful
daughter. He gave in charity both the jewel and his daughter to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Satyabhama was so beautiful
and qualified that Satrajit, in spite of being asked for the
hand of Satyabhama by many princes, was waiting to find a
suitable son-in-law. By the grace of Krsna he decided to hand
his daughter over to Him.
Lord Krsna, being pleased upon Satrajit, informed him that He
did not have any need of the Syamantaka jewel. "It is better to
let it remain in the temple as you have kept it," He said, "and
every one of us will derive benefit from the jewel. Because of
the jewel's presence in the city of Dvaraka, there will be no
more famine or disturbances created by pestilence or excessive
heat and cold."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Second Volume,
First Chapter, of Krsna, "The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel."
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KB 56: The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel
CHAPTER FIFTY–SIX
The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel
There was a king of the name Satrajit within the jurisdiction
of Dvaraka-dhama. He was a great devotee of the sun-god,
who awarded him the benediction of a jewel known as Syamantaka.
Because of this Syamantaka jewel, there was a misunderstanding
between King Satrajit and the Yadu dynasty Later the matter
was settled when Satrajit voluntarily offered Krsna his
daughter, Satyabhama, along with the Syamantaka jewel.
Not only Satyabhama
but also Jambavati, the daughter of Jambavan,
was married to Krsna on account of the Syamantaka jewel.
These two marriages took place before the appearance of
Pradyumna, which was described in the last chapter. How King
Satrajit offended the Yadu dynasty and how he later came to
his senses and offered his daughter and the Syamantaka jewel to
Krsna are described as follows.
Since he was a great devotee of the sun-god, King Satrajit
gradually entered into a very friendly relationship with him.
The sun-god was pleased with him and delivered to him an
exceptional jewel known as Syamantaka. When Satrajit
wore this jewel in a locket around his neck, he appeared
exactly like an imitation sun-god. Putting on this jewel, he
entered the city of Dvaraka, and people thought
that the sun-god had come into the city to see Krsna. They knew
that Krsna, being the Supreme Personality of Godhead, was
sometimes visited by the demigods, so while Satrajit was
visiting the city of Dvaraka all the inhabitants except Krsna
took him to be the sun-god himself. Although King Satrajit was
known to everyone, he could not be recognized because of the
dazzling effulgence of the Syamantaka jewel.
Mistaking Satrajit to be the sun-god, some of the
important citizens of Dvaraka immediately went to Krsna to
inform Him that the sun-god had arrived to see Him. At that
time, Krsna was playing chess. One of the important residents
of Dvaraka spoke thus: "My dear Lord Narayana, You are the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Your plenary portion as
Narayana, or Visnu, You have four hands with different symbols -
- the conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower. You are actually
the owner of everything, but in spite of Your being the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Narayana, You descended in
Vrndavana to act as the child of Yasodamata, who sometimes used
to tie You up with her ropes, and You are celebrated, therefore,
by the name Damodara."
That Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, as
accepted by the citizens of Dvaraka, was later confirmed by
the great Mayavadi philosophical leader Sankaracarya. By
accepting the Lord as impersonal, he did not reject the Lord's
personal form. Everything which has form
in this material world is subject to creation, maintenance
and annihilation, but because the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Narayana, does not have a material form subject to
these limitations, Sankaracarya, to convince the less
intelligent men who take Krsna to be an ordinary human
being, said that God is impersonal. This
impersonality means that He is not a person of this material
condition. He is a transcendental personality without a
material body.
The citizens of Dvaraka addressed Lord Krsna not only as
Damodara but also as Govinda, which indicates that Krsna is
very affectionate to the cows and calves; and just to refer to
their intimate connection with Krsna, they addressed Him as
Yadunandana because He was born the son of Vasudeva in
the Yadu dynasty. The citizens of Dvaraka
concluded by addressing Krsna as the supreme master
of the whole universe. They addressed Krsna in many different
ways, proud of being citizens of Dvaraka who could see Krsna
daily.
When Satrajit was visiting the city of Dvaraka, the citizens
felt great pride to think that although Krsna was living in
Dvaraka like an ordinary human being, the demigods were coming
to see Him. Thus they informed Lord Krsna that the sun-god,
with his glaring bodily effulgence, was coming to see Him.
The citizens of Dvaraka confirmed that the sun-god's coming
into Dvaraka was not very wonderful, because people all over
the universe who were searching after the Supreme Personality
of Godhead knew that He had appeared in the Yadu
dynasty and was living in Dvaraka as one of the members of that
family. Thus the citizens expressed their joy on this occasion.
On hearing the statements of His citizens, the all-pervasive
Personality of Godhead, Krsna, simply smiled. Being pleased
with the citizens of Dvaraka, Krsna informed them that the
person they described as the sun-god was actually King
Satrajit, who had come to visit Dvaraka City to show his
opulence in the form of the valuable jewel obtained from the
sun-god.
Satrajit, however, did not come to see Krsna; he was instead
overwhelmed by the Syamantaka jewel. He installed the
jewel in a temple to be worshiped by brahmanas he engaged for
this purpose. This is an example of a less intelligent person
worshiping a material thing. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated
that less intelligent persons, in order to get immediate
results from their fruitive activities, worship the demigods
created within this universe. The word "materialist"
means one concerned with gratification of the senses within
this material world. Although Krsna later asked for this
Syamantaka jewel, King Satrajit did not deliver it; on the
contrary, he installed the jewel for his own purposes of
worship. And who would not worship that jewel? The Syamantaka
jewel was so powerful that daily it produced a
large quantity of gold. A quantity of gold is counted by a
measurement called a bhara. According to Vedic formulas, one
bhara is equal to about twenty-one pounds, and one mound
equals about eighty-two pounds. The jewel was producing about
170 pounds of gold every day. Besides that, it is learned from
Vedic literature that in whatever part of the world this jewel
was worshiped there was no possibility of famine,
and wherever the jewel was present, there was no possibility
of anything inauspicious, such as pestilence.
Lord Krsna wanted to teach the world that the best of
everything should be offered to the ruling chief of the country.
King Ugrasena was the overlord of many dynasties and happened
to be the grandfather of Krsna, so Krsna asked Satrajit to
present the Syamantaka jewel to King Ugrasena. Krsna pleaded
that the best should be offered to the King. But Satrajit,
being a worshiper of the demigods, had become too materialistic
and, instead of accepting the request of Krsna, thought it
wiser to worship the jewel to get the 170 pounds of
gold every day. Materialistic persons who can achieve such huge
quantities of gold are not interested in Krsna
consciousness. Sometimes, therefore, to show special
favor, Krsna takes away one's great accumulations of
materialistic wealth and thus makes one a great
devotee. But Satrajit refused to abide by the order of Krsna
and did not deliver the jewel.
After this incident, Satrajit's younger brother, in order to
display the opulence of the family, took the jewel, put it on
his neck and rode on horseback into the forest, making a show
of his material opulence. While Satrajit's brother,
who was known as Prasena, was moving here and there in the
forest, a big lion attacked him, killed both him and the horse
on which he was riding, and took away the jewel to his cave.
News of this was received by the gorilla king, Jambavan, who
then killed that lion in the cave and took away the jewel.
Jambavan had been a great devotee of the Lord since the time of
Lord Ramacandra, so he did not take the valuable jewel as
something he very much needed. He gave it to his young son to
play with as a toy.
In the city, when Satrajit's younger brother Prasena did not
return from the forest with the jewel, Satrajit became very
upset. He did not know that his brother had been killed by a
lion and that the lion had been killed by Jambavan. He thought
instead that because Krsna wanted that jewel, which
had not been delivered to Him, Krsna might have therefore taken
the jewel from Prasena by force and killed him. This idea
grew into a rumor, which Satrajit spread in
every part of Dvaraka.
The false rumor that Krsna had killed Prasena and taken
away the jewel spread everywhere like wildfire. Krsna did
not like to be defamed in that way, and therefore He decided
that He would go to the forest and find the Syamantaka jewel.
Taking with Him some of the
important inhabitants of Dvaraka, Krsna went to search out
Prasena, the brother of Satrajit, and found him dead, killed
by the lion. At the same time, Krsna also found the lion
killed by Jambavan, who is generally called
Rksa. It was found that the lion had been killed by the
hand of Rksa without the assistance of any weapon. Krsna and
the citizens of Dvaraka then found in the forest a great tunnel,
said to be the path to Rksa's house. Krsna knew that the
inhabitants of Dvaraka would be afraid to enter the tunnel;
therefore He asked them to remain outside, and He Himself
entered the dark tunnel alone to find Rksa, Jambavan. After
entering the tunnel, Krsna saw that the valuable jewel
known as Syamantaka had been given to the son of Rksa as a toy.
To take the jewel from the child, Krsna
approached and stood before him. When the nurse taking
care of Rksa's child saw Krsna standing before her, she was
afraid, thinking He might take
away the valuable Syamantaka jewel, and she cried out loudly
in fear.
Hearing the nurse's cries, Jambavan appeared on the scene in a
very angry mood. Jambavan was actually a great devotee of Lord
Krsna, but because he was angry he could not
recognize his master and thought Him to be an ordinary man.
This brings to mind the statement of the Bhagavad-gita in which
the Lord advises Arjuna to get free from anger, greed and lust
in order to rise to the spiritual platform. Lust, anger and
greed run parallel in the heart and check one's progress on the
spiritual path.
Not recognizing his master, Jambavan challenged Him to
fight. There was then a great fight between Krsna and Jambavan,
in which they fought like two opposing vultures. Whenever there
is an eatable corpse the vultures fight heartily over the prey.
Krsna and Jambavan first of all fought with weapons,
then with stones, then with big trees, then hand to hand, until
at last they were hitting each other with their fists, their
blows like the striking of thunderbolts. Each expected
victory over the other, but the fighting continued
for twenty-eight days, both in daytime and at night, without
stopping.
Although Jambavan was the strongest living entity of that time,
practically all the joints of his bodily limbs became slackened
and his strength was reduced practically to nil, for
he was struck constantly by the fists of Sri Krsna.
Feeling very tired, with perspiration all over his body,
Jambavan was astonished. Who was this opponent who was
fighting so hard with him? Jambavan was quite aware of his own
superhuman bodily strength, but when he felt tired from being
struck by Krsna, he could understand that Krsna was no one else
but his worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This incident has special significance for devotees. In the
beginning, Jambavan could not understand Krsna because his
vision was obscured by material attachment. He was attached to
his boy and to the greatly valuable Syamantaka jewel, which he
did not want to spare for Krsna. In fact, when Krsna came there
he was angry, thinking that Krsna had come to take away the
jewel. This is the material position: although one is very
strong in body, that cannot help him understand Krsna.
In a sporting attitude, Krsna wanted to engage in a mock fight
with His devotee. As we have experienced from the pages of
Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all
the propensities and instincts of a human being. Sometimes, in
a sportive spirit, He wishes to fight to make a show of bodily
strength, and when He so desires, He selects one of His
suitable devotees to give Him that pleasure. Krsna desired this
pleasure of mock fighting with Jambavan. Although Jambavan was
a devotee by nature, he did not know that his opponent
was Krsna while giving service to the Lord by his bodily
strength. But as soon as Krsna was pleased by the fighting,
Jambavan immediately understood that his opponent was none
other than the Supreme Lord Himself. The conclusion is that he
could understand Krsna by his service, for Krsna is sometimes
satisfied by fighting also.
Jambavan therefore said to the Lord, "My dear Lord, I can now
understand who You are. You are the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord Visnu, the source of everyone's strength, wealth,
reputation, beauty, wisdom and renunciation." This statement of
Jambavan's is confirmed by the Vedanta-sutra, wherein the
Supreme Lord is declared to be the source of everything.
Jambavan identified Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality, Lord
Visnu: "My dear Lord, You are the creator of the creators of
the universal affairs." This statement is very instructive to
the ordinary man, who is amazed by the activities of a person
with an exceptional brain. The ordinary man is surprised to see
the inventions of a great scientist, but the statement of
Jambavan confirms that although a scientist may be a creator of
many wonderful things, Krsna is the creator of the scientist.
He is the creator of not only one scientist but of
millions and trillions, all over the universe. Jambavan said
further, "Not only are You the creator of the creators, but
You are also the creator of the material elements which
the so-called creators manipulate." Scientists
utilize the physical elements or laws of material nature to do
something wonderful, but actually such laws and elements are
also the creation of Krsna. This is actual scientific
understanding. Less intelligent men do not try to understand
who created the brain of the scientist; they are
satisfied simply to see the wonderful creation or invention
of the scientist.
Jambavan continued: "My dear Lord, the time factor, which
combines all the physical elements, is also Your representative.
You are the supreme time factor, in which all creation takes
place, is maintained and is finally annihilated. And beyond
the physical elements and the time factor, the
persons who manipulate the ingredients and advantages of
creation are part and parcel of You. The living entity is not,
therefore, an independent creator. By studying all factors in
the right perspective, one can see that You are the supreme
controller and Lord of everything. My dear Lord, I can
therefore understand that You are the same Supreme Personality
of Godhead whom I worship as Lord Ramacandra. My Lord
Ramacandra wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I
saw personally how the ocean became agitated simply by my Lord'
s glancing over it. And when the whole ocean became agitated,
the living entities like whales, alligators and timingila
fish all became perturbed. [The timingila fish in the ocean
can swallow big aquatics like whales in one gulp.] In this way
the ocean was forced to give way and allow Ramacandra to cross
to the island known as Lanka. [This island is now said to
be Ceylon. Lord Ramacandra's construction of a bridge over the
ocean from Cape Comorin to Ceylon is still well known to
everyone.] After the construction of the bridge, a fire was set
all over the kingdom of Ravana. During the fighting with Ravana,
every part of his limbs was slashed to
pieces by Your sharp arrows, and his heads fell to the face of
the earth. Now I can understand that You are none other than my
Lord Ramacandra. No one else has such immeasurable strength; no
one else could defeat me in this way."
Lord Krsna was satisfied by the prayers and statements of
Jambavan, and to mitigate Jambavan's pain, He began
to lightly rub the lotus palm of His hand all over Jambavan's
body. Thus Jambavan at once felt relieved from the
fatigue of the great fight. Lord Krsna then addressed him as
King Jambavan because he, and not the lion, was actually the
king of the forest, having killed a lion with his bare hands,
without a weapon. Krsna informed
Jambavan that He had come to ask for the Syamantaka
jewel because ever since it had been stolen His
name had been defamed by the less intelligent. Krsna plainly
informed him that He had come there to ask for the jewel in
order to be free from this defamation. Jambavan understood the
whole situation, and to satisfy the Lord he
immediately delivered not only the Syamantaka jewel but
also his daughter Jambavati, who was of marriageable
age, and presented her to Lord Krsna.
The episode of Jambavati's marriage with Lord Krsna and the
delivery of the jewel known as Syamantaka was finished within
the mountain cave. Although the fighting between Krsna and
Jambavan went on for twenty-eight days, the inhabitants of
Dvaraka waited outside the tunnel for twelve days, and after
that they decided that something undesirable must have happened.
They could not understand for certain what had actually
happened, and being very sorry and tired they
returned to the city of Dvaraka.
All the members of the family, namely Krsna's mother
Devaki, His father Vasudeva, and His chief wife Rukmini, along
with all other friends, relatives and residents of the palace,
were very sorry when the citizens returned home without Krsna.
Because of their natural affection for Krsna, they began to
call Satrajit ill names, for he was the cause of Krsna's
disappearance. They went to worship the goddess Candrabhaga,
praying for the return of Krsna. The goddess was satisfied by
the prayers of the citizens of Dvaraka, and she immediately
offered them her benediction. Simultaneously, Krsna appeared on
the scene, accompanied by His new wife, Jambavati, and all the
inhabitants of Dvaraka and relatives of Krsna became joyful.
The inhabitants of Dvaraka were as joyful as someone
receiving a dear relative back from the dead. They
had concluded that Krsna had been put into great
difficulties due to the fighting; therefore, they had become
almost hopeless of His return. But when they saw that Krsna had
actually returned, not alone but with a new wife, Jambavati,
they immediately performed a ceremony of
celebration.
King Ugrasena then called for a meeting of all important kings
and chiefs. He also invited Satrajit, and
before the whole assembly Krsna explained the incident of the
recovery of the jewel from Jambavan. Krsna wanted to return the
valuable jewel to King Satrajit. Satrajit, however, was
ashamed because he had unnecessarily defamed Krsna. He accepted
the jewel in his hand, but he remained silent, bending his head
downwards, and without saying anything in the assembly of the
kings and chiefs, he returned home with the jewel. Then he
thought about how he could clear himself of the abominable
act he had performed by defaming Krsna. He was conscious
that he had offended Krsna very grievously and that he had to
find a remedial measure so that Krsna would again be pleased
with him.
King Satrajit was eager to get relief from the anxiety he had
foolishly created due to being attracted by a material thing,
specifically the Syamantaka jewel. Truly afflicted
by the offense he had committed against Krsna, he sincerely
wanted to rectify it. From within, Krsna gave him good
intelligence, and Satrajit decided to hand over to Krsna both
the jewel and his beautiful daughter, Satyabhama. There was no
alternative for mitigating the situation, and therefore he
arranged the marriage ceremony of Krsna and his
daughter. He gave in charity both the jewel and his daughter to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Satyabhama was so beautiful
and qualified that Satrajit, in spite of being asked for her
hand by many princes, was waiting to find a
suitable son-in-law. By the grace of Krsna he decided to hand
his daughter over to Him.
Lord Krsna, being pleased with Satrajit, informed him that He
did not have any need of the Syamantaka jewel. "It is better to
let it remain in the temple as you have kept it," He said, "and
every one of us will derive benefit from the jewel. Because of
the jewel's presence in the city of Dvaraka, there will be no
more famines or disturbances created by pestilence or excessive
heat and cold."
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Fifty-sixth
Chapter of Krsna, "The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel."
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