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                      (A Story from Srimad Bhagavata Purana)

    Satrajit, a Yadava king, was a great devotee of the Sun-God Surya. He had ten wives and three daughters named Satyabhama, Bratini and Prasvapini. Sun-God Surya, greatly pleased, offered him the dazzling Syamantaka jewel as a present, which had the power of conferring great wealth upon its owner. When Satrajit wore the jewel, its brilliance was such that he was mistaken for the sun god himself.

     During a meeting, Krishna asked Satrajit to let King Ugrasena have the jewel, so that it could be used for the good of all. Proud of his possession, Satrajit refused to part with the Syamantaka.Top of Form

    One day, Satrajit’s brother, Prasena, borrowed the jewel from Satrajit and went into a forest to hunt. There, a lion killed him, took the jewel, and went inside a cave. The cave was of Jambavan, the immortal king of the bears. Jambavan killed the lion and took the jewel, and offered it to his son as a toy. When Satrajit did not hear from his brother, he suspected that his brother must have been killed for the jewel, and suspected Krishna of committing the deed. The rumour spread, and Krishna set out to recover the jewel himself in vindication.

    Learning that Prasena had been slain by a lion, which had in turn been killed by a bear on the side of a mountain, Krishna entered the bear’s den. He discovered that the jewel was being used as a toy by a child. Hearing the child’s nurse scream at the sight of the intruder, an enraged Jambavan attacked Krishna. They fought for 28 days and nights before Jambavan finally realised that Krishna was Rama’s reincarnation. Awestruck, Jambavan glorified Krishna and offered the Syamantaka, as well as his daughter, Jambavati, in marriage to the deity. Krishna accepted both of them and provided moksha to the bear king. He then summoned Satrajit to a royal assembly and narrated the tale of the recovery of the Syamantaka. He restored the jewel into the hands of the Yadav king Satrajit. Deeply ashamed of his accusation, Satrajit decided to offer Krishna the hand of his daughter, Satyabhama, regarded as a ‘jewel among women’, as well as the Syamantaka. Krishna married Satyabhama, but declined to receive the jewel, regarding it to be the property of Satrajit, as its donor had been Surya.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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