Chapter 13 - Kṛṣṇa and the Syamantaka jewel

Parāśara

Satvata’s sons were Bhajana, Bhajamāna, Divya, Andhaka, Devāvṛdha, Mahābhoja and Vṛṣṇi. 1 Bhajamāna’s sons with his first wife were Nimi, Kṛkaṇa and another Vṛṣṇi, and, with his second wife, Śatajit, Sahasrajit and Ayutajit. 2 Devāvṛdha’s son was Babhru. These two verses are sung about them:

‘We hear about them when far away and see for ourselves when close at hand: Babhru was first among mankind, and Devāvṛdha was the equal of the gods. 3

One had sixty-six followers, the other six thousand and eight, All of whom won immortality on account of those two alone.’ 4

Mahābhoja was deeply religious. His descendants were the Mārtikāvata Bhojas. 5 Vṛṣṇi had two sons, Sumitra and Yudhajit. Sumitra’s sons were Anamitra and Śinī. Anamitra’s son was Nighna. Nighna’s sons were Prasena and Satrājita. Lord Āditya, the Sun, was Satrājita’s friend. One day, Satrājita was singing the Sun’s praises by the ocean, his heart set on that deity alone. While doing so, the Sun appeared before him. Beholding the deity’s indistinct form, Satrājita said to him, ‘I’ve seen you resembling a ball of fire in the sky, but now you’ve appeared before me, you haven’t blessed me by manifesting clearly.’ Hearing this, the lordly Sun took the great jewel known as Syamantaka from around his neck and placed it to one side. 6 Then Satrājita beheld the Sun in a less effulgent form, with reddish eyes that blazed like burnished copper. Satrājita threw himself to the ground and praised the deity, whereupon the Sun offered to grant him anything he desired. Satrājita requested the jewel, the Sun gave it to him and then returned to his station in the heavens. 7

Now the owner of that perfect gem, which he wore around his neck, Satrājita, shining in every direction like the Sun himself, entered Dvārakā. 8 When the residents of the city saw Satrājita approaching, they bowed deeply to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the original being and highest spirit, who had manifested an aspect of himself in human form to relieve the burden of the earth.^[1] ‘Lord, surely the Sun has come to see you!’ they said. Hearing this, Kṛṣṇa replied with a laugh, ‘This isn’t the blessed Sun. It’s Satrājita approaching with the great jewel known as Syamantaka, bestowed on him by the deity. You may look upon him fearlessly.’ Hearing this, the townsfolk withdrew.

Satrājita kept the great jewel Syamantaka in his own home. 9 Every day, that most magnificent of gems produced eight measures of gold. The power of the jewel also prevented natural disasters throughout the kingdom, including droughts, pests, fires, floods and famines. 10 Infallible Kṛṣṇa formed the opinion that the jewel would befit his grandfather, King Ugrasena, but fearing this would cause division in his family, he didn’t requisition it, even though he could have done so. 11 Satrājita understood that Kṛṣṇa desired the jewel and worried that he might request it, so he gave it to his brother Prasena.

Whenever the gem was worn by a man of virtue it brought forth every desirable quality, including rivers of gold, but if the wearer was unvirtuous, the gem would lead to death. This Prasena, wearing the Syamantaka around his neck, went hunting on horseback in the forest, where he was killed by a lion. Having slain both man and horse, the lion then took that perfect gem in his jaws and was about to set off with it, when he was observed by Jāmbavant, the king of bears. Jāmbavant then slew the lion and took the peerless jewel to his cave as a plaything for his son Sukumāra. 12

When Prasena failed to return, all the Yādavas whispered among themselves, ‘Kṛṣṇa wants the jewel and Prasena has disappeared. This must be Kṛṣṇa’s doing.’ 13 When Lord Kṛṣṇa heard these rumours, he set off with the Yādava army. Following the track left by Prasena’s horse, he eventually discovered that both horse and rider had been killed by a lion. At the sight of the lion’s pawprints, Kṛṣṇa was cleared of suspicion by everyone, and continued in search of the culprit. 14 A short distance further he saw where Jāmbavant had killed the lion. Because of the great attraction of the jewel, he now followed the tracks left by the bear. He left the Yādava soldiers at the foot of the mountain, as he traced Jāmbavant to his lair. Kṛṣṇa was halfway into the cavern when he heard the crooning tones of the bear cub’s nurse:

‘A lion killed Prasena, and Jāmbavant killed the lion. Don’t cry little Sukumāra, this Syamantaka is yours.’ 15

Hearing this and realising that his goal was within reach, Kṛṣṇa entered the cave. There he beheld the Syamantaka, blazing with energy and dangling from the nurse’s hand like a bauble for a child. 16 When the nurse saw the stranger approaching with his eager eye on the jewel, she cried, ‘Save me! Save me!’ 17 Jāmbavant heard her anguished cries and rushed in, his heart filled with fury, whereupon the bear and Kṛṣṇa fought a battle for twenty-one days.

The Yādava soldiers waited for seven or eight days at the foot of the mountain for Kṛṣṇa to return. When Madhu’s adversary failed to reappear, they thought he must have met his match in the cave. How otherwise could it have taken so long for him to overcome his adversary? Returning to Dvārakā, they reported that Kṛṣṇa had been killed. 18 His kinsfolk performed all the proper funerary rites and, while Kṛṣṇa kept fighting, the food, water and other substances they offered him in special vessels during the śrāddha ritual sustained his strength and vitality. 19 His adversary, Jāmbavant, assailed by that mighty being, his every limb smitten by cruel blows and having nothing to eat, grew weaker by the day.

In the end, the bear surrendered to Lord Kṛṣṇa and, bowing deeply, said to him, ‘You cannot be defeated by gods, demigods, yakṣas, gandharvas, rākṣasas or any other being, to say nothing of men who walk upon the surface of the earth, who lack courage and have only human limbs to fight with. How much less by an animal like me! You were surely created by our master, Lord Nārāyaṇa, refuge of all the world, as an aspect of himself.’

Thus addressed by Jāmbavant, Lord Kṛṣṇa explained to him in detail that he had appeared to relieve the burden of the earth. Merely with the touch of his hands, Kṛṣṇa affectionately dispelled the pain that Jāmbavant suffered during the battle. 20 The bear fell to the ground and, praising Kṛṣṇa again and again, presented his daughter, Jāmbavatī by name, as a gift worthy of such a guest. 21 Bowing deeply, Jāmbavant also gave him the Syamantaka jewel. Eternal Kṛṣṇa accepted the gem from the prostrate beast just to clear his name, even though he had no need to do so. 22 Accompanied by Jāmbavatī, he then returned to Dvārakā.

The residents of the city were filled with joy when Kṛṣṇa returned and, seeing him, even those who were stooped with age grew young once more. All the Yādavas, both men and women, congratulated Kṛṣṇa’s father, Vasudeva, with the words, ‘How fortunate you are! How fortunate!’ The lord then explained to all the gathered Yādavas exactly what had happened. Kṛṣṇa returned the Syamantaka to Satrājita and was exonerated of the false accusations that had been made against him. 23 He then conducted Jāmbavatī to the inner chambers.

Satrājita, fearing he had caused a stain on Kṛṣṇa’s reputation, gave his own daughter Satyabhāmā to him in marriage. She, however, had already been sought by some of the other leading Yādavas, including Akrūra, Kṛtavarman and Śatadhanvan. Because Satyabhāmā had been given to another, they felt slighted and therefore formed an alliance against Satrājita. 24 Akrūra, Kṛtavarman and the other leaders said to Śatadhanvan, ‘This Satrājita is very wicked. We requested his daughter, as did you, but he ignored us all and gave her to Kṛṣṇa. Satrājita’s life is worthless. Why don’t you kill him and take the jewel? If Kṛṣṇa allies himself with Satrājita, we’ll come to your defence.’ 25 Hearing this, Śatadhanvan accepted their proposal.

Lord Kṛṣṇa, who knew the truth about the five sons of Pāṇḍu and the burning house of lacquer, went to Hastināpura, the City of Elephants, in order to placate Duryodhana and to dissuade him from further attempts on the Pāṇḍavas’s lives.^[2] 26 In Kṛṣṇa’s absence, Śatadhanvan murdered Satrājita while he slept and seized the jewel. Filled with anger at her father’s death, Satyabhāmā mounted a chariot and travelled at once to Hastināpura. There she said to Kṛṣṇa, ‘Śatadhanvan can’t accept that I was given to you in marriage. He has killed my father and taken the Syamantaka. Now he’s become a laughing stock. Consider this, then do what must be done.’ 27

After Satyabhāmā had spoken, Kṛṣṇa, although usually kind-hearted, replied to her, his eyes like burnished copper blazed with fury, ‘My dear girl, this makes me a laughing stock. I won’t stand for this behaviour from that wretch. If you don’t fell the tree, you can’t kill the birds that nest in it. You’ve spoken enough of these weighty words, stirred up by grief.’ So saying, Kṛṣṇa returned to Dvārakā, where he said to Balarāma in secret, ‘Prasena was killed by a lion while hunting in the forest. Now Satrājita has been murdered by Śatadhanvan. Because both of them are dead, the jewel should become our property. 28 Get up, mount your chariot and try to kill him.’ Balarāma agreed at once and set out in pursuit.

When Śatadhanvan learned that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma had taken up arms against him, he went to Kṛtavarman and pressed him for support, but Kṛtavarman replied that he couldn’t fight those two warriors. Hearing this, Śatadhanvan then approached Akrūra, but he gave this reply: ‘No-one, even the best of gods who are praised by all the world, would be able to fight Lord Kṛṣṇa. His footsteps make the three worlds tremble, he makes widows of the women in the cities of the demigods and he’s the discus warrior whose weapon can’t be thwarted, even by those of his mightiest foes. Balarāma, the plough-wielding fighter, wild-eyed with drunkenness, destroys his enemy’s forces with just a glance. The manifest power of his mighty weapon checks and abolishes even the strongest enemy. What chance have I? Ask someone else to help you.’ 29 Hearing this, Śatadhanvan replied, ‘If you, knowing your own limits, can’t save me, then at least take this jewel and treasure it.’ Thus addressed, Akrūra agreed, but added, ‘Even under the direst circumstances, you must tell no-one that I have it.’ Śatadhanvan agreed and Akrūra accepted the jewel. 30

Śatadhanvan then set off on a mare of unmatched speed that could gallop a hundred leagues a day. But Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa followed him in a chariot drawn by four steeds, Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa and Balāhaka. 31 Śatadhanvan’s mare carried him for a hundred leagues, but when they reached the forest regions of Mithilā, the steed expired, so Śatadhanvan abandoned it and set off on foot. 32 Kṛṣṇa said to Balarāma, ‘You wait in the chariot while I chase this wretch and kill him. The ground here looks too rough for the horses. You won’t be able to drive across it.’ 33 Balarāma agreed and waited with the chariot, while Kṛṣṇa chased Śatadhanvan for two furlongs. Kṛṣṇa hurled his discus at his quarry, who was still some way off, and struck off his head. Kṛṣṇa made a thorough search of his victim’s body, clothes and possessions but failed to find the Syamantaka. Returning to Balarāma, he said, ‘We’ve killed Śatadhanvan for nothing, as I still haven’t found the jewel, the essence of the world.’

Hearing this, furious Balarāma cursed Vāsudeva, ‘Damn you! You hanker after wealth so much, I can’t bear to be your brother! My path lies here, you can go where you like. I’ll have nothing more to do with Dvārakā or the rest of the family. I’ve had enough of the deceitful curses you’ve made in my presence.’ Even though Kṛṣṇa had been reviled with these words, he tried to placate Balarāma, but his brother, refusing to stay, took refuge in the city of Videha. 34 There, King Janaka welcomed him hospitably and showed him to the palace, where he remained. Vāsudeva, however, returned to Dvārakā. While Balarāma lived in King Janaka’s domain, he personally instructed Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Duryodhana in how to wield the mace. Three years later, Babhru, Ugrasena and other Yādava clansmen, realising that Kṛṣṇa hadn’t seized the gem, went to Videha to convince Balarāma to return with them to Dvārakā. 35

Akrūra, however, was obsessed with the thought of the gold brought forth by that extraordinary jewel. He undertook many sacrifices because he knew that killing a kṣatriya or a vaiśya who is engaged in such a rite is tantamount to brahminicide. He was therefore able to protect himself by maintaining his sacrificial initiation. For sixty-two years, owing to the power of the jewel, the kingdom was free from calamity, famine and epidemics. 36 Later, when Sātvata’s great-grandson Śatrughna was killed by the Bhojas allied with Akrūra, they all abandoned Dvārakā and fled together. 37 From the very day they departed, disasters, wild animals, drought, plague and other troubles struck. Lord Kṛṣṇa, who has Garuḍa, the enemy of serpents, on his banner, then summoned the Yādavas along with Balarāma and Ugrasena to ask them why so many calamities had befallen at the same time. 38 After Kṛṣṇa had spoken, a Yādava elder named Andhaka gave this explanation:

‘Wherever Akrūra’s father, Śvaphalka, ventured, such places were free from famine, plague, drought and other woes. 39 Śvaphalka was invited to the king of Kāśī’s realm during a particularly long drought, and at once the rains began to fall from heaven. The consort of the king had earlier conceived a baby girl, 40 but on the date it was due, no infant was delivered. Indeed, twelve years passed and still the child remained unborn. The king of Kāśī then addressed his daughter in the womb, “Why aren’t you born? Come out! I want to see your face. Why do you make your mother suffer so?” Hearing this, the infant in the womb replied, “Father, if you give the brahmins one cow every day, I’ll surely leave this womb in three years’ time.” Hearing this, the king did as she suggested, and the baby girl was duly born three years later. Her father named her Gāndinī, and later bestowed her on Śvaphalka as a gift befitting a guest who’d shown the king such kindness. 41 Śvaphalka and Gāndinī had a son, Akrūra. As such, Akrūra’s birth was the result of the union of excellent qualities. 42 Now that he has gone, how could there be no pestilence, famine or other calamities? You must therefore beg him to return. What’s the use of finding fault in a person of such virtues?’ 43

Hearing this report from the Yadu elder Andhaka, the Yādavas, led by Keśava, Ugrasena and Balarāma, gave Śvaphalka’s son Akrūra a guarantee that they would overlook the offences he’d committed and invited him to return to the city. As soon as Akrūra came back, drought, plague, famine, pests and other troubles all abated owing to the power of the gem he wore.

‘The fact that Akrūra was born to Gāndinī and Śvaphalka is irrelevant,’ thought Kṛṣṇa. ‘Only a greater power could prevent such troubles. 44 He surely has the mighty Syamantaka about his person, as people say it has the power to do such things. Akrūra has been undertaking one sacrifice after another, but I doubt he can afford to do so. It’s clear he has the jewel.’

Reaching this conclusion, Kṛṣṇa found a pretext to call a meeting of all the Yādavas in his residence. 45 When they were seated, Janārdana revealed his true intent and, having done so, gave an amusing speech for Akrūra, befitting the occasion, in which he said to him, 46 ‘You’re a wealthy man, and we know that Śatadhanvan gave Syamantaka, the essence of all the world, to you. This jewel, which profits the entire kingdom, is in your possession. Leave it with us, so we may all benefit from its power. Balarāma, however, suspects that I have it, so do us all a favour and reveal it.’

Hearing this, Akrūra, who did indeed possess the gem, said to himself, 47 ‘What’s to be done now? If I deny I have the jewel, they’ll search for it and, as it’s hidden in my clothes, they’ll certainly discover it.’ With this thought, Akrūra decided to avoid a search and said to Kṛṣṇa–Nārāyaṇa, cause of all the universe, ‘Lord, Śatadhanvan gave me this Syamantaka jewel. 48 Ever since he left, I always thought that you’d ask me for it—if not today, then tomorrow or the following day. Because of the burden of wearing it, I’ve lost all interest in pleasures, nor do I have a moment’s happiness. 49 All this time, I’ve feared you’d think I couldn’t bear the jewel that benefits this whole realm, so I said nothing. 50 Take the Syamantaka and give it to whomsoever you desire.’

Akrūra then produced a tiny golden casket from beneath his dhoti; 51 taking out the Syamantaka, he set it before the Yādava assembly. As soon as he had done so, a lovely light spread in all directions. 52 Akrūra continued, ‘Here’s the jewel that Śatadhanvan gave me. Let its rightful owner take it.’ Seeing the gemstone, all the astonished Yādavas cried out, ‘Marvellous! Marvellous!’ When Balarāma beheld the stone, he was filled with greed and said to himself, ‘It’s mine! Never-failing Kṛṣṇa and I searched for it together.’ 53 Satyabhāmā also wanted it, as she considered it the property of her father, Satrājita.

Seeing Balarāma’s and Satyabhāmā’s faces, Kṛṣṇa felt like an ox yoked to two wagons. In the presence of all the Yādavas, he said to Akrūra, ‘By showing this jewel in the presence of the assembly, my name’s been cleared. It’s owned in common by me and Balarāma, but it’s also part of Satyabhāmā’s patrimony. It belongs to no-one else. 54 When the jewel is carried at all times by a person, pure and chaste, who adheres to virtue, it benefits the realm, but if it’s carried by an unchaste man, the jewel will be his downfall. 55 I have sixteen thousand wives, so I’m not qualified to carry it. How could Satyabhāmā accept it either? Noble Balarāma has succumbed to drink and other pleasures, so he can’t have it. For these reasons, this whole Yadu clan, including Balarāma, Satyabhāmā and myself, beseech you, Akrūra, a wealthy man, as you alone are fit to bear the jewel. In your possession, it will benefit the entire realm. You, therefore, should carry it as before, since it brings prosperity to the land. Please don’t try to argue with us!’ Hearing this, munificent Akrūra agreed to accept the mighty gem and, from that day, he wore it openly and moved about like the light-wreathed sun, shining with the extraordinary brilliance of the jewel that hung about his neck. 56

Anyone who recalls how Lord Kṛṣṇa was absolved of this false accusation will not suffer even the slightest allegation himself, his senses will never be impaired and he’ll be absolved of all his sins. 57

So ends Chapter Thirteen in Book Four of the glorious Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

In this chapter, the narrative gets ahead of itself, as here we meet Kṛṣṇa as a mature chieftain in the city of Dvārakā. We will not come to his birth until Chapter 15. For a comprehensive account of the Syamantaka narratives, see Austin (2011).

[2]:

In the Mahābhārata (1.148), Duryodhana attempted to murder his five Pāṇḍava cousins by incinerating them in a house made from flammable lacquer.