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 the 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 ==