Parva 1 Chapter 38: bhajamāna vaṁśaḥ - syamantakopākhyānam - dynasty of bhajamāna - legend of syamantaka-jewel

bhajmana's son is the foremost of chariot-warriors named vidūratha whose son is valiant rājādhideva, who had highly powerful sons, namely datta, ati-datta, śoṇa-aśva, śveta-vāhana, shami, daṇḍa-śarma, daṇḍa-śatru, and shatru-jit. They had two sisters by name śravaṇa and śraviṣṭha... śamīputraḥ pratikṣatraḥ pratikṣatrasya ca ātmajaḥ | svayaṁbhojaḥ svayaṁbhojāt hṛdīkaḥ saṁbabhūva ha || 1-38-4 tasya putrā babhūvur hi sarve bhīma-parākramāḥ | kṛtavarma agrajaḥ teṣāṁ shatadhanva atha madhyamaḥ || 1-38-5 devarṣeḥ vacanāt tasya bhiṣak vaitaraṇaḥ ca yaḥ | sudāntaḥ ca vidāntaḥ ca kāmadā kāmadantikā || 1-38-6 The lineage of princes from king shami is this: shami --> prati-kṣatra --> svayam-bhoja --> hṛdīka.... this hṛdīka begot sons with dreadful prowess. Of them kṛtavarma is the eldest and shatadhanva is the second. By the grace of celestial saint cyavana, this hṛdīka further begot four sons namely bhiṣak, vaitaraṇa, sudānta, and vi-dānta and two daughters called lady kāmada and lady kāmadantika... devavān ca abhavat putro vidvān kambalabarhiṣaḥ | asamaujāḥ tathā vīro nāsamaujāḥ ca tau ubhau || 1-38-7 a-jāta-putrāya sutān pradadāt asamaujase | sudaṁṣṭraṁ cārurūpaṁ ca kṛṣṇam iti andhakāḥ trayaḥ || 1-38-8 ete ca anye ca bahavo andhakāḥ kathitāḥ tava | andhakānām imaṁ vaṁśe dhārayet yaḥ tu nityaśaḥ || 1-38-9 ātmano vipulaṁ vaṁśaṁ labhate na atra saṁśayaḥ | kambalabarhiṣa, the dynast of andhaka, had three sons namely, a learned son named devavan, the valiant asamauja, and na-asamauja... among them asamauja had no issue... andhaka had three more sons, apart from prince kukura et al, who are sudaṁṣṭra, cāru-rūpa and kṛṣṇa... so, andhaka gave these three sons to issueless asamauja in adoption... these and various others members of the andhaka family have been described to you... he, who daily meditates upon andhaka family, forsooth gets his family multiplied... gāndhārī caiva mādrī ca kroṣṭa bhārye babhūvatuḥ || 1-38-10 gāndhārī janayāmāsa anamitraṁ mahābalam | mādrī yudhājitaṁ putraṁ tato vai devamīḍuṣam || 1-38-11 an-a-mitram a-mitrāṇāṁ jetāram a-parājitam | anamitra sutau nighno nighnataḥ dvau babhūvatuḥ || 1-38-12 prasenaḥ ca atha satrājit shatru senājitau ubhau | praseno dvāravatyāṁ tu nivasantyāṁ mahā-maṇim || 1-38-13 divyaṁ syamantakaṁ nāma samudrāt upalabdhavān | kroṣṭu had two wives, namely lady gāndhāri and lady mādri... lady gāndhāri gave birth to the highly powerful son named anamitra while lady mādri gave birth to sons called yudhājit and devamīḍuṣa... king anamitra who has no non-friends, who is a conqueror of his enemies and who stands undefeated, had a son called nighna... this king nighna had two valiant sons called prasena-jit, satrā-jit who are the conquerors of enemies and armies of their enemies... Out of these two, prasena-jit, while living in dvāra-vati, aka dvāraka city, acquired a rare jewel called syamantaka-maṇi on seashore... that episode is like this: syamantopākhyānam: episode of syamantaka-jewel tasya satrājitaḥ sūryaḥ sakhā prāṇa samaḥ abhavat || 1-38-14 sa kadācit niśa-apāye rathena rathināṁ varaḥ | abdhi-kūlam upaspraṣṭuṁ upasthātuṁ yayau ravim || 1-38-15 tasya upatiṣṭhataḥ sūryaṁ vivasvān agrataḥ sthitaḥ | a-spaṣṭa mūrtiḥ bhagavān tejo-maṇḍalavān prabhuḥ || 1-38-16 atha rājā vivasvantam uvāca sthitam agrataḥ | satrā-jit is an intransigent worshiper of sūrya, the sun... at one time after the expiration of the night that foremost of chariot-warriors, namely satrā-jit, ascended his chariot and went to seashore to offer prayers to the dawning sun, after offering oceanic water to him and to stand directly before him... then vivasvān, aka the sun appeared to him all of a sudden... because the sun is unseeable for naked eye owing to his solar effulgence, the sun appeared before satrā-jit in an unclear form... then the king said to the sun-god like this: yatha evaṁ vyomni paśyāmi sadā tvāṁ jyotiṣāṁ-pate || 1-38-17 tejo-maṇḍalinaṁ devaṁ tatha eva purataḥ sthitam | kaḥ viśeṣo asti me tvattaḥ sakhyena upagatasya vai || 1-38-18 O lord of rays, although you are before me, I see thee in thy same circular effulgent form, in which I always behold thee in the sky... but, thou hast appeared before me in a helio-graphical form... as a devotee of yours what special favour have I from thee, as your eidolon has now appeared friendlily..." etat śrutvā tu bhagavān maṇi-ratnaṁ syamantakam | sva-kaṇṭhāt avamucya eva ekānte nyastavān vibhuḥ | tato vigrahavantaṁ taṁ dadarsha nṛpatiḥ tadā || 1-38-19 prītimān atha taṁ dṛṣṭvā muhūrtaṁ kṛtavān kathām || 1-38-20 Hearing this, and knowing the wish of satrā-jit, the sun-god took the peeress jewel syamantaka-maṇi from around his neck and placed it on seashore, adjacent to satrā-jit, as if to test his greed to grab it... though satrā-jit has noticed the jewel on seashore, he did not bother for that jewel, and gone on extolling the sun-god for some more time... tam api prasthitaṁ bhūyo vivasvantaṁ sa satrajit | lokān udbhāsayasi etān yena tvaṁ satataṁ prabho | tat etat maṇi-ratnaṁ me bhagavan dātum arhasi || 1-38-21 tataḥ syamantakamaṇiṁ dattavān tasya bhāskaraḥ | While the sun-god is about to leave the king satrā-jit again prayed for his grace, “O lord, it behoveth thee to confer upon me this effulgent jewel with which thou dost always light these worlds, as it were, since thou hast forsaken it on seashore..." Thereupon bhāskara, the sun-god, who is in the know of preset situations, bestowed that magnificent jewel syamantaka-maṇi on satrā-jit and made his phantasma to vanish from there... sa tam Abadhya nagarīṁ pravivesha mahīpatiḥ || 1-38-22 taṁ janāḥ paryadhāvanta sūryaḥ ayaṁ gacchatīti ha | purīṁ vismāpayitvā ca rājā tu antaḥpuraṁ yayau || 1-38-23 Wearing the pendant with dangling syamantaka-jewel the king entered his city whereupon all the amazed city-dwellers ran helter-skelter shouting, “the sun-god is coming... sun-god is coming...” and the king mirthful about it, entered his palace-chambers... tat prasenajitaṁ divyaṁ maṇiratnaṁ syamantakam | dadau bhrātre narapatiḥ premṇā satrājit uttamam || 1-38-24 At certain time, king satrā-jit gave that peerless celestial jewel syamantaka to his brother prasena-jit with brotherly affection to wear it for some time... sa maṇiḥ syandate rukmaṁ vṛṣṇi andhaka niveshane | kāla-varṣī ca parjanyo na ca vyādhi bhayaṁ hi abhūt || 1-38-25 The speciality of that jewel is, it used to produce gold, to the utmost, in the palace of vṛṣṇi-s and andhakā-s, and the rain-god used to pour showers in due season and there is no fear of disease in the vicinity of that jewel... all this, owing to the divine power of that jewel... lipsāṁ cakre prasenāt tu maṇiratne syamantake | govindo na ca tat lebhe śaktaḥ api na jahāra saḥ || 1-38-26 As such, govinda, aka krishna, thought that he is a better choice to have that jewel than prasena-jit... accordingly he asked satrā-jit to spare the jewel but in vain... though govinda is capable he did not take it from satrā-jit by force, or pilfer it from him, but stayed away from it... kadācit mṛgayāṁ yātaḥ prasenaḥ tena bhūṣitaḥ | syamantaka kṛte siṁhāt vadhaṁ prāpa vanecarāt || 1-38-27 atha siṁhaṁ pradhāvantamṛkṣa-rājo mahābalaḥ | nihatya maṇiratnaṁ tat ādāya bilam āviśat || 1-38-28 At certain time, prasena-jit went out for hunting adorning that jewel... in the process of hunting-game a lion spotting that jewel on the chest of prāsena-jit construed it to be a ball of red meat, killed prasena-jit, and fled with that meat-ball-like jewel... when this lion with jewel in its mouth is on its way, a mighty bear, called jāmbavanta, saw that lion and killed it, took possession of that jewel, and hibernated into his cave... tato vṛṣṇi andhakāḥ kṛṣṇaṁ prasena vadha kāraṇāt | prārthanāṁ tāṁ maṇer buddhvā sarva eva śaśaṅkire || 1-38- 29 sa śaṅkyamāno dharmātmā na kārī tasya karmaṇaḥ | āhariṣye maṇim iti pratijṣāya vanaṁ yayau || 1-38-30 yatra praseno mṛgayām Acharat tatra ca api atha | Hearing of the death of prasena-jit, all the members of vṛṣṇi and andhaka families entertained suspicions against kṛṣṇa, because they knew that kṛṣṇa had a fancy for that jewel... knowing their suspicion and without rebutting them, the virtuous-souled kṛṣṇa, resolved, “I must restore the jewel to its owner...' and set out for the forest, along with some staunch supporters like bala-rāma et al, where prasena-jit went for hunting... prasenasya padaṁ gṛhya puruṣaiḥ āpta kāribhiḥ || 1-38-31 ṛkṣavantaṁ giri-varaṁ vindhyaṁ ca girim uttamam| ānveṣayan pariśrāntaḥ sa dadarsha mahāmanāḥ || 1-38-32 sa-aśvaṁ hataṁ prasenaṁ vai na avindat ca icchitaṁ maṇim| atha siṁhaḥ prasenasya śarīrasya avidūrataḥ || 1-38-33 ṛkṣeṇa nihato dṛṣṭaḥ pādaiḥ ṛkṣaḥ ca sūchitaḥ | pādaiḥ anveṣayāmāsa guhām ṛkṣasya mādhavaḥ || 1-38-34 kṛṣṇa and his search party followed the footprints of prasena-jit and ransacked Mt. ṛkṣavanta and Mt. vindhya in vain, whereupon kṛṣṇa fatigued... just then he saw prasena-jit and his horse killed there... though the jewel is not there on the body of prasena-jit, some lion’s footprints are there proceeding from him... continuing further search for the course of lion, he then saw the dead lion indicated to have been killed by some gigantic bear, surmised by bear’s footprints... tracking down the footprints of the bear mādhava reached mouth of the cave of jāmbavanta in vindhya range... mahati ṛkṣa bile vāṇīṁ śuśrāva pramada ītām | dhātryā kumāram ādāya sutaṁ jāmbavato nṛpa | krīḍāpayantyā maṇinā mā rodīḥ iti atha īritām || 1-38-35 kṛṣṇa then heard a female voice coming from the chasmic cave of that bear, of a nurse who is giving play with the jewel brought by jāmbavān, namely syamantaka-jewel, to the child of jāmbavanta saying, `do not weep... child, do not weep..." dhātri uvāca: nurse said: siṁhaḥ prasenam avadhīt siṁho jāmbavatā hataḥ | sukumāraka mā rodīḥ tava hi eṣa syamantakaḥ || 1-38-36 “A lion killed prasena and took this jewel; jāmbavān killed that lion and took this jewel and brought it home... therefore, O my good boy, sukumāraka, do not weep... this jewel syamantaka is for you..." su-vyaktī-kṛta śabdaḥ tu tūṣṇīṁ bilam atha āviśat | prāviśya cāpi bhagavān tam ṛkṣa bilam aṣjasā || 1- 38-37 sthāpayitvā bila-dvāri yadūn llāṅgalinā saha | śārṅga dhanvā bilasthaṁ tu jāmbavantaṁ dadarsha ha || 1-38-38 yuyudhe vāsudevaḥ tu bile Jāmbavatā saha | bāhubhyām eva govindo divasān eka vimśatiṁ || 1-38-39 These words have explicitly stated that the jewel is inside the cave, hence kṛṣṇa quickly entered it, keeping the yādava-s along with his plough-wilding brother bala-rāma at the mouth of the cave as an outpost, and taking his bow called śārṅga with him... in the entrails of that cave govinda saw the beamy jewel, while the nurse attending the boy saw kṛṣṇa and yelled, whereby jāmbavān entered and saw the intruder... then there ensued a horrible fistfight between kṛṣṇa and jāmbavān for twenty-one days... praviṣte tu bilaṁ kṛṣṇe baladeva puraḥsarāḥ | purīṁ dvāravatīm etya hataṁ kṛṣṇaṁ nyavedayan || 1-38-40 Some days after kṛṣṇa’s entrance into the cave all the yādavā-s stationed at the mouth of the cave, headed by bala-deva, surmised that kṛṣṇa had been slain, thus returned to dvāraka to announce the same... vāsudevaḥ tu nirjitya jāṁbavantaṁ mahābalam | bheje jāṁbavatīṁ kanyām ṛkṣa-rājasya saṁmatām | maṇiṁ syamantakaṁ caiva jagrāha ātma vishuddhaye|| 1-38-41 anunīya rkṣarājānaṁ niryayau ca tadā bilāt | After twenty-one days when kṛṣṇa defeated jāmbavanta in fistfight, jāmbavanta yielded and gave his jewelly daughter jāmba-vati to kṛṣṇa in marriage along with the jewel syamantaka-maṇi... though kṛṣṇa is not supposed to take that jewel as a gift, or as a dowry from the thanksgiver, praṇata, he had took it only to disprove the aspersion cast on him... then, on thanking jāmbavān for bestowing his daughter as a wife, kṛṣṇa exited from the cave to return to dvāraka city... dvārakām agamat kṛṣṇaḥ śriyā paramayā yutaḥ || 1-38-42 evaṁ sa maṇim āhṛtya vishoddhya ātmanam achyutaḥ | dadau satrājite taṁ vai sarva sāttvata saṁsadi || 1-38-43 evaṁ mithya abhishaptena kṝṣṇena a-mitra-ghātinā | ātmā viśodhitaḥ pāpāt vinirjitya syamantakam || 1-38-44 When he is entering dvāraka city he seemed to be in possession of highest fortune anew, owing to the presence of both the jewels lady jāmbavati and divine syamantaka-maṇi... then to remain in the clear, kṛṣṇa arranged for a meeting of all sattvatā-s, i.e. andhaka, vṛṣṇi yādavā-s, in which he detailed what all has happened, and restored syamantaka jewel to its owner, namely satrā-jit... In this way, that enemy-slayer kṛṣṇa, who had been blamed falsely, cleared himself of the blame by securing the syamantaka-jewel... satrājito daśa tu āsan bhāryāḥ tāsāṁ śataṁ sutāḥ | khyātimantaḥ trayaḥ teṣāṁ bhaṅgakāraḥ tu pūrvajaḥ || 1-38-45 vīro vātapatiḥ caiva upasvāvān ca te trayaḥ | kumāryaḥ cāpi tisro vai dikṣu khyātā narādhipa || 1-38-46 satyabhāma uttamā strīṇāṁ vratinī ca dṛḍha-vratā | tathā prasvāpinī caiva bhāryāṁ kṛṣṇāya tāṁ dadau || 1-38-47 samākṣo bhaṅgakāriḥ tu nāreyaḥ ca narottamau | jajṣāte guṇa-saṁpannau vishrutau rūpa-saṁpadā || 1-38-48 satrā-jit had ten wives who gave birth to a hundred sons. Of them three are well-known: bhaṅgakāra is the eldest, the heroic vāta-pati is the second, and upasvāvān is the third... O, king janamejaya, he also had three daughters well-known in all the quarters, namely lady satya-bhāma, a magnificent lady - both in beauty and wealth; lady vratini of firm vows is the second; lady prasvāpini is the third... satrā-jit married them all with kṛṣṇa... bhaṅgakāra, the eldest son of satrā-jit, had two sons namely, samākśa and nareyu, who are renowned for their charm and virtue... mādrī putrasya jajṣe'tha pṛśniḥ putro yudhājitaḥ | jajṣāte tanayau pṛśneḥ śva-phalkaḥ citrakaḥ tathā || 1-38-49 śvaphalkaḥ kāśi rājasya sutāṁ bhāryām avindata | gāṁdinīṁ nāma tasyāḥ ca sadā gāḥ pradadau pitā || 1-38-50 tasyāṁ jajṣe mahābāhuḥ śrutavān iti viśrutaḥ | akrūraḥ atha mahābhāgo yajvā vipula-dakṣiṇaḥ || 1-38-51 kroṣṭu’s last wife lady mādri gave birth to a son called ydhā-jit... he had son pṛśni... this pṛśni begot two sons called shva-phalka and citraka... shva-phalka married the daughter of kāśi’s king, namely lady gāṁdini, which princess had a vow to donate a cow per day, and this pair, shva-phalka and lady gāṁdini, gave birth to a valiant king who is renowned as scholar, and who performed vedic rituals accompanied with profuse gifts, called akrūra... upāsaṅgaḥ tathā maṅguḥ mṛduraḥ ca arimejayaḥ | giri-kṣipaḥ tatha upekṣaḥ śatru-hā ca ari-mardanaḥ || 1-38-52 dharma-bṛt yati-dharmā ca gṛdhra-bhojaḥ andhakaḥ tathā | subāhuḥ prati-bāhuḥ ca sundarī ca varāṅganā || 1-38-53 viśrutā sāṁba mahiṣī kanyā ca asya vasundharā | rūpa yauvana saṁpannā sarva sattva manoharā || 1-38-54 Lady gāṁdīni delivered some more sons that are: upāsaṅga, maṅgu, mṛdura, arimejaya, giri-kṣipa, upekṣa, śatru-hā, ari-mardana, dharma-bṛt, yati-dharma, gṛdhra-bhoja, andhaka, subāhu, and prati-bāhu... lady gāṁdīni also delivered a beautiful girl named lady varāṅgana, [or, a curvaceous girl called sundari...] who is the renowned wife of sāṁba... this pair, sāṁba and lady sundari begot a daughter called lady vasundhara, who is endowed with beauty and youth, and who is charming to one and all... akrūreṇa ugrasenyāṁ tu sutau dvau kurunandana| sudevaḥ ca upadevaḥ ca jajṣāte devavarchasau || 1-38-55 akrūra begat two sons on the daughter of ugrasena, namely su-deva and upa-deva, who are both effulgent like the celestials... citrakasya abhavat putrāḥ pṛthuḥ vi-pṛthuḥ eva ca| aśva-grīvaḥ aśva-bāhuḥ ca su-pārśvaka gaveṣaṇau || 1-38-56 ariṣṭanemeḥ aśvaḥ ca su-dharmā dharma-bhṛt tathā | subāhuḥ bahu-bāhuḥ ca śraviṣṭha śravaṇe striyau || 1-38-57 citraka, shva-phalka’s brother, had sons called pṛthu, vi-pṛthu, aśva-grīva, aśva-bāhu, su-pārśvaka, gaveṣaṇa, ariṣṭanemi, ashva, su-dharma, dharma-bhṛt, su-bāhu, and bahu-bāhu... and two daughters called śraviṣṭha and śravaṇa... imāṁ mithyābhiśastiṁ yaḥ kṛṣṇasya samudāhṛtām | veda mithyābhiśāpāstaṁ na spṛśanti kadācana || 1-38- 58 He, who reads of this false accusation against kṛṣṇa, suffers from no such thing in his life... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśa parvaṇi bhajamāna vaṁśaḥ – syamantakopākhyānam – nāma aṣṭatriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the thirty-eigth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the dynasty of bhajamāna along with the legend of syamantaka–jewel.