Jāmbavān, King of the Bhallūkas

Jāmbavān was the king of the ṛkshas, who are also called bhallūkas (bears). He was one of the wisest and most honoured commanders in Śrī Rāma’s army of vānaras and bhallūkas. He was extremely old, yet he stayed a fearsome warrior and the chief adviser of the army. His best-known act was to send Hanumān to the Oshadhi Parvata for the healing herbs when Śrī Rāma and Lakshmaṇa lay near death on the battlefield.

Who he was and how old

Jāmbavān was the king of the ṛkshas, beings closely allied to the vānaras in the great army gathered by Sugrīva. The tradition holds that he was born at the start of Brahmā’s present day. He had seen the Vāmana-avatāra. He was completing his fourteenth pradakshiṇā (walk around) of the foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu at the moment Trivikrama’s third step was counted, so vast was that step. By the time of the Rāma-avatāra he was the oldest living being in the army, and his wisdom had grown through whole yugas. This is told in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87.

His part in the war at Laṅkā

Jāmbavān served as a senior commander and adviser throughout the war. After Indrajit bound Śrī Rāma and Lakshmaṇa with the nāgāstra (serpent weapon), Jāmbavān fought beside the vānara commanders and was badly wounded. He lay on the battlefield in grave danger. Yet when he heard someone coming, his first thought was not for his own life but for the army. This is told in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87.

When Hanumān found the wounded elder, Jāmbavān’s first words were, “Is Hanumān alive?” He knew, with the clear sight of a jñānin (a knower), that if Hanumān still breathed, the mission could still be saved. This is told in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87.

The order to Hanumān

Jāmbavān knew of the Oshadhi Parvata, the mountain of healing herbs in the Himālaya, between the peaks of Kailāsa and Ṛshabha. Four divine oshadhis (herbs) grew there:

Mṛtasañjīvanī, which brings the dead back to life
Viśalyakaraṇī, which removes all weapon-wounds
Sauvarṇakaraṇī, which restores the original colour and health of the body
Saṃdhānakaraṇī, which joins severed limbs

He told Hanumān to fly there at once, bring these herbs, and return before dawn. He said, “Only Hanumān has the speed, the strength and the devotion to attempt this.” This is told in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 87.

His character and the coronation

He held knowledge that no younger being had, and he used it at the right moment. He never claimed the glory for himself. The Govindarājīya commentary records that even Sugrīva said, “What other being in this army, vānara or bhallūka, has the power, the speed or the devotion to do what Hanumān has done?” It was Jāmbavān who saw this exactly when it mattered most.

At the Rāma-Pattābhisheka (the crowning of Śrī Rāma), Jāmbavān was one of the chiefs of the vānaras and bhallūkas who attended. Śrī Rāma honoured him with gifts, and he then went back to his own home.

In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa

The pradakshiṇā of the Vāmana-avatāra. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa tells of his age with a clear example. When Bhagavān Vishṇu in the Vāmana-avatāra took the cosmic Trivikrama form and measured the three worlds with two steps, Jāmbavān made several pradakshiṇās of that cosmic step within two ghaḍiyās (a short measure of time). So great was his own strength in those former days. By the time of the Rāma-avatāra his wisdom was whole, but the bodily strength of those days had grown less with age. He said this himself. His words to Hanumān carried weight because he had once matched the cosmic step and now sent others to act.

Rallying the sad party. At the shore of the ocean, the party that had searched the south sat down in prāyopaveśa (a fast unto death), and even Aṅgada wept in despair. Jāmbavān alone stayed steady. He told them all, “Do not lose heart. You do not yet know Rāma’s full power and glory. The mission we have taken up will not fail.” His calm balanced the grief of Aṅgada.

The speech that woke Hanumān. The best-known act of Jāmbavān in the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa is his waking of Hanumān at the shore. Everyone else had said whether they could make the leap, and Hanumān sat silent. Jāmbavān turned to him and said, “O Āñjaneya! You are equal in strength to your father Vāyu. You are viveka-sampanna (rich in discernment). Is there any task in this world that you cannot do? You were born for Rāma’s mission. Why do you sit idle?”

These words struck Hanumān like lightning. The sleeping power in him surged up. He grew large like a mountain and roared. Jāmbavān then gave his last counsel: “Go to Laṅkā, find where Sītā is and how she fares, and bring that news back. Rāma himself, leading the vānara army, will do the rest.” Hanumān’s own task was to learn the news. The battle was Rāma’s task.

Sources

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46 and 87–88 (Chapter 87 is cited for the events above)
Govindarājīya commentary (cited for Sugrīva’s remark)
Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Kishkindhā Kāṇḍa