Jāmbāvatī and Kṛshṇa

The Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa gives Chapters 23 to 29 to Jāmbāvatī, one of the eight chief wives of Śrī Kṛshṇa. In her earlier birth she was the daughter of Soma (Candra). She was a woman of complete bhakti (devotion). She went with her father on a tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) to Śeshāchala, saw Śrīnivāsa, and received the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra from Śrīnivāsa himself. She then did tapas (austerity) at Ṛshi Tīrtha on Veṅkaṭādri until she gave up her body in yoga. She was born again as the daughter of Jāmbavān, the bear king and great devotee, and Kṛshṇa married her. The account also holds the story of Prahlāda’s darśana at Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha.

Her earlier birth: the daughter of Soma

In her earlier birth (pūrvajanma), Jāmbāvatī was the daughter of Soma (Candra-deva). Soma was himself devoted to Vishṇu and did Vishṇu-pūjā all the time. His daughter walked the same path and went beyond him.

Every moment of her life was anusmaraṇa (constant remembering) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Every word she spoke carried his name or his qualities. Her eyes were always looking for him. Her ears were always ready to hear his word. Her hands were always full of the things for arcana (pūjā). Her feet were always moving to walk around him (pradakshiṇa). Her only wish was: “May I become a servant at the feet of Śrī Svāmī.”

By her sādhana (practice) she came, little by little, to know directly that this saṃsāra is not lasting, and that all its joy and pain (sukha-duḥkha) are made by māyā. She understood that to live in love of Bhagavān Vishṇu (bhagavat-prema) and to give every action to him was the only true joy (ānanda). She honoured brāhmaṇas and holy men (sādhus) as forms of Hari.

One day her father Soma decided to make a tīrtha-yātrā to Śrīnivāsa on Veṅkaṭādri. Jāmbāvatī was overcome with joy. She had long wished to see Śrīnivāsa, who lives on Śeshāchala. Her family guru (kula-guru) was Jaigīshavya Maharshi.

The tīrtha-yātrā and Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha

The company set out with Jaigīshavya Maharshi leading. At Kapila Tīrtha, Soma shaved his head (śiromuṇḍana), bathed (snāna), did tīrtha-śrāddha (the rite for ancestors at the tīrtha) and gave various dānas (gifts). The guru then told them the māhātmya (greatness) of Veṅkaṭādri.

On the way up the holy hill, the guru pointed out a beautiful tīrtha. Jāmbāvatī asked its name and meaning. The guru told her the account of Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha:

“This is Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha. Prahlāda, the king of devotees, came here to see Śrīnivāsa. He brought with him some daitya friends who were also devotees. They said to Prahlāda: ‘Friend, you told us that Śrīnivāsa in the form of Nṛsiṃha fills every particle here. But why can we not see him in this sacred water?’ Prahlāda was pleased by their sincere longing, and he prayed to Bhagavān Nṛsiṃha. The all-knowing Paramātman, who is always gracious to his great devotee Prahlāda, gave darśana to the whole group in those waters. He also gave a vara (a boon): from then on, anyone who bathes in this tīrtha will receive jñāna (knowledge). Prahlāda and his friends finished their tīrtha-yātrā and, in due course, left their ordinary bodies. They became forms of endless ātmā (ananta-ātma-rūpa) and stay in this very tīrtha to this day. Great devotees (mahābhāgavatas) still hear the sound of ‘Nṛsiṃha!’ and ‘Jaya! Jaya!’ from here in the afternoons.”

The company was overcome with bhakti. Śrīnivāsa gave them darśana at that tīrtha. For Jāmbāvatī, whose bhakti was of the madhura kind in its strength, Śrīnivāsa appeared in a form with the beauty of a crore (ten million) Manmathas together. Her body trembled, her hair stood on end, and tears ran from her eyes and made a small pool at her feet. She managed to say: “Nātha, take me as your servant at your feet.”

The initiation into the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra

Śrīnivāsa had shown Jāmbāvatī the nectar of his beauty (saundarya-sudhā). Now he gave her the nectar of his voice (vāk-sudhā) as well:

“Jāmbāvatī, I will give you the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra. Stay here and do japa of it in tapas.”

The mantra given by Śrīnivāsa himself is:

Oṃ Veṅkaṭeśāya namaḥ Oṃ

To Jāmbāvatī, hearing this from Śrīnivāsa was like amṛta (nectar) flowing into her ears. She was overcome with joy and began to dance without thinking. It was a dance of complete surrender to bhakti (bhakti-pāravashya), and the whole Brahmāṇḍa seemed to sway with it. The apsarasas came down from svarga (heaven) and danced beside her. The devatās showered flowers. The dundubhi drums sounded from the sky.

Tapas at Ṛshi Tīrtha

The journey went on. The guru showed Jāmbāvatī all the tīrthas on Veṅkaṭādri. He told her of the Svāmī Pushkariṇī and of the accounts of Nārada, Prahlāda, Parāśara, Puṇḍarīka and other great devotees. Each tīrtha made her love for Śrīnivāsa deeper.

At last they reached Ṛshi Tīrtha. It was ground made holy by the footprints of the Saptarshis. Jāmbāvatī pressed the dust of that earth to her eyes and her forehead and rubbed it in with deep respect. She stayed there. While the rest of the company went on, she settled into tapas at that tīrtha and did japa of the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra.

Jāmbāvatī did tapas at that place until Kṛshṇa’s own avatāra came. As the years and births went by in tapas, her body became wholly pure (atīva pavitramāyipōyindi, “became very pure”). At the end, through yoga-dhāraṇā (steady holding of the mind in yoga), she gave up the body of her earlier birth. She was at once born again as the daughter of Jāmbavān, the great devotee and king of the bears. He is the same Jāmbavān who had worshipped Rāma and who kept the Syamantaka gem.

Even in that birth her name remained Jāmbāvatī. Her one nishṭhā (steady devotion) was Hara-nishṭhā alone. Her father Jāmbavān was also a great devotee. He gladly gave his daughter to Kṛshṇa as a wife and said that his own life was blessed.

Kṛshṇa’s closing words

Kṛshṇa spoke to Garuḍa:

“True bhakti is said to be free of desire, and that is true. But the desire to offer oneself wholly to Bhagavān Vishṇu is not an ordinary desire. It is the highest point (parākāshṭhā) of bhakti. So the bhakti of Jāmbāvatī was fulfilled. Viśvanātha himself married her by the rule of dharma. Her joy had no limit and no match.”

He then gave the teaching in short:

“Whatever a person is doing, whether people or any other beings, they must never forget Bhagavān Vishṇu. Let them always remember him by his names that bring good fortune, Hari and the others.”

hariṃ hariṃ pravadetsarvadaiva

This is Brahma Khaṇḍa 29, verse 64.

Those who want what is good (śubha) must always remember Vāsudeva Hari, whenever they can, while they do the actions the śāstra lays down:

pūrtir yadā kriyate karmaṇāṃ cha
samyak smaret vāsudevaṃ hariṃ cha

This is Brahma Khaṇḍa 29, verse 68.

“Always take joy in those dharmas that are dear to Bhagavān Hari.”

hariprīti kare dharme prīti yukto bhavet sadā

This is Brahma Khaṇḍa 29, verse 70.

Sources

• Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 23–29
• Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23 (Jāmbāvatī’s earlier birth and the start of the tīrtha-yātrā)
• Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 24–25 (Nṛsiṃha Tīrtha and the darśana of Śrīnivāsa)
• Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 26 (the Veṅkaṭeśa mantra)
• Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 27–29 (Ṛshi Tīrtha, her second birth and her marriage)
• Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 28–29 (Kṛshṇa’s closing words; verses 29/64, 29/68 and 29/70)