Jahnu () is a hermit-king in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, belonging to the

Chandravamsha The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''Som ...

dynasty. The son of King Ajamīḍha, Jahnu abdicates his kingdom in favour of his son, Balākāśva, or sometimes Ajaka, and retires to perform a penance. According to the

Harivamsa The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to ...

, he is also the husband of Kāveri.

Legend

Curse on Ganga

Jahnu's curse on the goddess

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

is described in the

Brahma Purana The ''Brahma Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्मपुराण or ; ) is one of the eighteen major Puranas collections of Hindu texts in Sanskrit Language. It is listed as the first Maha-Purana in all the anthologies, and therefore also called Adi ...

Descent of Ganga

As prophesied, Jahnu appears in the legend of

and

Bhagiratha Bhagiratha (Sanskrit: भगीरथ, ''Bhagīratha'') is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty in Hindu literature. He is best known for his legend of bringing the sacred river Ganges, personified as the Hindu river goddess Ganga, from heav ...

. When the goddess Ganga descended upon the earth after being released from Shiva's locks, her torrential waters wreaked havoc upon Jahnu's fields and penance. Angered by this, the great sage drank up all the Ganges' waters to punish her. Seeing this, the devas prayed to the sage to release Ganga, so that she could proceed on her mission to release the souls of the ancestors of Bhagiratha. Jahnu relented, and he released the Ganges from his ear. For this, the

Ganges river The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

is also known as ''Jahnavi'', meaning "daughter of Jahnu".

References

{{Rishis of Hindu mythology Rishis Hindu mythology