Jayanta ( sa, जयन्त, "victory"), is a character who appears in
Hindu literature
Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...
. He is the son of
Indra, the king of the
devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
(gods), and his wife,
Shachi
Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī, lit.'' Indra's queen), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and ...
(Indrani). He has a sister called
Jayanti.
He appears in various Hindu scriptures, fighting in wars on behalf of the devas. Jayanta also appears in the epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' and other lore, in which he disguises himself as a crow.
Legends
Crow form
In the ''
Sundara Kanda'' (the fifth Book of the epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''), when
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
meets
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
, she narrates an incident that happened in the forest in
Chitrakuta Chitrakoot may refer to:
* Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, a municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India
* Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh Assembly constituency, Madhya Pradesh
* Chitrakoot division, a division in Uttar Pradesh, India
** Chitrakoot district
** ...
. The prince of
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
and an
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
of the god
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
,
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
, is exiled to the forest with his wife Sita (an avatar of Vishnu's wife,
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
) and his brother,
Lakshmana
Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...
. A fatigued Rama was sleeping in the lap of Sita, when a crow attacked her. The crow pecks at her twice; once on her breast or between her breasts in some versions.
The ''
Ramcharitmanas
''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). Thi ...
'' replaces the breast with feet.
In a hurry to drive away the crow, she tries to fasten her garments, but ends up loosening them. Rama is awakened and recognises the crow, whose claws were dripping in blood, as the son of Indra. An enraged Rama, at the behest of Sita, picks a blade of grass and unleashes the divine weapon
Brahmastra out of it on the crow, who flees in fear. The crow flies across the universe, but the weapon follows. Turned back by Indra,
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
,
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, and various
rishis (sages), the crow takes refuge in Rama, and surrenders to him. The son of Indra requests pardon, but Rama says that the Brahmastra cannot be withdrawn. So, the son of Indra asks it to hit the crow's right eye, and he is left half-blind.
[Goldman pp. 216–218] While Jayanta is not explicitly named in the episode, various commentaries on the epic like the ''Tilaka'' and the ''Bhushana'' by Govindaraja identify Jayanta as the "son of Indra"; some other commentaries do not identify any individual son of Indra. Govindaraja remarks only Jayanta is known as the son of Indra.
[Goldman p. 456]
Besides the ''Ramayana'', Jayanta is said to have assumed the form of the crow in some versions of the
Samudra Manthana
The Samudra Manthana ( sa, समुद्रमन्थन; ) is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita.
Nom ...
episode. A pot of ''
amrita
''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred t ...
'' (elixir of life) emerged from the churning of the ocean by the devas and the
asuras. The asuras seized the pot, but Jayanta took it from them in the guise of a crow. Pursued by the asuras, he is regarded to have flown for twelve days without rest. He stopped at four locations on earth:
Prayaga (in modern Allahabad),
Haridwar
Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district.
The city is situated on the ri ...
,
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...
, and
Nashik
Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashi ...
, where the
Kumbha Mela
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad (G ...
is celebrated every twelve years in remembrance of the incident.
Deva warrior
The ''Uttara Kanda'', the final book of the ''Ramayana,'' describes a battle between Indra and the
rakshasa
Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma wh ...
king
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...
. While Indra battles Ravana, Jayanta fights with Ravana's son,
Meghanada
Meghanada (), also referred to by his epithet Indrajita , according to Hindu texts, was the crown prince of Lanka, who conquered Indraloka ( Heaven). He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors in Hindu texts. He is a major character ment ...
. A fierce battle ensues between Jayanta and Meghanada; ultimately Ravana's son strikes Jayanta, who falls unconscious. In the confusion,
Puloman, his maternal grandfather, takes Jayanta away from the battlefield, unseen by anyone and hides him in the ocean. Indra presumes Jayanta dead, and fights more powerfully, but Meghanada defeats him too.
Jayanta is also described to fight in the battle between the devas and
asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...
s in the ''
Padma Purana
The ''Padma Purana'' ( sa, पद्मपुराण or पाद्मपुराण, or ) is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Bra ...
''.
The ''
Harivamsa'' mentions a battle between Indra and the god
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
to acquire the celestial tree, ''Pārijātapuṣpa'', from Indra's realm. Jayanta is described battling Krishna's son
Pradyumna
Pradyumna ( sa, प्रद्युम्न) is the eldest son of the Hindu deities Krishna and his chief consort, Rukmini. He is considered to be one of the four vyuha avatars of Vishnu. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Pradyumna was ...
, and is defeated.
In the ''
Skanda Purana
The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, w ...
'', Jayanta is defeated by the asura
Surapadman, who is finally killed by the commander-in-chief of the devas,
Skanda.
Bamboo curse
The ''
Vayu Purana
The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism.
''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to p ...
'' narrates a tale wherein Jayanta is cursed and turned into a
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
. This tale is also told in context of
devadasi lore, with some variations. Once, the sage
Agastya arrived in Indra's court, and was welcomed by Indra, organising a dance performance of the
apsara Urvashi
Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...
. In the performance, Urvashi and Jayanta looked into each other's eyes in love. The distracted Urvashi missed a beat, and the dance went haywire. An agitated Agastya cursed Urvashi to be born on earth as a devadasi, and Jayanta to become a bamboo tree in the
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
mountains. The duo bowed in reverence, and prayed for mercy. The sage said that the curse would end when Urvashi is presented with a ''talaikole'' (a bamboo staff, Jayanta) on her dance debut (''
Arangetram''). As ordained, the lovers were released from the curse and returned to Svarga, where Urvashi got united with Jayanta as the bamboo staff.
References
Notes
* {{cite book, last=Goldman, first=Robert P., author2=Goldman, Sally J. Sutherland, title=The Ramayana Of Valmiki: Sundarakāṇḍa, series=The Ramayana Of Valmiki: An Epic Of Ancient India, year=1996, publisher=Princeton University Press, isbn=0-691-06662-0, volume=V
Hindu gods