Satrajit (), also rendered Satrajita, is a

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

king in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. He had ten wives and three daughters named

Satyabhama Satyabhama (IAST'': Satyabhāmā)'' , also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as an incarnation of Bhumi, an aspect of Lakshmi. She is the goddess and the per ...

, Bratini, and Prasvapini who were all married to

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. He is described to be a great devotee of

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

, the sun god. He is known for his role in the legend of the

Syamantaka The Syamantaka () is a legendary jewel featured in Hindu texts, Hindu literature, regarded to be blessed with magical powers. It is described to be a ruby. The jewel is described to protect its owner if they were virtuous and good, but bring evil ...

jewel.

Legend

Gaining the Syamantaka

The

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

narrates that Satrajit was a great devotee of sun god,

. Greatly pleased, Surya offered him the dazzling Syamantaka as a present, which had the power of conferring great wealth upon its owner. When Satrajit wore the jewel, its brilliance was such that he was mistaken as the sun god himself. During a meeting,

asked Satrajit to let King

Ugrasena Ugrasena () is a character mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He is the King of Mathura, a kingdom that was established by the Vrishni tribes from the Yadavamsha clan. His son Kamsa was a cousin of Krishna's mother, Devaki. King Ugrase ...

have the jewel, so that it could be used for the good of all. Proud of his possession, Satrajit refused to part with the Syamantaka. Satrajit Prasena Syamantaka

Disappearance of the jewel

One day, Satrajit's brother, Prasena, borrowed the jewel from Satrajit, and went into a forest for hunting. However, a lion killed him, took the jewel, and went inside a cave. The cave was of

Jambavan Jambavan (, ), also known as Jambavanta (, ), is the king of the bears in Hindu texts. He emerged from the mouth of Brahma when the creator deity yawned. He assisted Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu in his quest to save his wife Sita from the r ...

, the immortal king of the bears. Jambavan killed the lion and took the jewel for himself, offering it to his son as a toy. When he did not hear news of his brother, Satrajit suspected that his brother must have been killed for the jewel, and suspected Krishna of committing the deed. The rumour spread, and Krishna set out to recover the jewel himself in vindication.

Recovery and marriage of Satyabhama

Learning that Prasena had been slain by a lion, which had in turn been killed by a bear on the side of a mountain, Krishna entered the bear's den. He discovered that the jewel was being used as a toy by a child. Hearing the child's nurse scream at the sight of the intruder, an enraged Jambavan attacked Krishna. They fought for 28 days and nights, before Jambavan finally realised that Krishna was

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

's reincarnation. Awestruck, he glorified Krishna, and offered the Syamantaka, as well as his daughter,

Jambavati Jambavati () is chronologically the second '' Ashtabharya'' of the Hindu god Krishna. She is the only daughter of the bear-king Jambavan. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen Syamantaka ...

, in marriage to the deity. Krishna accepted both of them, and offered

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

to the bear king. He summoned Satrajit to a royal assembly, and narrated the tale of the recovery of the Syamantaka. He restored the jewel to the hands of the Yadu king. Deeply ashamed of his accusation, Satrajit decided to offer Krishna the hand of his daughter,

, regarded to be a 'jewel among women', as well as the Syamantaka. Krishna married Satyabhama, but declined to receive the jewel, regarding it to be the property of Satrajit, as its donor had been Surya.

Death

The

narrates that three Yadava warriors, named Kṛtavarmā,

Akrura Akrura () is a Yadava prince in Hinduism, best known for being the uncle of the deity Krishna. The son of Śvaphalka and Gandini, a daughter of the king of Kashi,Garg, pp. 305-306. he is instructed by Kamsa to drive his nephews, Krishna and Balar ...

, and Śatadhanvā, were captivated by the jewel's glory, and wanted it for themselves. One night, when Satrajit was asleep, they killed him, and took the jewel. Krishna and

Balarama Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

later avenged Satrajit's death by killing Śatadhanvā, but realised that the jewel was not in his possession. He performed the funeral rites of his father-in-law. Krishna soon discovered that Śatadhanvā had deposited the jewel with Akrura, and the latter had been performing religious sacrifices upon golden altars for days on end. Krishna summoned Akrura to Dvaraka, who brought the jewel wrapped up in a piece of cloth. He handed the Syamantaka over to the deity in the presence of his clansmen, thereby vindicating him of any accusation of its theft. Observing that the Syamantaka was claimed by several individuals, including Satrajit's daughter, Satyabhama, he returned the jewel back to Akrura's possession.

References

{{Reflist Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in the Bhagavata Purana