The Story of the Syamantaka Jewel

When the Syamantaka jewel given by the Sun god went missing, Krishna was falsely accused, and he cleared his name by recovering it from the cave of Jambavan.

Satrajit, a Yadava nobleman of Dwarka, was a devotee of Surya, the Sun god. Pleased with him, Surya gave him the brilliant Syamantaka jewel, which shone like the sun itself and brought great wealth and freedom from misfortune to the land where it was honoured. When Satrajit wore it into Dwarka, people at first thought the Sun god himself was coming.

Krishna once suggested that such a jewel would be best placed with King Ugrasena for the good of all. Out of greed, Satrajit refused. Some time later his brother Prasena put on the jewel and rode into the forest to hunt. There a lion killed him and took the shining jewel. The lion in turn was killed by Jambavan, the great king of the bears, who carried the jewel to his cave and gave it to his child as a plaything.

When Prasena did not return, Satrajit began to whisper that Krishna had killed his brother for the jewel. The rumour spread through Dwarka. To clear his name, Krishna went into the forest with some citizens, followed Prasena's trail, found his body and the dead lion, and came at last to the mouth of a dark cave. Leaving the others outside, he entered alone.

Inside, Jambavan, not recognising him, rushed forward to fight. According to the Bhagavatam, they fought for twenty-eight days. Finally the mighty Jambavan grew exhausted and realised that only his worshipful Lord, Shri Rama, could have such strength. He bowed down, and Krishna touched him lovingly. Jambavan joyfully returned the jewel and gave his daughter Jambavati to Krishna in marriage.

Krishna returned to Dwarka with Jambavati and the jewel, and in the royal assembly handed it back to Satrajit. Deeply ashamed of his false accusation, Satrajit offered Krishna his daughter Satyabhama in marriage together with the jewel. Krishna accepted Satyabhama, but returned the jewel to Satrajit.

There is a well-known popular belief connected with this story. On Ganesh Chaturthi (Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi), it is said that one who looks at the moon may suffer a false accusation, as Krishna once did; listening to or reading the story of the Syamantaka jewel is believed to remove that blemish. Whatever one's view of the custom, the story teaches that truth cleared through right action shines brighter than any jewel.

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, ch. 56–57

Place

Dwarka – Jambavan's cave

Lesson

A false accusation is answered best not with anger but with patient, truthful action.