Syamantaka Mani associated with Lord Krishna is the modern day Kohinoor?

Here’s taking you through one of the legends associated with the Syamantaka Mani and how Lord Krishna acquired it.

Pic courtesy: Thinkstock image for representation purpose only.

The most precious gem on earth with a long standing history – Kohinoor – has been making headlines off late. Though modern history has its own chronology, some schools of thought believe that the gem’s origin dates back to the times of Lord Krishna.

Though there is no conclusive evidence to prove the aforementioned belief, the Syamantaka Mani associated with Lord Krishna is speculated to be the modern day Kohinoor by certain groups.

Here’s taking you through one of the legends associated with the Syamantaka Mani and how Krishna acquired it.

There was a ruler named Satrajit, an ardent devotee of the Sun God. Pleased by his devotion and prayers, the Sun God gifted him with the Syamantaka jewel which shone radiantly. On his return to Dwarka, Lord Krishna advised Satrajit to handover the precious gem to King Ugrasena. But Satrajit chose not to do so.

Later, Satrajit gave the Syamantaka to his brother Prasen. With the jewel on his body, Prasen went to the jungles to hunt. A lion attacked and killed him. And it took away the Syamantaka. Jambhavan or the king of bears came across the lion, indulged in a fierce fight and eventually killed the lion to grab the jewel.

On learning about Prasen’s mysterious disappearance, Krishna visited the forest. Krishna was believed to have been accused of Prasen’s disppearnce and hence to prove his innocence, Krishna decided to head to the forest.

He found Prasen’s body and learnt that he was killed by a lion on seeing marks of the claws. He walked further and found the lion’s body. On seeing marks of a bear’s claw on its body, Krishna learnt that the lion was killed by a bear.

By following the foot prints of the bear, Krishna reached Jambhavan’s cave. His children were playing with the precious gem. To claim the gem, Krishna decided to fight against Jambhavan.

The two fought for over 28 days. On the last day, Jambhavan, a devotee of Lord Ram realised that Krishna was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and apologised to him for the clash. After handing over the Syamantaka, Jambhavan gave his daughter Jambavati in marriage to Krishna.

Krishna returned to Dwarka with the Syamantaka and Jambavati. The Lord unfolded the truth about Prasen’s disappearance and gave the gem back to Satrajit, who felt extremely ashamed for having doubted Krishna’s role in his brother’s death.