Who Is Jambavan (Jambavat)?
The old bear who awakened Hanuman
Jambavan is the king of the bears in the Ramayana and the oldest, wisest member of the southern search party looking for Sita.
When it became clear they had to cross the sea to Lanka, the monkeys took turns saying how many yojanas they could leap, but no one could reach 100. Jambavan spoke of the great deeds of his youth but admitted, "I have grown old and can no longer jump that far." Then he turned to Hanuman, who had been sitting in silence, and encouraged him by telling him how he was born the son of the wind god and how he had leaped at the sun as a child. These words made Hanuman remember his strength, and he set off on his great leap.
In later traditions he is a long-lived bear who also appears in the time of the god Krishna.
