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Jamadagni

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

SB 1.9.6-7, Purport:

Paraśurāma, or Reṇukāsuta: He is the son of Maharṣi Jamadagni and Śrīmatī Reṇukā. Thus he is also known as Reṇukāsuta. He is one of the powerful incarnations of God, and he killed the kṣatriya community as a whole twenty-one times. With the blood of the kṣatriyas he pleased the souls of his forefathers. Later on he underwent severe penances at the Mahendra Parvata. After taking the whole earth from the kṣatriyas, he gave it in charity to Kaśyapa Muni. Paraśurāma instructed the Dhanur-veda, or the science of fighting, to Droṇācārya because he happened to be a brāhmaṇa. He was present during the coronation of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and he celebrated the function along with other great ṛṣis.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.13 Summary:

The seventh Manu, who is the son of Vivasvān, is known as Śrāddhadeva. He has ten sons, named Ikṣvāku, Nabhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, Diṣṭa, Tarūṣa, Pṛṣadhra and Vasumān. In this manvantara, or reign of Manu, among the demigods are the Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Viśvedevas, Maruts, Aśvinī-kumāras and Ṛbhus. The king of heaven, Indra, is known as Purandara, and the seven sages are known as Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja. During this period of Manu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu appears from the womb of Aditi in His incarnation as the son of Kaśyapa.

SB 8.13.5, Translation:

Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja are known as the seven sages.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.7 Summary:

Hariścandra once performed a Rājasūya-yajña, but Viśvāmitra cunningly took all of Hariścandra's possessions as a dakṣiṇa contribution and chastised Hariścandra in various ways. Because of this, a quarrel arose between Viśvāmitra and Vasiṣṭha. Hariścandra had no sons, but on the advice of Nārada he worshiped Varuṇa and in this way got a son named Rohita. Hariścandra promised that Rohita would be used to perform a Varuṇa-yajña. Varuṇa reminded Hariścandra repeatedly about this yajña, but the King, because of affection for his son, gave various arguments to avoid sacrificing him. Thus time passed, and gradually the son grew up. To safeguard his life, the boy then took bow and arrows in hand and went to the forest. Meanwhile, at home, Hariścandra suffered from dropsy because of an attack from Varuṇa. When Rohita received the news that his father was suffering, he wanted to return to the capital, but King Indra prevented him from doing so. Following the instructions of Indra, Rohita lived in the forest for six years and then returned home. Rohita purchased Śunaḥśepha, the second son of Ajīgarta, and gave him to his father, Hariścandra, as the sacrificial animal. In this way, the sacrifice was performed, Varuṇa and the other demigods were pacified, and Hariścandra was freed from disease. In this sacrifice, Viśvāmitra was the hotā priest, Jamadagni was the adhvaryu, Vasiṣṭha was the brahmā, and Ayāsya was the udgātā. King Indra, being very satisfied by the sacrifice, gave Hariścandra a golden chariot, and Viśvāmitra gave him transcendental knowledge. Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes how Hariścandra achieved perfection.

SB 9.7.22, Translation:

In that great human sacrifice, Viśvāmitra was the chief priest to offer oblations, the perfectly self-realized Jamadagni had the responsibility for chanting the mantras from the Yajur Veda, Vasiṣṭha was the chief brahminical priest, and the sage Ayāsya was the reciter of the hymns of the Sāma Veda.

SB 9.15 Summary:

From the womb of Urvaśī came six sons, named Āyu, Śrutāyu, Satyāyu, Raya, Jaya and Vijaya. The son of Śrutāyu was Vasumān, the son of Satyāyu was Śrutañjaya, the son of Raya was Eka, the son of Jaya was Amita, and the son of Vijaya was Bhīma. Bhīma's son was named Kāñcana, the son of Kāñcana was Hotraka, and the son of Hotraka was Jahnu, who was celebrated for having drunk all the water of the Ganges in one sip. The descendants of Jahnu, one after another, were Puru, Balāka, Ajaka and Kuśa. The sons of Kuśa were Kuśāmbu, Tanaya, Vasu and Kuśanābha. From Kuśāmbu came Gādhi, who had a daughter named Satyavatī. Satyavatī married Ṛcīka Muni after the muni contributed a substantial dowry, and from the womb of Satyavatī by Ṛcīka Muni, Jamadagni was born. The son of Jamadagni was Rāma, or Paraśurāma. When a king named Kārtavīryārjuna stole Jamadagni's desire cow, Paraśurāma, who is ascertained by learned experts to be a saktyāveśa incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, killed Kārtavīryārjuna. Later, he annihilated the kṣatriya dynasty twenty-one times. After Paraśurāma killed Kārtavīryārjuna, Jamadagni told him that killing a king is sinful and that as a brāhmaṇa he should have tolerated the offense. Therefore Jamadagni advised Paraśurāma to atone for his sin by traveling to various holy places.

SB 9.15.11, Translation and Purport:

Satyavatī, however, pacified Ṛcīka Muni with peaceful words and requested that her son not be like a fierce kṣatriya. Ṛcīka Muni replied, "Then your grandson will be of a kṣatriya spirit." Thus Jamadagni was born as the son of Satyavatī.

The great sage Ṛcīka was very angry, but somehow or other Satyavatī pacified him, and at her request he changed his mind. It is indicated here that the son of Jamadagni would be born as Paraśurāma.

SB 9.15.12-13, Translation:

Satyavatī later became the sacred river Kauśikī to purify the entire world, and her son, Jamadagni, married Reṇukā, the daughter of Reṇu. By the semen of Jamadagni, many sons, headed by Vasumān, were born from the womb of Reṇukā. The youngest of them was named Rāma, or Paraśurāma.

SB 9.15.23, Translation and Purport:

Once while Kārtavīryārjuna was wandering unengaged in a solitary forest and hunting, he approached the residence of Jamadagni.

Kārtavīryārjuna had no business going to the residence of Jamadagni, but because he was puffed-up by his extraordinary power, he went there and offended Paraśurāma. This was the prelude to his being killed by Paraśurāma for his offensive act.

SB 9.15.24, Translation and Purport:

The sage Jamadagni, who was engaged in great austerities in the forest, received the King very well, along with the King's soldiers, ministers and carriers. He supplied all the necessities to worship these guests, for he possessed a kāmadhenu cow that was able to supply everything.

The Brahma-saṁhitā informs us that the spiritual world, and especially the planet Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṇa lives, is full of surabhi cows (surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29)). The surabhi cow is also called kāmadhenu. Although Jamadagni possessed only one kāmadhenu, he was able to get from it everything desirable. Thus he was able to receive the King, along with the King's great number of followers, ministers, soldiers, animals and palanquin carriers. When we speak of a king, we understand that he is accompanied by many followers. Jamadagni was able to receive all the King's followers properly and feed them sumptuously with food prepared in ghee. The King was astonished at how opulent Jamadagni was because of possessing only one cow, and therefore he became envious of the great sage. This was the beginning of his offense. Paraśurāma, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, killed Kārtavīryārjuna because Kārtavīryārjuna was too proud. One may possess unusual opulence in this material world, but if one becomes puffed up and acts whimsically he will be punished by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the lesson to learn from this history, in which Paraśurāma became angry at Kārtavīryārjuna and killed him and rid the entire world of kṣatriyas twenty-one times.

SB 9.15.25, Translation and Purport:

Kārtavīryārjuna thought that Jamadagni was more powerful and wealthy than himself because of possessing a jewel in the form of the kāmadhenu. Therefore he and his own men, the Haihayas, were not very much appreciative of Jamadagni's reception. On the contrary, they wanted to possess that kāmadhenu, which was useful for the execution of the agnihotra sacrifice.

Jamadagni was more powerful than Kārtavīryārjuna because of performing the agnihotra-yajña with clarified butter received from the kāmadhenu. Not everyone can be expected to possess such a cow. Nonetheless, an ordinary man may possess an ordinary cow, give protection to this animal, take sufficient milk from it, and engage the milk to produce butter and clarified ghee, especially for performing the agnihotra-yajña. This is possible for everyone. Thus we find that in Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa advises go-rakṣya, the protection of cows. This is essential because if cows are cared for properly they will surely supply sufficient milk. We have practical experience in America that in our various ISKCON farms we are giving proper protection to the cows and receiving more than enough milk. In other farms the cows do not deliver as much milk as in our farms; because our cows know very well that we are not going to kill them, they are happy, and they give ample milk. Therefore this instruction given by Lord Kṛṣṇa—go-rakṣya—is extremely meaningful. The whole world must learn from Kṛṣṇa how to live happily without scarcity simply by producing food grains (annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14)) and giving protection to the cows (go-rakṣya). Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāvajam (BG 18.44). Those who belong to the third level of human society, namely the mercantile people, must keep land for producing food grains and giving protection to cows. This is the injunction of Bhagavad-gītā. In the matter of protecting the cows, the meat-eaters will protest, but in answer to them we may say that since Kṛṣṇa gives stress to cow protection, those who are inclined to eat meat may eat the flesh of unimportant animals like hogs, dogs, goats and sheep, but they should not touch the life of the cows, for this is destructive to the spiritual advancement of human society.

SB 9.15.26, Translation:

Being puffed up by material power, Kārtavīryārjuna encouraged his men to steal Jamadagni's kāmadhenu. Thus the men forcibly took away the crying kāmadhenu, along with her calf, to Māhiṣmatī, Kārtavīryārjuna's capital.

SB 9.15.27, Translation:

Thereafter, Kārtavīryārjuna having left with the kāmadhenu, Paraśurāma returned to the āśrama. When Paraśurāma, the youngest son of Jamadagni, heard about Kārtavīryārjuna's nefarious deed, he became as angry as a trampled snake.

SB 9.15.35-36, Translation:

Thereafter, Paraśurāma cut off like a mountain peak the head of Kārtavīryārjuna, who had already lost his arms. When Kārtavīryārjuna's ten thousand sons saw their father killed, they all fled in fear. Then Paraśurāma, having killed the enemy, released the kāmadhenu, which had undergone great suffering, and brought it back with its calf to his residence, where he gave it to his father, Jamadagni.

SB 9.15.37, Translation:

Paraśurāma described to his father and brothers his activities in killing Kārtavīryārjuna. Upon hearing of these deeds, Jamadagni spoke to his son as follows.

SB 9.15.41, Purport:

One who fully surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is freed from all sins (ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66)). From the very day or moment he fully surrenders to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, even the most sinful person is freed. Nonetheless, as an example, Jamadagni advised his son Paraśurāma to worship the holy places. Because an ordinary person cannot immediately surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is advised to go from one holy place to another to find saintly persons and thus gradually be released from sinful reactions.

SB 9.16 Summary:

When Jamadagni was killed by the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, as described in this chapter, Paraśurāma rid the entire world of kṣatriyas twenty-one times. This chapter also describes the descendants of Viśvāmitra.

When Jamadagni's wife, Reṇukā, went to bring water from the Ganges and saw the King of the Gandharvas enjoying the company of Apsarās, she was captivated, and she slightly desired to associate with him. Because of this sinful desire, she was punished by her husband. Paraśurāma killed his mother and brothers, but later, by dint of the austerities of Jamadagni, they were revived. The sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, however, remembering the death of their father, wanted to take revenge against Lord Paraśurāma, and therefore when Paraśurāma was absent from the āśrama, they killed Jamadagni, who was meditating on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Paraśurāma returned to the āśrama and saw his father killed, he was very sorry, and after asking his brothers to take care of the dead body, he went out with determination to kill all the kṣatriyas on the surface of the world. Taking up his axe, he went to Māhiṣmatī-pura, the capital of Kārtavīryārjuna, and killed all of Kārtavīryārjuna's sons, whose blood became a great river. Paraśurāma, however, was not satisfied with killing only the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; later, when the kṣatriyas became disturbing, he killed them twenty-one times, so that there were no kṣatriyas on the surface of the earth. Thereafter, Paraśurāma joined the head of his father to the dead body and performed various sacrifices to please the Supreme Lord. Thus Jamadagni got life again in his body, and later he was promoted to the higher planetary system known as Saptarṣi-maṇḍala. Paraśurāma, the son of Jamadagni, still lives in Mahendra-parvata. In the next manvantara, he will become a preacher of Vedic knowledge.

SB 9.16.2, Translation:

Once when Reṇukā, the wife of Jamadagni, went to the bank of the Ganges to get water, she saw the King of the Gandharvas, decorated with a garland of lotuses and sporting in the Ganges with celestial women (Apsarās).

SB 9.16.5, Translation:

The great sage Jamadagni understood the adultery in the mind of his wife. Therefore he was very angry and told his sons, "My dear sons, kill this sinful woman!" But the sons did not carry out his order.

SB 9.16.6, Translation:

Jamadagni then ordered his youngest son, Paraśurāma, to kill his brothers, who had disobeyed this order, and his mother, who had mentally committed adultery. Lord Paraśurāma, knowing the power of his father, who was practiced in meditation and austerity, killed his mother and brothers immediately.

SB 9.16.7, Translation:

Jamadagni, the son of Satyavatī, was very much pleased with Paraśurāma and asked him to take any benediction he liked. Lord Paraśurāma replied, "Let my mother and brothers live again and not remember having been killed by me. This is the benediction I ask."

SB 9.16.8, Translation:

Thereafter, by the benediction of Jamadagni, Lord Paraśurāma's mother and brothers immediately came alive and were very happy, as if awakened from sound sleep. Lord Paraśurāma had killed his relatives in accordance with his father's order because he was fully aware of his father's power, austerity and learning.

SB 9.16.9, Translation and Purport:

My dear King Parīkṣit, the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, who were defeated by the superior strength of Paraśurāma, never achieved happiness, for they always remembered the killing of their father.

Jamadagni was certainly very powerful due to his austerities, but because of a slight offense by his poor wife, Reṇukā, he ordered that she be killed. This certainly was a sinful act, and therefore Jamadagni was killed by the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, as described herein. Lord Paraśurāma was also infected by sin because of killing Kārtavīryārjuna, although this was not very offensive. Therefore, whether one be Kārtavīryārjuna, Lord Paraśurāma, Jamadagni or whoever one may be, one must act very cautiously and sagaciously; otherwise one must suffer the results of sinful activities. This is the lesson we receive from Vedic literature.

SB 9.16.10, Translation:

Once when Paraśurāma left the āśrama for the forest with Vasumān and his other brothers, the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna took the opportunity to approach Jamadagni's residence to seek vengeance for their grudge.

SB 9.16.11, Translation:

The sons of Kārtavīryārjuna were determined to commit sinful deeds. Therefore when they saw Jamadagni sitting by the side of the fire to perform yajña and meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is praised by the best of selected prayers, they took the opportunity to kill him.

SB 9.16.12, Translation:

With pitiable prayers, Reṇukā, the mother of Paraśurāma and wife of Jamadagni, begged for the life of her husband. But the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, being devoid of the qualities of kṣatriyas, were so cruel that despite her prayers they forcibly cut off his head and took it away.

SB 9.16.14, Translation:

Although the sons of Jamadagni, including Lord Paraśurāma, were a long distance from home, as soon as they heard Reṇukā loudly calling "O Rāma, O my son," they hastily returned to the āśrama, where they saw their father already killed.

SB 9.16.15, Translation:

Virtually bewildered by grief, anger, indignation, affliction and lamentation, the sons of Jamadagni cried, "O father, most religious, saintly person, you have left us and gone to the heavenly planets !"

SB 9.16.24, Translation and Purport:

Thus Jamadagni, being worshiped by Lord Paraśurāma, was brought back to life with full remembrance, and he became one of the seven sages in the group of seven stars.

The seven stars revolving around the polestar at the zenith are called saptarṣi-maṇḍala. On these seven stars, which form the topmost part of our planetary system, reside seven sages: Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvāja. These seven stars are seen every night, and they each make a complete orbit around the polestar within twenty-four hours. Along with these seven stars, all the others stars also orbit from east to west. The upper portion of the universe is called the north, and the lower portion is called the south. Even in our ordinary dealings, while studying a map, we regard the upper portion of the map as north.

SB 9.16.25, Translation:

My dear King Parīkṣit, in the next manvantara the lotus-eyed Personality of Godhead Lord Paraśurāma, the son of Jamadagni, will be a great propounder of Vedic knowledge. In other words, he will be one of the seven sages.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 12.11.43, Translation:

Tvaṣṭā as the sun-god; Jamadagni, the son of Ṛcīka, as the sage; Kambalāśva as the Nāga; Tilottamā as the Apsarā; Brahmāpeta as the Rākṣasa; Śatajit as the Yakṣa; and Dhṛtarāṣṭra as the Gandharva maintain the month of Iṣa.

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.3.21 -- Los Angeles, September 26, 1972:

So Satyavatī happened to be a daughter of a fisherwoman, and, but she was very qualified, beautiful. So before her marriage, Vyāsadeva was born out of her womb. It is not that..., that before marriage girls were not giving birth to child. It was there, the society. But the society was so elevated that this was not done commonly. In extraordinary cases. So Satyavatī gave birth to Vyāsadeva, such a son, Vyāsadeva, incarnation of God. Vyāsadeva is not ordinary being. An incarnation of Nārāyaṇa. And he was meant for expanding Vedic knowledge. Then again, Vyāsadeva was born, but nobody could understand. She remained a virgin girl by the blessings of Parāśara Muni. Then she was again attractive to Mahārāja Śantanu. Mahārāja Śantanu became attracted by Satyavatī, and he wanted to marry. But Mahārāja Śantanu had his son. So her father objected. So king proposed to the fisherman that "I want to marry your girl." So the father said, "No, no, I cannot allow my girl to marry with you because you are already married. You have got your son, elderly son, Bhīṣmadeva." So he was a little sorry, Śantanu Mahārāja.

The son could understand that "The father is sorry because he was refused the hand of the girl Satyavatī." So he approached father. Not father. He approached the father of Satyavatī, that "Why you are refusing my father?" "No. You are present. How can I offer my daughter?" "No. Even if I am present..." Because the law is the eldest son will be enthroned after the death of the father. So he was eldest son. So Satyavatī's father was hesitating. So Bhīṣmadeva promised that "I will not accept the throne. The child born of Satyavatī, he will accept, he will be given the throne. You give your daughter to my father." He still refused. He still, "Well, our son may be king, but then again, your son will become the king." In this way, he was hesitating. So Bhīṣmadeva immediately promised that "I shall never marry. Don't hesitate." So in this way he induced the fisherman to give his daughter to his father.

So father could understand that "My son is so great that he wanted to satisfy. I wanted this girl, and he has managed." So he gave him a benediction to Bhīṣmadeva, "My dear son, you are so benevolent, so magnanimous. So I give you one benediction that you'll not die unless you desire to die. Unless you fix up your mind, 'Now I shall die,' you'll never die. You remain a very strong brahmacārī." So Bhīṣma remained very strong brahmacārī. There is another incidence of Bhīṣmadeva's life, that Pāṇḍu-vaṁśa. So one girl was attracted. So she was conquered. So the girl thought that "I will be able to marry Bhīṣmadeva," but when she came at home, Bhīṣmadeva said, "No, you have been conquered to be married with my brother. I am brahmacārī. I cannot marry you." So the girl said that "You have kidnapped me, conquered me. You must marry." So "No, I shall not marry." Then the girl approached to his spiritual master, this Jamadagni, Bhṛgupati, that "This boy he has conquered me. Still, he is not marrying me." So Jamadagni said, "Bhīṣma, you must marry this girl." Bhīṣmadeva said, "No. I have promised to my father never to marry. I cannot marry." Then Jamadagni said, "If you don't marry, then I will force you to marry." So there was fight between Bhīṣmadeva, spiritual master and... (laughter) So the spiritual master became defeated. (laughter) Then he gave his blessings. "All right, you remain brahmacārī." (laughter)

Initiation Lectures

Initiations -- New York, July 25, 1971:

Prabhupāda: You know the rules and regulations? That's all right. Jamadāgni.

Devotee: Jamadāgni.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Jamadāgni was a great sage. That's all. Father of Paraśurāma.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 17, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...feverish. But these people, they take bhakti as a means of liberation. That is their mistake.

Dr. Patel: That is their mistake.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: That is where we were quarreling very often.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We have now made a conclusion not to fight.

Dr. Patel: (laughs) Yes.

Prabhupāda: Otherwise he can become a Jamadagna.

Kirtirāja: I know.

Prabhupāda: You know Jamadagna? You know Jamadagna?

Dr. Patel: Jamadagni.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: Who asked Paraśurāma to fill his bowl up.

Prabhupāda: No, I mean to say Jamadagna.

Dr. Patel: Jamadagni.

Prabhupāda: Means Jamadagni's son. Paraśurāma.

Dr. Patel: Jamadagni, the Paraśurāma's son. Jamadagna is Paraśurāma, the father.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)

Page Title:Jamadagni
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas
Created:20 of Oct, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=31, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:34