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When Monroe claimed, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend," the world agreed upon diamonds being the ultimate status symbol. But Ancient India had a different concept. Diamonds enjoyed a semi-divine status with an auspicious label, and Koh-i-Noor was no different. Then what happened that reversed this boon into a curse? Let us explore yet another lesser-known aspect of this diamond from the pages of Ancient India.
Kohinoor Series
Mythology has the answers to all our cultural practices and beliefs. Similarly, the creation of precious stones comes from an intriguing tale in the Garuda Purana.
Bala, the asura, was the invincible king of demons. The devas decided to defeat him, fearing his increasing power. According to the plan, the devas had to approach Bala in the guise of brahmins, wanting to perform a yagna for the prosperity of Bala's subjects.
Bala immediately fell for the trap and agreed to become the sacrificial bate to appease the gods above. With every mantra of the yagna, Bala's soul ascended towards heaven.
His body, on the other hand, was a miraculous sight. His bones slowly formed diamonds, the flowing blood turned into bright rubies, shiny pearls came from teeth, topaz from his skin, and his eyes were unique sapphires.
This unpredictable turn of events started a mad rush. Every demon or deity rushed to gather these divine blessings. Amidst this chaos, some of the precious stones dropped down to earth.
And that's how humans came to possess these celestial objects. It was a win-win situation for everyone. The stones, especially diamonds, had the boon of expiating sins while preventing the effects of poison and diseases with the added bonus of God residing in every particle of it.
The question that then comes to our minds is when and how did this equation change? Why did these precious gems become an object of fear?
The answer lies in another legend from the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavad Purana. The myth says that Surya Dev's glowing radiance came from the Syamantaka Mani (or the Prince of Gemstones). Known for its divine beauty, Syamantaka was the first gem in Indian literature to leave a trail of blood on its way.
Satrajit, the king of Yadavas in Dwarka, was taking a stroll by the seashore on one fine day when he had the pleasure of encountering his patron deity, the Surya. Unable to see him due to the glare of the brilliant Sun, Satrajit requested the former to appear in a less-blinding form.
Surya then removed the Syamantaka and approached his devotee. Satrajit duly worshipped Surya and received the divine stone by the then impressed God.
Eventually, Satrajit let his brother, Prasena have the celestial stone. Alas! Bad luck comes without notice. Prasena went on a hunting excursion with the Syamantaka and was brutally mauled to death by the lion he wanted to hunt.
Before the lion could enjoy the shining stone, it was killed by the king of bears, Jambavan. Back in Dwarka, a rumour was afloat. Everyone thought that Krishna killed Prasena to possess the precious stone. As the word reached Satrajit, he openly accused Krishna of his brother's murder.
To clear his name, Krishna set out to the forest. After discovering the corpse of Prasena, Krishna's further investigation led him to Jambavan's cave, who refused to return the stone. After a duel of 28 days, Jambavan recognised Krishna's divine soul and surrendered.
Krishna successfully returned to Dwarka with Syamantaka. An embarrassed Satrajit then offered his daughter, Satyabhama's hand in marriage. Krishna, of course, accepted Satyabhama. Unbeknownst to everyone, this was just the beginning of the bloody trail Syamantaka promised.
Syamantaka's glory attracted the evil. One such group of three princes went to Dwarka, killed Satrajit and ran away with the stone in Krishna's absence. A mournful Satyabhama approached Krishna to seek justice. Krishna then tracked down the mastermind of the plan, Prince Satadhava and slew him with the Sudarshana Chakra.
This tale of theft, greed and bloodshed closely resembles the similar trail Koh-i-Noor left behind it. It explains why the auspicious diamonds suddenly became agents of enticing crimes like theft and murder. The label of the cursed gem thus becomes inherent. That's why many people believe that the Syamantaka, indeed, is the most treasured, Koh-i-Noor. Whether this claim is true or not continues to be a mystery, but one can let their imagination run wild.
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