Jayanta is described to fight in the battle between the gods and asuras (demons) in the Padma Purana.The Harivamsa mentions the battle between Indra and the god Krishna to acquire the celestial tree Parijat from Indra's heaven. Jayanta is described battling Krishna's son Pradyumna and is defeated. In the Skanda Purana, Jayanta is defeated by the asura Surapadman, who is finally killed by the commander-in-chief of the gods, Skanda.
The Vayu Purana narrates a tale wherein Jayanta is cursed and turned into a bamboo. This tale is also told in context of devadasi lore with some variation. Once the sage Agastya arrived in Indra's court and was welcomed by Indra, by organizing a dance performance of the apsara Urvashi. In the performance, Urvashi and Jayanta looked in each other's eyes in love. The distracted Urvashi missed the beat and the dance went haywire. An agitated Agastya cursed Urvashi to be born on earth as a devadasi and Jayanta to be a bamboo tree in the Vindhya mountains. The duo bowed in reverence and prayed for mercy. The sage said that the curse will end when Urvashi will be presented with a talaikole (a bamboo staff, Jayanta) on her dance debut (Arangetram). As ordained, the lovers were released from the curse and returned to heaven, when Urvashi got united with Jayanta as the bamboo staff.
