Parashurama
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Parashurama (
Sanskrit: परशुराम
IAST:
Paraśurāma, lit.
Rama with an axe) is the
sixth avatar of
Vishnu in
Hinduism. He is the son of
Renuka and one of the
saptarishis,
Jamadagni. He lived during the last
Treta and
Dvapara Yugas and is one of the
Chiranjivi (immortals) of Hinduism. Parashurama, a
Brahmin, received his famous axe after undertaking terrible
penance to please
Shiva, who in turn taught him
Kalaripayattu (the mother of all
martial arts).
Parashurama is most known for ridding the world of
kshatriyas twenty-one times over after the mighty king
Kartavirya Arjuna killed his father. He plays important roles in the
Mahabharata and
Ramayana, serving as mentor to
Bhishma,
Drona and
Karna.
Parashurama and
Indrajit (
Ravana's son) are believed to be the only humans who ever possessed the three ultimate weapons: the
Brahmanda astra,
Vaishnava astra and
Pashupatastra. Parashurama was a disciple of
Shiva and learned the scriptures and the arts of warfare from
Shiva.
He then acquired celestial weapons from Shiva and the other gods on
Shiva's instructions. Shiva personally trained Parashurama for decades
in the art of warfare.The Bhargavastra was his personal celestial weapon
and
vijaya was his personal bow which was gifted by Shiva. Parashurama also fought back the advancing seas to save the lands of
Konkan and
Kerala.
Parashurama is worshipped as
mūlapuruṣa, or male ancestral founder, of the
Dravida,
Niyogi,
Bhumihar,
Chitpavan,
Devrukhe,
Daivadnya,
Mohyal,
Tyagi,
Anavil and
Nambudiri Brahmin communities. Along with the sages
Vyasa,
Kripa and
Drona's son
Ashwatthama, Parashurama is considered to be foremost among the rishis in the
Kaliyuga.
[1][2] Parashurama will also become one of the saptarishi in the 8th Manvantara.
[3] Parashurama is a mighty
Maharathi and he will reappear as the martial instructor of
Vishnu's 10th avatar
Kalki.
Etymology
The word
Parashurama is derived from two words
parashu (परशु) meaning 'axe' and
rama (राम). So literally, the word
Parashurama means 'Rama with an axe'. His other names include:
- Ramabhadra (रामभद्र) - gracious Rama
- Bhargava (भार्गव) - descendant of Bhrigu
- Bhrigupati (भृगुपति) - lord of Bhrigu dynasty
- Bhriguvanshi (भृगुवंशी) - he who belongs to Bhrigu lineage
- Jamadagnya (जामदग्न्य) - son of Jamadagni
Lineage
The exact birthplace of Bhargav Parashurama is contested, although the history of his lineage took place in the
Haihaya Kingdom located in modern-day
Maheshwar.
The grandfather of Bhargava Parashurama was a great
rishi named Richika who was the great grandson of a famous sage
Bhrigu. Bhrigu's son was
Chyavana.
Chyavana foresaw that a violent Brahmana would be born in his line in
consequence of King Kusika and tried to curse him. However, Chyavana was
so pleased with the King's behaviour that he gave him a boon that a
Brahmarshi would be born in his lineage. This resulted in the birth of
Kaushika who later became known as the sage Vishwamitra. Chyavana's son
was the mighty Aurva who developed intense hatred for Kshatriyas as they
had put his mother in danger, when she was pregnant with him. Aurva put
away his hatred and trained the Ikshwaku
King Sagara
in warfare. However this trait would manifest in his descendants. Aurva
had a hundred sons. His eldest son, Richika, acquired the Dhanurveda
and the arts of warfare spontaneously solely by fiat of his will,
without any formal instruction. Richika's son, Jamadagni, also acquired
the Dhanurveda in the same way and became a highly skilled warrior.
Jamadagni's youngest son was Parashurama.
Parshurama is also the kul guru of
Bharadwaj
and Kashyap gotra. Parshuram is descendant of Bhrigu. One day, the
rishi was traveling through the countryside seeking a bride. At the
time, there were two dominant clans, the
Bharat-Suryavansha or
Solar Dynasty and the
Chandra-vamsha or
Lunar Dynasty.
The ruling King Gadhi belonged to the Lunar Dynasty and had a beautiful
daughter, Satyavati, who was unwed. Richeek visited the King, who
entertained him at his court. The rishi was besot with the beauty of
Satyavati and at the end of the evening he asked the King to have her as
his bride.
The King was taken aback, but could not deny the request of a
Brahmin. As such, he agreed to give his daughter away to the rishi, but
on condition that Richeek give him one-thousand horses, all with one ear
black and the body entirely white. The rishi agreed to the demand of
the King. He then did penance to
Varuna
and was blessed with the horses that the King had requested. Richeek
then married Satyavati after fulfilling wishes of the King.
Satyavati adjusted well to an ascetic life as she was blessed with a
good countenance, but she did not have any children. Meanwhile, at the
Kingdom, her father had no heir to the throne as well and this also
worried Satyavati. One day, Ruchika asked her what was wrong and she
told him of her concerns for the Kingdom.
Then Ruchika helped both Satyavati and her mother. He gave Satyavati
two potions, one for her mother so that she would have a mighty
Kshatriya son and one for Satyavati so that she would have a son that
would become a great sage. Satyavati gave the potions to her mother.
However, not trusting the sage, her mother switched the containers.
In time, both mother and daughter found they were expecting children.
However, the sage noticed that when he looked at his wife he saw a
Kshatriya aura and he asked what had happened. Satyavati told Ruchika,
to which he responded, "Now our son will be a great warrior instead of a
sage." Satyavati begged the rishi to instead make her grandson become
the great warrior and her son a rishi. Seeing her distress, Ruchika
acquiesced. Satyavati gave birth to a son,
Jamadagni, who became a great
saptarishi, while her grandson Bhargav was the sixth incarnation of Vishnu and one of the greatest warriors of all ages.
Birth
The exact location of Bhargav's birth is contested, although
puranas
claim that he was born at Renuka Tirth as the sixth incarnation of Lord
Vishnu. His father, Jamadagni, was a direct descendant of
Brahma.
Renuka gave birth to four sons before Parashurama:
Vasu,
Visva Vasu, Brihudyanu and Brutvakanva. Before the birth of their fifth son, Jamadagni meditated with his wife Renuka at
Tape Ka Tiba near Renuka lake for
divine providence. With the blessing of
Lord Shiva, Vishnu answered their wishes and was born from the womb of Renuka as their fifth and youngest son, whom they named Rambhadra.
Renuka & The Clay Pot
Goddess
Renuka
was known for her chastity and devotion to her husband. Such was her
faith, that she was able to fetch water from the river in a pot of
unbaked clay, with the pot held together only by the strength of her
devotion.
One day while at the river, a group of
Gandharvas
in a chariot passed by in the sky above. Filled with desire for only a
moment, the unbaked pot she held dissolved in the river. Afraid to
return to her husband, she waited at the river bank, uncertain of what
to do next. Meanwhile, Jamadagni noticed his wife had not returned.
Through his yogic powers, he divined all that had taken place and was
enraged. The rishi called his eldest son, handed him an axe and asked
the boy to kill his mother. Horrified, the boy refused and so Jamadagni
turned him to stone. He then asked each of his sons and as they refused,
one by one, he turned them to stone. Finally only his youngest son,
Parashurama was left. Ever obedient, the boy beheaded his mother.
Pleased Jamadagni then offered two boons to Parashurama. The boy
asked that his mother be brought back to life and his brothers to be
returned from stone to flesh. Impressed by the affection and devotion of
his son, Jamadagni granted his request.
Visiting his forefathers and acquiring weapons from Lord Shiva
Parashurama grew up to be a powerful youth. Though a Brahmin by
birth, Parashurama expressed unusual interest in weapons and studied
warfare as well as sacred scriptures under the tutelage his father who
was himself a powerful archer. Afterwards, Parashurama devoted himself
in serving his parents and brothers, helping Jamadagni to run his
hermitage.
According to the Brahmanda Purana, when Parashurama was a teenager,
he expressed his desire to meet his paternal grandfather Richika.
Jamadagni permitted his son and Parashurama visited Richika in his
hermitage. Richika and his wife welcomed him and Parashurama stayed with
them for a few months, serving them and acquiring knowledge from
Richika. Curious about his ancestors, Parashurama went to the hermitage
of Richika's father Aurva and a few months later, he went to Aurva's
father, Chyavana. Parashurama was devoted to them and they too gave him
knowledge.
Many months later, Chyavana told Parashurama to meet his own father,
Sage Bhrigu, the very progenitor of the Bhargava race himself. With
Chyavana's instructions, Parashurama was able to enter Bhrigu's
hermitage and bowed down before his ancestor.
Parashurama lived with Bhrigu for many months and Bhrigu trained his
descendant in performing harsh penances. After his training, Bhrigu
called Parashurama and asked him to immediately go to the Himavat and
Gandhamadana mountains and perform penances to Lord Shiva, in order to
acquire divine weapons from him.
Lord Shiva was pleased with this, and appeared before him and asked
him for a boon. Parashurama expressed his desire to obtain celestial
weapons and skills in warfare from the God. Shiva told him that he would
grant the boon only when Parashurama proved himself to be a worthy
soul. Shiva told Parashurama to undertake a Tirtha Yatra or holy
pilgrimage. After years of penances, Shiva was pleased with
Parashurama's devotion and summoned him. Shiva ordered Parashurama to
slay the
Daityas and
Danavas who were the enemies of the Devas, to which the latter agreed.
After vanquishing the Daityas and Danavas in battle, Parashurama
proved himself worthy. He acquired many boons from Lord Shiva.
Parashurama's first boon was that he should surpass everyone in divine
weapons, in the skill of wielding weapons and in mastery of sacred
scriptures. His second boon was to be unvanquishable and invincible in
battle. His third boon was to be free of sins and diseases and remain in
his prime and health forever. His fourth boon was to be renowned in the
world. His fifth boon was to be capable of performing arduous tasks and
penances and to remain devoted to Shiva forever. Shiva granted all
these boons to him. Shiva gave him mastery over many celestial weapons
as well as a chariot and horses which could go anywhere at will, a
celestial armour, divine bows, a conch shell and two inexhaustible
quivers of arrows.
Once, Lord Shiva challenged Parashurama to a battle to test his
skills in warfare. The spiritual master Lord Shiva and the disciple Shri
Parashuram became locked in fierce battle, a dreadful duel that lasted
for twenty one days and while evading a blow by the Trident (
Trishul)
of Lord Shiva, Shri Parashuram countered and vigorously attacked him
with his Parashu. It struck Lord Shiva on the forehead creating a wound.
Lord Shiva was very pleased to see the amazing warfare skills of his
disciple and passionately embraced Shri Parashuram. Lord Shiva preserved
this wound as an ornament so that the reputation of his disciple
remained imperishable and insurmountable. 'Khanda-parshu' (wounded by
Parashu) is one of the
thousand names of Lord Shiva.
Having been trained in warfare by Lord Shiva himself, Parashurama became the foremost of all wielders of weapons.
Meeting Akritavana
On his way home, Parashurama saw a Brahmin boy chased by a tiger.
Parashurama plucked a grass blade and burnt the tiger to ashes. The boy
recovered and decided to follow Parashurama as a friend and disciple.
Since he was unwounded, he was called Akritavana.
The duo first went to Bhrigu, then Chyavana, then Aurva, then Richika and then Jamadagni and told them about their adventures.
Getting Vijaya Bow From Lord Indra
Shri Parashurama, clipped the thousand arms of
Kartavirya Arjuna
(Sahastrarjun), one by one, with his Parshu and killed him. He repelled
his army by showering arrows on them. The whole country greatly
welcomed the destruction of
Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahastrarjun). The king of Deities,
Indra was in possession of Lord
Shiva's
Vijaya Dhanusha.
Indra was so pleased that he presented this most beloved
Vijaya (bow) to Shri Parashurama on instruction from Lord
Shiva. Dev
Indra had destroyed demon dynasties with this bow. By the fatal arrows shot with the help of this
Vijaya bow, Shri Parashurama destroyed the miscreant
Kshatriyas twenty one times.
Later Shri Parashurama presented the
Vijaya bow to his disciple
Karna when he was pleased with his intense devotion to the Guru.
Karna used this bow to fight on the 17th day of the Kurukshetra war.
Karna become unconquerable with help of the
Vijaya.
Kartavirya Sahastrarjun and The Haihaya Kingdom
The time of Parashurama was a tumultuous one for the Indian subcontinent, with
puranas indicating frequent battles between several rival
Kshatriya clans and kingdoms. Parashurama lived within the
Haihaya Kingdom, located in modern-day
Maheshwar on the banks of the
Narmada River. The generations of enmity between the
Kshatriya Haihaya and the
Brahmin Bhargavas, from whom Parashurama hailed, were mentioned in the
Mahabharata numerous times.
Dattatreya, embodiment of the holy trinity
Trimurti, whom Kartavirya worshiped and who would later deliver the
Tripura Rahasya to Parashurama
The Haihaya were ruled by a powerful and cruel King named
Kartavirya Arjuna. He was the incarnation of
Sudarshana, Lord Vishnu's Celestial weapon,
Chakra that had taken birth in human form. In addition, Kartavirya worshipped a divine being known as
Dattatreya, embodiment of
Trimurti and descendant of the Saptarishi
Atri.
For his obeisance, Dattatreya had granted the king a flying golden
chariot that would travel wherever he wished and one-thousand arms.
With these boons, Kartavirya became immeasurably powerful, conducting many military conquests after which he made
Mahishmati in present-day
Maheshwar capital of his Kingdom. Kartavirya became so powerful that he was even able to defeat and imprison the demon King
Ravana at the
Godavari. Ravana, in turn, would later be the nemesis of the
Ramayana.
The Sacred Calf, The Death of Kartavirya Arjuna & the Genocide of the Kshatriyas.
The violent persecution of Brahmins by Kshatriya had at the time
spanned generations. Aurva, great-grandfather of Parashurama, recalled a
vivid childhood experience:
While lying unborn, I heard the doleful cries of my mother and other
women of the Bhrigu race who were then being exterminated by the
Kshatriyas. When those Kshatriyas began to exterminate the Bhrigus
together with unborn children of their race, it was then that wrath
filled my soul. My mother and the other women of our race, each in an
advanced state of pregnancy, and my father, while terribly alarmed,
found not in all the worlds a single protector. Then when the Bhrigu
women found not a single protector, my mother held me in one of her
thighs.
— Mahabharata 1:182
As the third book of the Mahabharata begins, Akritavrana, a disciple of the avatar speaks:
With pleasure shall I recite that excellent history of the godlike
deeds of Rama, the son of Jamadagni who traced his origin to the race of
Brigu.
— Mahabharata 3:117
As Rama grew older, he was sincere in his piety and pleased Lord Shiva with the oblation of excruciating
tapas. As a blessing, he was granted the
Parashu of Shiva, after which he was known as
Parashurama or 'Rama with axe'. Shiva also granted the boon of invincibility to Parashurama along with many other boons.
During the time of Parashurama, there was once a Yadava named
Kartavirya Arjuna, who was the most powerful king of his time.
Kartavirya had a 1000 human arms endued with tremendous strength and
dexterity. He had acquired them as well as many Yogic powers as boons
after pleasing the Sage Dattatreya with his penances. This made him one
of the most powerful warriors of all time.
Despite being a wise and righteous king, Kartavirya became arrogant
as he never lost or failed in anything. He harassed his own subjects and
the very gods were afraid of him. One day, Kartavirya audaciously asked
the god Varuna if there was anyone equal to him in combat. Varuna
replied that Parashurama was equal to Kartavirya. The answer enraged
Kartavirya as he didn't believe anyone would exist as his equal.
Soon after Parashurama received his blessing, King Kartavirya of the
Haihaya came upon the hermitage of Jamadagni The visit happened at a time Parusharama was away in the forest gathering
yagna
and although the King had a massive entourage, the saptarishi was able
to serve the King a grand feast. When Kartavirya asked how he was able
to do so, Jamadagni showed him a blessed Kamadhenu cow, given to
Jamadagni by
Indra,
which was able to grant wishes. Kartavirya's ministers urged the king
to steal the cow. Kartavirya's preceptor, Sage Garga admonished the king
not to follow the evil counsel, but Kartavirya gave the orders to
procure the cow. Jamadagni refused to part with the cow despite being
offered tremendous wealth. The evil Haihayas forcibly beat up the sage
to unconsciousness, uprooted the trees around the hermitage and forcibly
stole the cow.
Kartavirya regretted the incident but he decided not to return the cow after what happened, fearing the wrath of the sage.
Returning home, Parashurama was infuriated upon learning what
happened and rashly swore that he would exterminate the race of
Kshatriyas 21 times after seeing his aggrieved mother beat her chest 21
times.
Parashurama prayed to Lord Brahma for guidance. Brahma warned
Parashurama that slaying Kartavirya was an extremely daunting task since
he had thousands of powerful allies. Brahma told him to procure the
Trailokya Kavacha (armour) from Lord Shiva. Parashurama went to Shiva
and told him of his task. Shiva warned Parashurama that Kartavirya also
acquired the Kavacha from Dattatreya. The God then gave the armour as
well as many divine weapons to Parashurama. However, Parashurama was
unable to use the Kavacha despite knowing the incantations to use it. So
he went to Agastya who imparted to him a Vishnu Stotra or hymn which he
heard from Sheshanaga and asked him to go to the Gangotri and practice
the hymn for one month.
Parashurama did as he was told and beheld Lord Vishnu himself. Vishnu
blessed Parashurama for victory and told him what the future held.
After completing his quest and attaining mastery of the Kavacha,
Parashurama headed towards Mahishmati to slay Kartavirya.
War between Parashurama and Kartavirya Arjuna
Parashurama reached the outskirts of Mahishmati and sent a message to
Kartavirya, either return Kamadhenu and surrender to the Bhargavas or
death on the battlefield.
Outraged, Kartavirya summoned billions of kings who were his vassals
and allies and a thousand mighty akshauhinis (each akshauhini consists
of 21870 war elephants each carrying seven soldiers, 21870 battle
chariots each carrying four men, 65610 cavalry and 109350 footsoldiers).
Parshurama ascended on a single chariot and without any ally, marched
against the formidable Haihayas. War broke out and Parashurama began to
wreak havoc among the Haihayas. He first slew Mangala, the King of
Matsya and slew his soldiers with the Narayanastra. Fighting
continuously for three days, Parashurama slew 12 entire akshauhinis.
Then the Ikshvaku King Suchandra advanced against Parashurama with a
100,000 princes and seven akshauhinis. Parashurama slaughtered the seven
akshauhinis and all the 100,000 warriors. Suchandra and Parashurama
fought one another.
Suchandra was able to counter all of Parashurama's attacks. Enraged,
Parashurama once more invoked the Narayanastra, but Suchandra bowed in
front of it and the Narayanastra was rendered useless. Bewildered,
Parashurama hurled many weapons at the king, but the latter easily
caught them. Parashurama hurled the trident of Shiva (Shivashula), but
upon striking the chest of the king, it turned into a garland of
flowers. Using his inner vision, Parashurama realized that Suchandra was
invincible due to the presence of the terrible goddess Bhadrakali.
Parashurama prayed to the goddess and pleased her. Bhadrakali offered
to grant him a boon. Parashurama asked her for the means to slay
Suchandra. Bhadrakali told him to use the Agneyastra and slay him.
Parashurama did so and incinerated Suchandra on the battlefield.
Suchandra's son, Pushkaraksha rushed against Parashurama, but the latter
cleaved him into halves with his axe and slaughtered nine akshauhinis.
Then Kartavirya himself, with a thousand hands and five hundred bows,
mounted on a colossal golden chariot drawn by a hundred horses
proceeded against Parashurama and both fought one another. The two
rivals hurled Brahmastras at each other. Worried that this would destroy
the world, Parashurama mentally recalled both the Brahmastras.
Parashurama then shot arrows, cutting off Kartavirya's ears and smashing
his crown. Kartavirya, blinded in pain, shot many divine weapons at
Parashurama and the latter easily countered Kartavirya's attacks.
Kartavirya hurled a trident he acquired from Dattatreya at Parashurama
and knocked him unconscious. Parashurama recovered and hacked of
Kartavirya's thousand arms. He invoked the Pashupatastra and decapitated
the king, incinerating him to ashes. Thus Parashurama slew Kartavirya
Arjuna.
Parashurama then turned towards the 11,000 sons of Kartavirya. In 48
minutes, he slaughtered a hundred akshauhinis and killed many of
Kartavirya's sons, while the surviving sons fled from the battlefield in
fear. Parashurama slaughtered the remaining kings and allies of
Kartavirya and routed the Haihayas, emerging victorious and returned
with the Kamadhenu cow.
Death of Jamadagni
When he returned home, his father was pleased, but seeing the blood
stained axe of Parashurama, also concerned. He cautioned his son he must
be aware of wrath and pride. Parashurama accepted the reprimand of his
father, in penance and went on a pilgrimage to holy places for one year
in purification.
Meanwhile, the sons of Kartavirya discovered their father at the
palace and knew that only Parashurama could have killed him. In revenge,
they traveled to the hermitage and murdered Jamadagni, discharging
arrows into him like killing a stag. Afterwards, they decapitated his
body and took his head with them.
When Parashurama returned home, he found his mother next to the body
of his father, crying hysterically as she beat her breast twenty one
times in a row. Furious, he hunted down the sons of Kartavirya at the
palace. He killed them all and returned with the head of his father to
conduct the cremation. Parashurama then vowed to enact a genocide on the
war-mongering Kshatriyas twenty one times over, once for each time his
mother's hand hit her chest.
Vengeance Against Kshatriya
Parashurama then travelled the whole of Earth, killing all men of the
Kshatriya caste, guilty or innocent. The first book of the Mahabharata
reveals:
In the interval between the Treta and Dwapara Yugas, Parashurama,
great among all who have borne arms, urged by impatience of wrong,
repeatedly smote the noble race of Kshatriyas. And when that fiery
meteor, by his own valour, annihilated the entire tribe of the
Kshatriyas, he formed at Samanta-panchaka five lakes of blood.
— Mahabharata 1:2
One legend describes Parasharuma returning to a village after battle in what is now the Badami Taluka, in the
Bagalkot district of
Karnataka.
While the warrior-sage washed his axe in the river Malaprabha, unknown
to him, downstream beyond a bend in the river, village women were
cleaning their clothes. His mighty axe stained the entire river red and
the women exclaimed "Ai hole!" translating to 'Oh, what a river!'. This
is said to be the etymology of the present-day village
Aihole.
There is another legend that some of the fisherman community of
Kerala who were settled in the coastal areas, receiving word as
Parashurama approached, took the fisherman thread split it into two
sacred threads that marked them twice-born, hid them in the forest and
traveled south. Parashurama then gave their land to them.
After he had finally rid the world of Kshatriyas, Parashurama conducted the
Ashvamedha sacrifice, done only by sovereign kings and gave the land he had conquered to the Brahmin head-priests, who performed the
yagya Kashyapa.
After seeing the impoverished condition of some Brahmins in northern
India involved in priestly services Parshuram gave him the land that he
had conquered. The Ashvamedha demanded that the remaining Kshatriya
kings either submit to Parashurama or stop the sacrifice by defeating
him in battle. They were unable to do either and so perished.
Ramayana
Parashurama is unique in that although he is the sixth avatar of
Vishnu, as an immortal, he has also lived to see the subsequent
incarnations of Vishnu in
Rama and
Krishna. Parashurama played an important role in both
Ramayana and
Mahabharata.
Shiva's Bow
Meeting of Rama and Parashurama
In the
Ramayana, Parashurama had given the bow of
Shiva to King
Janaka, the father of princess
Sita for her
swayamvar. As a test of worthiness, suitors were asked to lift and string the mystic weapon. None were successful until
Rama,
but in the process of being strung, the bow snapped in half. This
produced a tremendous noise that reached the ears of Parashurama as he
meditated atop the
Mahendra Mountains.
In
Valmiki Ramayana,
Parashurama stops the journey of Sri Rama and his family after his
marriage to Sita. He threatens to kill Sri Rama and his father, King
Dasharatha,
begs him to forgive his son and punish him instead. Parashurama
neglects Dasharatha and invokes Sri Rama for a challenge. Sri Rama
proves to be equal with him in all common weapons. Hence parasurama
gives him the divine
Sharanga bow (the personal bow of Supreme Lord
Vishnu)
and tells him to string it. Rama does that in a blink and points a
arrow at Parasurama. The warrior-sage realized he was looking at his own
subsequent reincarnation and gives his divine weapons to Rama and
retires to further penance.
In one version played in
Ramlilas across
India, Parashurama arrived to the scene deeply angry. The Kshatriyas were advised by Brahmarishi
Vasistha
not to confront the sage, but Sita still approached. Parashurama
blessed her, saying "Dheergha Sumangali bhavah," or "You will have your
husband alive for your lifetime."
When he then turned to confront Rama, Parashurama was unable to lift
his axe. He was held back by his own word and pacified by the brilliance
of Rama. When the warrior-sage realized he was looking at his own
subsequent reincarnation, his own bow flew to Rama along with the
essence of Vishnu, and thus the seventh avatar was fully realized.
Mahabharata
Vow of Bhishma
For more see Vow of Bhishma.
Bhishma taking the bhishana pratigya
Parashurama and
Bhishma, two of the greatest warriors of the epics, shared an interesting history together as guru and student. Bhishma was a
Kuru
prince and Parashurama instructed him in the martial arts as a boy.
Their conflict began years later, with the beautiful princess
Amba. Along with her sisters
Ambika and
Ambalika,
Princess Amba had been abducted by Bhishma in a misunderstanding
between two kingdoms. Now, with her honor tainted, no man would take her
for bride and she was condemned to remain destitute. Bhishma himself
was unable to marry due to his
bhishana pratigya, or vow of celibacy and allegiance to
Hastinapur. Amba then sought the help of Parashurama to kill Bhishma.
Taking pity on her plight, the avatar agreed to fight his former
student on her behalf. The battle lasted twenty-three days, by the end
of which, both warriors were bloodied and pierced by arrows. On the 23rd
day of battle, Bhishma attempted to use the Prashwapastra against
Parashurama. Learned of in his previous birth as Prabhasa (one of the
Ashta Vasus), this weapon was unknown to Parashurama and would put the
afflicted to sleep in the battlefield. This would have given Bhishma the
victory. Before he could release it, however, a voice from the sky
warned him that "if he uses this weapon it would be a great insult
towards his Guru."
Pitrs
then appeared and obstructed the chariot of Parashurama, forbidding him
from fighting any longer. The spirit of Parashurama's father, Jamadagni
and his grandfather, Ruchika, spoke to him:
O son, never again engage in battle with Bhishma or any other
Kshatriya. Heroism and courage in battle are the qualities of a
Kshatriya and study of the Vedas and the practice of austerities are the
wealth of the Brahmans. Previously, you took up weapons to protect the
Brahmans, but this is not the case now. Let this battle with Bhishma be
your last. O son of the Bhrigu race, it is not possible to defeat
Bhishma.
— Mahabharata 188:5
In the end, the Gods showered praise on Bhishma and he sought the
blessing of Parashurama as his guru. The avatar then acknowledged that
his former student was truly invincible, telling Amba:
Using even the very best of weapons I have not been able to obtain
any advantage over Bhishma, that foremost of all wielders of weapons! I
have exerted now to the best of my power and might. Seek the protection
of Bhishma himself, you have no other refuge now.
— Mahabharata 189:1
Mentorship Of Drona
At the end of his time in the Vedic period, Parashurama was renouncing his possessions to become a
sannyasi. As the day progressed,
Drona,
then a poor Brahmin, approached Parashurama asking for alms. By that
time, the warrior-sage had already given the Brahmins his gold and
Kashyapa his land, so all that was left were his body and weapons.
Parushurama asked which Drona would have, to which the clever Brahmin
responded:
O son of Bhrigu, it behoveth thee to give me all thy weapons together with the mysteries of hurling and recalling them.
— Mahabharata 7:131
Thus, Parashurama gave all his weapons unto Drona, making him supreme in the science of arms. This becomes crucial as
Drona later became the guru to both the
Pandavas and the
Kauravas who fought against each other in the Kurukshetra War.
It is said that Lord Parashurama carried Lord Vishnu's "Sudharshana
Chakra" and "Bow" and Lord Balram's "Gadha" while they fulfilled their
education with Guru
Sandipani.
Fate Of Karna
Karna was half brother to the
Pandavas and the son of
Surya,
but was raised by a Suta charioteer. Karna lies to Parashurama that he
is a Brahmin and a descendant of Brigu Maharishi. Parashurama then
accepts him as his student and teaches him of all the powerful
Brahmanda astra
weapons. Parashurama trains Karna to such a point that he declares
Karna to be equal to himself in the art of warfare and archery.
One day, as Parashurama slept, resting his head on the lap of Karna, a
scorpion crawled up the leg of the student and bit Karna's thigh. In
spite of the pain, Karna neither flinched nor cried to avoid disturbing
his guru's rest. Warm blood, however, trickled down his leg and woke
Parashurama. In some versions, Lord
Indra
became afraid of the fighting prowess of Karna and he himself took the
form of a bee and stung Karna's thigh in order to benefit his son
Arjuna.
[4]
Convinced that only a Kshatriya could have borne such pain in silence,
Parashurama realized that Karna had lied and cursed his student that his
knowledge would fail him when it was most crucial. Upon Karna's
pleading, Parshurama gifted him the celestial weapon called
Bhargavastra, along with his personal bow called Vijaya, for being such a
diligent student.
Years later, during the
Kurukshetra war,
Karna had a dream in which he envisioned his guru and asked him to take
back the curse he had placed years back. Parashurama revealed that he
had known all along
Karna was a Kshatriya, but because he was a worthy student Parashurama had instructed him regardless. The
avatar explained to
Karna that the
Brahmanda astra had to fail him when he needed it most. If he killed
Arjuna,
Duryodhana would be king instead of
Yudhishthira
and chaos would ensue. Parashurama asked Karna to accept his curse and
asked him to die at the hands of Arjuna, so that the world might live in
peace. Karna accepted his guru's words and in return the grateful guru,
Parashurama blessed Karna with immortal glory and everlasting fame.
All three students of Parashurama - Bhishma, Drona and Karna fought
on the Kaurava side (for different reasons) and were killed by unfair
tricks.
Different Epochs
There are a number of stories of Parashurama in different Puranas,
detailing his interactions with different gods of the Hindu pantheon and
even occurring during different
Yuga due to his being
Chiranjivi.
Ekadanta
According to
Puranas, Parashurama travelled to the
Himalayas to pay respect to his teacher,
Shiva. While travelling, his path was blocked by
Ganesha, son of Shiva and
Parvati.
Parashurama threw his axe at the elephant-god. Ganesha, knowing the
weapon had been given to Parashurama by his father, allowed it to sever
his left tusk.
His mother Parvati was infuriated and declared she would cut off the arms of Parashurama. She took the form of
Durga,
becoming omnipotent, but at the last moment, Shiva was able to pacify
her by making her see the avatar as her own son. Parashurama also asked
her forgiveness and she finally relented when Ganesha himself spoke on
behalf of the warrior-saint. Parashurama then gave his divine axe to
Ganesha and blessed him. Another name for Ganesha because of this
encounter is
Ekadanta, or 'One Tooth'.
Beating Back The Arabian Sea
Lord Parashurama with Saraswat Brahmin settlers demanding
Varuna make the seas recede to save the lands of Konkan and Kerala
Puranas write that the western coast of India was threatened by
tumultuous waves and tempests, causing the land to be overcome by the
sea. Parashurama fought back the advancing waters, demanding
Varuna release the land of
Konkan and
Malabar.
During their fight, Parashurama threw his axe into the sea. A mass of
land rose up, but Varuna told him that because it was filled with salt,
the land would be barren.
Parashurama then performed a
tapasya for
Nagaraja,
the King of Snakes. Parashurama asked him to spread serpents throughout
the land so their venom would neutralize the salt filled earth.
Nagaraja agreed and a lush and fertile land grew. Thus, Parashurama
pushed back the coastline between the foothills of the
Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, creating modern day
Kerala.
The coastal area of
Kerala,
Konkan,
Karnataka,
Goa and
Maharashtra, are today also known as
Parashurama Kshetra or
Land of Parashurama
in homage. Puranas record that Parashurama placed statues of Shiva at
108 different locations throughout the reclaimed land, which still exist
today. Shiva, is the source of
Kundalini energy and it around his neck that Nagaraja is coiled and so the statues were in gratitude for their baneful cleansing of the land.
Then he took a winnowing basket, or Surpa, and threw it at the sea.
The water retreated and from the place the basket fell at Gokarna, land
rose again. This land is called Kerala, or 'Siirparaka'(
Brahmanda Purana,
Chapters 98 and 99). It is also said that while beating back the sea,
Parashurama fired an arrow from his mystical bow that landed in
Goa at Benaulim, creating
Salkache Tollem or 'Lotus Lake'.
Request To Shiva
According to Hindu tradition,
Parshurama reclaimed the land of Konkan after donating the earth to Maharshi
Kashyap.
Then he requested different Gods and Goddesses to settle in the newly
created land and to take responsibility of various clans. Parshuram,
being a devotee of Shiva, requested Shiva to give him audience everyday,
while he is living in the newly created land. Lord Shiva accepted his
request. Lord Parshuram also brought 60 'Vipras' to settle in Konkan.
One such Vipra named 'Vyad' installed a Shivalinga at Guhagar. In this
era, since evil thoughts are supposed to prevail, Gods are to remain in
their invisible forms. Accordingly, Lord Shiva decided to remain
invisible in the Shivalinga installed by Vyad Muni. This same Shivalinga
is the well known
Vyadeshwar. Thus, Lord Shiva stays at
Guhagar
in the 'Vyadeshwar' Shivalinga from those years thereto now. According
to another history, in the era of King Sakuran, the Vyadeshwar
Shivalinga was re-invented and the Temple, which we see today, was
constructed.
Rambhoja
Kshetra scripture has a legend in which a king named Ramabhoja
worshipped Parashurama. He was the ruler of the lands between Gokarna
and Kanyakumari and was proclaimed king of the entire Parashurama
Kshetra. While performing
aswamedha yajna, he was plowing the land, but mistakenly killed a snake that was a
raksha in disguise. In repentance, Rambhoja was directed by Parashurama to build a
rajathatpeetha
or large silver pedestal, with the image of a serpent at its four
corners in obeisance. Parashurama also ordered that he distribute gold
to the needy equal to his own weight as
Tulabhara.
Rambhoja performed the ashwamedha yajna successfully and Parashurama
appeared before him again, declaring that he was pleased. To this day,
the
silver pedestal remains a center of pilgrimage. The surrounding land is known as
Thoulava, in remembrance of the Tulabhara of Rambhoja.
Surya
Surya, the sun god, riding across the sky in his chariot
Parashurama once became annoyed with the sun god
Surya
for making too much heat. The warrior-sage shot several arrows into the
sky, terrifying Surya. When Parashurama ran out of arrows and sent his
wife Dharani to bring more, the sun god then focused his rays on her,
causing her to collapse. Surya then appeared before Parashurama and gave
him two inventions that have since been attributed to the avatar,
sandals and an umbrella.
Dattatreya
Nath tradition holds that Parashurama, after enacting his vengeance, sought out
Dattatreya atop
Mount Gandhamadana for spiritual guidance. Their
conversations gave rise to Tripura-rahasya, a treatise on
Advaita Vedanta. It was here the
deity
instructed the warrior-sage on knowledge of scripture, renunciation of
worldly activities and non-duality, thus freeing him from the karmic
cycle of death and rebirth.
Kalaripayattu
Parashurama and the
saptarishi Agastya are regarded as the founders of
kalaripayattu, the oldest martial art in the world. Parashurama was a master in the art of weaponry, as taught to him by
Shiva. As such, he developed northern kalaripayattu or
vadakkan kalari,
with more emphasis on weapons than striking and grappling. Southern
kalaripayattu was developed by Agastya and focuses more on weaponless
combat. Kalaripayattu is known as the 'mother of all martial arts'.
Bodhidharma, the founder of
Zen Buddhism, also practiced kalaripayattu. When he traveled to
China to spread Buddhism, he brought the martial art with him, which in turn was adapted to become the basis of
Shaolin Kung Fu.
Sanyasi & End Time
By the end of the Vedic period, Parashurama had grown weary of bloodshed and became a
sannyasi, giving up his possessions to practice penance. The first book of the Mahabharata writes:
The son of Jamadagni, after twenty-one times making the Earth bereft
of Kshatriyas, wended to that best of Mountains Mahendra and there began
his ascetic penance.
— Mahabharata 1:14
He traveled to central India at the northern end of the Eastern Ghats and Western
Odisha and ascended the
Mahendra Mountains. Before he left, Parashurama distributed the territories he conquered among a clan of Brahmins called the
Bhumihar, who ruled for many centuries. Kingdoms included Kerala,
Mushika,
Karnata and
Konkana.
Unlike other incarnations of Vishnu, Parashurama is a
Chiranjivi and is said to still be doing penance today in
Mahendragiri. The
Kalki Purana writes that he will reemerge at the end of
Kali Yuga to be the martial and spiritual
guru of
Kalki, the tenth and final avatar of
Vishnu.
It is foretold that he will instruct Kalki to perform a difficult
penance to Shiva, and receive the celestial weaponry needed to bring
about
end time.
[citation needed]
Kalki, tenth and final avatar of Vishnu
Along with the sages
Vyasa,
Kripa and
Ashwatthama, Parashurama is considered to be foremost among the rishis in
Kaliyuga. Parashurama will also become one of the
Saptarishi in the 8th
Manvantara along with sages
Vyasa,
Kripa and
Ashwatthama.
Parashurama Temples
There are numerous temples and statues of Parashurama throughout the Indian subcontinent, some of which include:
- Parashurama temple, Attirala, a vernacular name for Hatyarala. Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh.
- Parshurama temple, Sohnag, Salempur, Deoria District, Uttar Pradesh
- Parashurama Kunda, Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh, where Parashuram washed his sins after committing matricide
- Akhnoor, (Jammu),Jammu and Kashmir
- Fort [Songadh], Gujarat
- Gudimallam, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
- Harpur, Zamania, Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh
- Jalalabad, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh
- Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan
- Khatti, near Phagwara, Punjab, India
- Maniyar, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh
- Mahurgarh, Maharashtra
- Parashurama Mandir, Chiplun, Maharashtra
- Sri Kalakama Parashurama Temple, Darbetadka, Belthangady, Karnataka
- Shree Parashurama Temple, Sanyasikatte, Karnataka
- Parashurama Temple, Banavasi, Karnataka
- Painguinim, Canacona, Goa
- Rajkot, Gujarat
- Shivpuri, Akkalkot, Khopoli, Maharashtra
- Parashurama Mandir, Peetambara Peetham, Datiya, Madhya Pradesh
- Shivsar Talao Pond Statue, Phalodi, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
- Sri Parasurama Swamy Temple, Thiruvallam, 6 km south of Thiruvananthapuram Kerala
- Tosh, Manikaran, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
- Padubelle, Udupi, Karnataka, India
- Kojra, Sirohi, Rajasthan, India
- Parashurama Mandir, Mokama, Bihar, India
- Janapav Hill, Indore, M.P. Peoples are considered this as birthplace of Parshuram
- Parshuram Kutiya, Nirmand, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
Parashurama Kshetras
Seven Kshetras are popularly known as Parashurama Kshetras or Parashurama Srishti:
[5]
- Udupi
- kukke Subramanya
- Kumbasi
- Koteshwara
- Shankaranarayana
- Kollur
- Gokarna
See also
References
K M Ganguly (1883-1896). The Mahabharata, Book 13 Anusasana Parva, Section CL sacred-texts.com, October 2003, Retrieved 2014-02-11
Additional Sources
- Parkhe B, Ramayashogatha (1975, 2008)
- Sharma DR, परशुराम महागाथा शोध ग्रंथ
- Potdar J, Bhagwan Parashurama
- Mehrotra NC, Shahjahanpur Etihasik Evam Sanskritik Dharohar (1999) Pratiman Prakashan 30 Kucha Ray Ganga Prasad Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
- Parashurama Patrika Quarterly Magazine
- Bhagwan Parashuram-K M Munshi
External links
Vishnu Purana -Drauni or Asvathama as Next Vyasa Retrieved 2015-03-22
Vishnu Purana -Asvathama,Kripa,Vyasa & Parashurama as Next saptarishi's
K M Ganguly(1883-1896) Karna to Salya about the cheating of Lord Indra for benfiting Arjuna October 2003,Retrieved 2015-03-08