Bhagwan Parashurama

01The axe and the vow

Born in the line of Bhrigu, Rama did tapas to Shiva and received the parashu, and the name Parashurama. The thousand-armed king Kartavirya Arjuna of the Haihayas came to Jamadagni’s ashram and carried off his wish-giving cow; Parashurama followed and killed him. In revenge the king’s sons killed Jamadagni at his prayers. Parashurama vowed to rid the earth of the kshatriyas who had turned to tyranny, and, the Mahabharata says, did so twenty-one times, filling five lakes at Samantapanchaka with their blood (Mahabharata, Shanti Parva; Bhagavata Purana 9.15–16).

02Guru of great warriors

Parashurama meets the next avatar in the Ramayana: after Rama breaks Shiva’s bow at Janaka’s court, Parashurama blocks the wedding party on the road home, hands Rama the bow of Vishnu to string, and when Rama strings it, withdraws to the mountains (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda). In the Mahabharata he teaches Bhishma, Drona and Karna. He is one of the seven chiranjivis, and the Kalki Purana says he will teach Kalki at the end of Kali Yuga. Parashurama Jayanti falls on Akshaya Tritiya.

03The land he reclaimed

Having given away the whole earth to the rishi Kashyapa, Parashurama had nowhere to stand, so he threw his axe into the western sea, and the sea drew back to leave the coast from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. Kerala and the Konkan call themselves Parashurama Kshetra for this reason. In Arunachal Pradesh, at Parshuram Kund on the Lohit, the axe that had stuck to his hand after he obeyed his father and struck his mother Renuka is said to have come free; pilgrims bathe there at Makar Sankranti. Renuka is herself worshipped at Mahur and Saundatti.

In the texts

• Mahabharata, Vana and Shanti Parvas
• Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda
• Bhagavata Purana 9.15–16
• Brahmanda Purana

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