Parashurama
Parshurama(Parashuram) is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is the son ofRenuka and one of the saptarishi Sage Jamadagni. He lived during the lastDvapara Yuga and is one of the seven immortals or Chiranjivi of Hinduism. He received an axe after undertaking terrible penance to please Lord Shiva, who in turn taught him the martial arts.
Parashurama is most known for ridding the world of kshatriyas twenty-one times over after the mighty king Kartavirya killed his father. He played important roles in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, serving as mentor to Bhishma, Karnaand Drona. Parashurama also fought back the advancing seas to save the lands of Konkan and Kerala.
Parashurama is worshipped as mool purush, or founder, of the NiyogiBhumihar Brahmin, Chitpavan, Daivadnya, Mohyal, Tyagi, Anavil andNambudiri Brahmin communities.
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| Devanagari | परशुराम |
|---|---|
| SanskritTransliteration | Paraśurāma |
| Tamil Transliteration | பரசுராமர் |
| Affiliation | Avatar Of Lord Vishnu |
| Abode | Mahendragiri |
| Weapon | Axe(Parshu) |
| Consort | Dharini |
Lineage
The exact birthplace of Bhargav Parashurama is contested, although the history of his lineage took place in the Haihaya Kingdom located in modern dayMaheshwar.
The grandfather of Bhargava Parashurama was a great rishi named Rucheeka, who was son of a famous sage Bhrigu. Parshuram is also the kul guru of Bhardwaj and kashyap gotra. Parshuram belongs to a gaud Brahmin of bhargav gotra. One day, the rishi was traveling through the countryside seeking a bride. At the time, there were two dominant clans, the Bharat-Suryavamsha, 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. Rucheeka 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 Rucheeka 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. Rucheeka 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, Rucheeka asked her what was wrong, and she told him of her concerns for the kingdom.
Then Rucheeka 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 Rucheeka, 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, Rucheeka acquiesced. Satyavati gave birth to a son, Jamadagni, who became a great saptarishi, while her grandson Bhargav was sixth incarnation of Vishnu and one of the greatest warriors of all ages.
Birth
The exact location of his 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, Viswa Vasu, Brihudyanu and Brutwakanwa. 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, or Rama.
Getting the Divine weapon Parashu from Lord Shiva
Shri Parashuram left home to do devout austerities to please Lord Shiva. Considering his extreme devotion, intense desire and unmoved and perpetual meditation, Lord Shiva was pleased with Shri Parashuram. He presented Shri Parashuram with Divine weapons. Included was his unconquerable and indestructible axe shaped weapon, Parashu. Lord Shiva advised him to go and liberate the Mother Earth from felons, ill-behaved people, extremists, demons and those blind with pride.
Once, Lord Shiva challenged Shri Parashuram to a battle to test his skills in warfare. The spiritual master Lord Shiva and the disciple Shri Parashuram were locked in a fierce battle. This dreadful duel lasted for twenty one days. While ducking to avoid being hit by the Trident (Trishūl) of Lord Shiva, Shri Parashuram 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. He 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 (for the salutation) of Lord Shiva.
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 the Ramayana [6]and Mahabharata.[3]
Shiva's Bow
In the Ramayana, Parashurama had given the bow of Shiva to 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 meets his challenge and tells him that he does not want to kill him because he is a Brahmin and related to his guru, Vishwamitra maharshi. But, he destroys his merit earned through penances. Thus, Parashurama's arrogance gets diminished and he returns to his normal mind.[7]
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.[6]
Beating back the Arabian Sea
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 andMalabar. 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.[10]
Parashurama then did 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 Ghatsand the Arabian Sea, creating modern day Kerala.[10]
The coastal area of Kerala, Konkan, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, are today also known as Parashurama Kshetra or Land of Parashurama in homage.[11] Puranas record that Parashurama placed statues of Shiva at 108 different locations throughout the reclaimed land, which still exist today.[12][13] Shiva, is the source ofkundalini, and it around his neck that Nagaraja is coiled, and so the statues were in gratitude for their baneful cleansing of the land.[14]
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'.[2]
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