| Parashurama | |
|---|---|
| Member ofDashavatara andChiranjivi | |
 Parashurama byRaja Ravi Varma | |
| Other names |
|
| Devanagari | परशुराम |
| Sanskrit transliteration | Paraśurāma |
| Affiliation | Vaishnavism |
| Abode | Mahendra Mountains |
| Weapon | Parashu (Parashu) |
| Day | Thursday |
| Genealogy | |
| Born | Akshaya Tritiya |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Ṛumaṇvān, Suhotra, Vasu, and Viśvāvasu[2] |
| Spouse | Dharani (Lakshmi)[1] |
| Dashavatara Sequence | |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Vamana |
| Successor | Rama |
Parashurama (Sanskrit:परशुराम,romanized: Paraśurāma,lit. 'Rama with an axe'), also referred to asRama Jamadagnya,Rama Bhargava andVirarama,[3] is the sixth avatar among theDashavatara of the preserver godVishnu inHinduism.[4] Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According to legends,Shiva advised him to go and liberate the Mother Earth from felons, ill-behaved men, extremists, demons and those blind with pride. He is described as one amongst theChiranjivis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of theKali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation,Kalki.
Born toJamadagni andRenuka, theBrahmin Parashurama was foretold to appear at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on the earth. TheKshatriya class, with weapons and power, had begun to abuse their power, take what belonged to others by force and tyrannise people. He corrected the cosmic equilibrium by destroying these Kshatriyas twenty-one times (leaving some lineages). He is married to Dharani, an incarnation ofLakshmi, the wife of Vishnu.[5]
In the epicRamayana, he arrives afterSita Swayamvara, upon hearing the loud noise whenRama uplifts and breaks the divine bowPinaka. He later deduces thatRama isVishnu himself, he himself askedRama to destroy the fruits of his austerities.
In the epicMahabharata he was the guru ofBhisma,Drona,Rukmi andKarna.[6][7]
Parashurama is said to carry various traits including courage, aggression, and warfare along with serenity, patience and prudence. He was known to show his benevolence to Brahmins, children, women, old men and other weaker sections of the society.
According toHindu history, Parashurama was born to the sageJamadagni and hisKshatriya wife,Renuka. In local tradition, it is believed they lived in a hut located atJanapav.[8] They had a celestial cow calledSurabhi, which gives them all that they desire (Surabhi is the daughter of cowKamadhenu).[7][9] A king namedKartavirya Arjuna (not to be confused withArjuna, the Pandava)[10][note 1] learns about this cow of plenty and wants it. He asks Jamadagni to give it to him, but the sage refuses. While Parashurama is away from the hut, the king takes it by force.[7] When Jamadagni pleads his case and seeks for the return of the cow, the king strikes him with his fist, killing him. Parashurama learns about this crime, and is upset. With his axe in his hand, he challenges the king to battle. They fight, and Parashurama defeats and kills the king, according to thePadma Purana.[3][5]
The wicked-minded one lost his valour due to his own sin. The mighty son of Reṇukā, being angry, cut off his head, as mighty Indra did the peak of a big mountain, and he who was brave and angry, killed Sahasrabāhu and all the kings with his axe in the battle. Seeing Rāma, the very fearful one, all kings on the earth, struck by fear, ran away as elephants do on seeing a lion. The angry Rāma killed the kings even though they had fled due to the resentment against his father's murder, as the angry Garuḍa killed the serpents. The valorous Rāma made the entire [world] clear of the kṣatriyas, but protected [i.e. spared] only the very great family of Ikṣvāku, due to its being the family to which his maternal grandfather was related, and due to his mother's words.
— Padma Purana, Chapter 241
The warrior class challenges him, and he slays every single member of the class, save for those belonging to the lineages ofManu andIkshvaku. The mighty son of Jamadagni, having rid the world of the Kshatriyas, then performs theashvamedha sacrifice. He grants the earth with the seven islands to principalrishis belonging to the Brahmin class. Having renounced the earth and his violent deeds, he retires to the hermitage ofNara-Narayana to engage in penance. The legend likely has roots in the ancient conflict between the Brahminvarna, with knowledge duties, and the Kshatriya varna, with warrior and enforcement roles.[6][7][11]
In theRamayana, following Rama's wedding toSita atMithila and during their homeward journey toAyodhya, his party comes across a number of inauspicious signs. Amid an earthquake and a dust storm, Parashurama appears before the party. After accepting the libation offered to him, Parashurama challenges Rama to combat, on the condition that the prince show his strength to the sage by placing a bow within the string of the latter's bow,Sharanga, and discharging it. IgnoringDasharatha's plea to spare Rama this task, Parashurama relays the divine origin of the bow and the history of its ownership, appealing to Rama's skills as a warrior. Rama seizes the bow from Parashurama and strings it, an act that causes the latter to become bereft of his divine power. Humbled, Parashurama acknowledges that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu and requests the prince to allow him to return to the mountain Mahendra so that he could practice yoga and accruemerit. After circumambulating Rama in worship, Parashurama returns to his hermitage.[12]
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In theMahabharata, Parashurama intercedes on the princessAmba's behalf, promising to command his discipleBhishma to do his duty and marry her after her abduction.[13] When Parashurama arrives with his retinue atKurukshetra, he sends a message to Bhishma to inform him of his arrival. Bhishma comes to see hisguru, offering him the traditional respects. Parashurama commands Bhishma to accept Amba as his wife. Bhishma refuses, restating that he had taken a vow of celibacy. An infuriated Parashurama threatens Bhishma with death. Bhishma tries to calm the sage, but in vain, and he finally agrees to battle his guru to safeguard hisKshatriya duty.Ganga tries stopping the battle by beseeching her son as well as the great sage, but fails.[14] The great battle lasts for 23 days, without any result. On the 24th day, whenBhishma chooses to use a deadly weapon, at the behest of the divine sageNarada and thedevas, Parashurama ends the conflict and the battle is declared a draw.[15][16] Parashurama narrates the events to Amba and urges her to seek Bhishma's protection. However, Amba refuses to listen to Parashurama's advice and angrily declares that she would achieve her objective by asceticism.[17]
There are legends dealing with the origins of the western coast geographically and culturally. One such legend is the retrieval of the west coast from the sea, by Parashurama. It proclaims that Parashurama, anincarnation ofMahavishnu, threw his battle axe into the sea. As a result, the land of the western coast arose, and thus was reclaimed from the waters. The place from which he threw his axe (or shot an arrow) is on Salher fort (the second highest peak and the highest fort in Maharashtra) in the Baglan taluka of Nashik district of Maharashtra. There is a temple on the summit of this fort dedicated to Parshuram and there are footprints in the rock four times the size of normal humans. This fort on a lower plateau has a temple of goddess Renuka, Parshuram's mother and also a Yagya Kunda with pits for poles to erect a shamiyana on the banks of a big water tank.[citation needed]
According to the Sangam classicPurananuru, theChera kingSenkuttuvan conquered the lands betweenKanyakumari and theHimalayas.[18] Lacking worthy enemies, he besieged the sea by throwing his spear into it.[18][19] According to the 17th-centuryMalayalam workKeralolpathi, the lands ofKerala were recovered from the sea by the axe-wielding warrior sage Parashurama, the sixth incarnation ofVishnu (hence, Kerala is also calledParashurama Kshetram 'The Land of Parashurama'[20]). Parashurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached. According to legend, this new area of land extended fromGokarna to Kanyakumari.[21] The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation; so Parashurama invoked the snake kingVasuki, who spat holy poison and converted the soil into fertile lush green land. Out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land.P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar has theorised thatSenguttuvan may have been inspired by the Parashurama legend, which was brought by early Aryan settlers.[22]
In present-day Goa (or Gomantak), which is a part of the Konkan, there is a temple in Canacona in South Goa district dedicated to Parashurama.[23][24][25]
Parashurama is generally presented as the fifth son ofRenuka andRishiJamadagni.[11] The legends of Parashurama appear in many Hindu texts, in different versions:[26]
In Chapter 6 of theDevi Bhagavata Purana, he is born from the thigh with intense light surrounding him that blinds all warriors, who then repent their evil ways and promise to lead a moral life if their eyesight is restored. The boy grants them the boon.[11]Parashurama retired in theMahendra Mountains, according to chapter 2.3.47 of theBhagavata Purana.[27]
In Chapter 4 of theVishnu Purana, Rcika prepares a meal for two women, one simple, and another with ingredients that if eaten would cause the woman to conceive a son with martial powers. The latter is accidentally eaten by Renuka, and she then gives birth to Parashurama.[11]
In Chapter 2 of theVayu Purana, he is born after his mother Renuka eats a sacrificial offering made to bothRudra (Shiva) andVishnu, which gives him dual characteristics of Kshatriya and Brahmin.[28]
Parashurama is described in some versions of theMahabharata as the angry Brahmin who with his axe, killed a huge number of Kshatriya warriors because they were abusing their power.[29] In some versions, he even kills his own mother because his father asks him to in order to test his obeisance.[10][30] After Parashurama obeys his father's order to kill his mother, his father grants him a boon. Parashurama asks for the reward that his mother be brought back to life, and she is restored to life.[30] Parashurama remains filled with sorrow after the violence, repents and expiates his sin.[10] After his Mother comes back to life, he tries to clean the blood-stained axe but he finds a drop of blood which he was unable to clean and tries cleaning the blood drop in different rivers. This is when he moves towards the south of India in search of anyholy river where he could clean his axe, finally, he reachesTirthahalli village inShimoga, Karnataka and tries to clean the axe and to his surprise, the axe gets cleaned in the holy river ofTunga. With respect towards the holy river, he constructs a Shiva linga and performs pooja and the temple is named as Rameshwara temple. The place where Parashurama cleaned his axe is called Ramakunda.
He plays important roles in theMahabharata serving as mentor toBhishma (chapter 5.178),Drona (chapter 1.121) andKarna (chapter 3.286), teaching weapon arts and helping key warriors in both sides of the war.[31][32][note 2]
In the regional literature ofKerala, he is the founder of the land, the one who brought it out of the sea and settled a Hindu community there.[6] He is also known as Rama Jamadagnya and Rama Bhargava in some Hindu texts.[3] He is the only incarnation of Vishnu who never dies, never returns to abstract Vishnu and lives in meditative retirement.[10] Further, he is the only incarnation of Vishnu that co-exists with other Vishnu incarnations Rama and Krishna in some versions of theRamayana andMahabharata, respectively.[10][note 3]
According to theSangraha Parva, after killing 21 generations of Kshatriyas, he filled their blood in five pools collectively known as theSamantha Panchaka (Sanskrit:समंत पञ्चक). He later atoned for his sin by severe penance. The five pools are considered to be holy.
TheAnukramanika Parva says that the Samantha Panchaka is located somewhere around Kurukshetra. It also mentions that the Pandavas performed a few religious rites near the Samantha Panchaka before theKurukshetra War.
There is much interpretation of 'Parashurama Kshetra' (Land of Parashurama) mentioned in thePuranas.
The region on the western coast of India fromGokarna toKanyakumari was known as Parashurama Kshetra.[34]
The region ofKonkan was also considered as Parashurama Kshetra.[35]
The ancientSaptakonkana is a slightly larger region described in the Sahyadrikhanda which refers to it as Parashuramakshetra (Sanskrit for "The Land Of Parashurama"),Vapi toTapi is an area of SouthGujarat, India. This area is called "Parshuram Ni Bhoomi".[36]
The Hindu literature on iconography such as theVishnudharmottara Purana andRupamandana describes him as a man with matted locks, with two hands, one carrying an axe. However, theAgni Purana portrays his iconography with four hands, carrying his axe, bow, arrow and sword. TheBhagavata Purana describes his icon as one with four hands, carrying his axe, bow, arrows and a shield like a warrior.[37] Though a warrior, his representation inside Hindu temples with him in war scenes is rare (the Basohli temple is one such exception). Typically, he is shown with two hands, with an axe in his right hand either seated or standing.[37]
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| Name | Deity | Location | State | Image | Speciality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anantheshwara Temple | Parashurama | Udupi | Karnataka | Parashurama is worshipped in the form of alingam.[38] | |
| Parashurama Temple | Parashuram | Thiruvallam,Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala | ||
| Athyarala Temple | Parashurama | Rajempet | Andhra Pradesh | ||
| 108 Shiva Temples | Shiva | 108 Locations | Karnataka,Kerala | Believed to be consecrated by Parashurama | |
| Parshuram Kund | Parshurama | Lohit District | Arunachal Pradesh | Pilgrims visit in winter every year, especially on theMakar Sankranti day for a holy dip which is believed to wash away one's sins.[39][40] | |
| Mahurgad | Renuka, Parashurama | Nanded District | Maharashtra | Shakti Pitha shrine | |
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Chiplun,Ratnagiri District | Maharashtra | ||
| Parshuram Mandir | Parashurama | Mokama | Bihar | Kalash Yatra | |
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Kollur | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Koteshwara | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Kukke Subrahmanya | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Udupi | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Gokarna | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Anegudde (Kumbhasi) | Karnataka | ||
| Parashurama Temple | Parashurama | Shankaranarayana | Karnataka |
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The Parashurama avatar symbolizes the strict and non-relinquishing aspect of showingdaya (mercy), where he has to be harsh for the well being of thesrushti (world).[41]
On top of the hills of Janapav is aShiva temple where Parashurama is believed to have worshippedShiva, the ashram is known as Jamadagni Ashram, named after his father. The place also has a Kund (Pond) that is being developed by the state government.[42]
InKannada folklore, especially in devotional songs sung by theDevdasis he is often referred to as a son ofYellamma. Parashurama legends are notable for their discussion of violence, the cycles of retaliations, the impulse ofkrodha (anger), the inappropriateness ofkrodha, and repentance.[43]
Based loosely on Parashuram-Karna. Where Bhavani hires Ramprasad, who lies about his critical aspects for acquiring the job. Once hired he performs well beyond expectations.
Remake of 1979 movieGol Maal.
The association of Parasurama, an incarnation of Vishnu, with the Linga, came to be known as Anantheshwara and the place of worship is the present Anantheshwara temple.
Media related toParashurama at Wikimedia Commons| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Dashavatara Treta Yuga | Succeeded by |
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1 The list of the "ten avatars" varies regionally. Two substitutions[clarification needed] involve Balarama, Krishna, and Buddha. Krishna is almost always included; in exceptions, he is considered the source of all avatars. | ||
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