Om raam raam om raam raam om parashu hastaay namah
Parashurama is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu. He is destroyer of the evil on this planet. He is also known as Jamadagnya Rama, Bhargava Rama, Ramabhadra and Virarama. He is one of the Chiranjivis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga as the guru of Vishnu’s tenth and last incarnation, Kalki. He is also known for slaying the Kshatriya warrior caste 21 times to avenge his father’s death.
Devi Dharani is the consort of Parashurama. His primary weapon is the Parasu which is a battle axe given by Shiva.
Legends:
Padma Purana: Parashurama was born as the fifth son to the sage Jamadagni and his Kshatriya wife, Renuka. They had a celestial cow called Surabhi, who gave them all that they desired. Surabhi is the daughter of cow Kamadhenu.
A king named Kartavirya Arjuna 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, the king takes it by force. When Jamadagni pleads and seeks the return of the cow, the king strikes him with his fist, killing him. Parashurama learns about this crime and is angry. He challenges the king to battle with his axe in his hand. They fight, and Parashurama defeats and kills the king. The warrior class challenges him, and he slays every member of the class, save for those belonging to the lineages of Manu and Ikshvaku.
Ramayana mentions encounter of Rama with Parashurama. Both of Vishnu’s incarnations met each other.
In Mahabharata, Parashurama was the guru of the great Bhishma and Karna. On Amba’s request, Parashurama confronts Bhishma and they engage in battle for 23 days.
He even kills his mother because his father asks him to test his obeisance. 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 being brought back to life, and she is restored to life.
According to the Sangraha Parva, after killing 21 generations of Kshatriyas, he filled their blood in five pools collectively known as the Samantha Panchaka. He later atoned for his sin by severe penance. The five pools are considered to be holy.
The Anukramanika Parva says that the Samantha Panchaka is located around Kurukshetra. It also mentions that the Pandavas performed a few religious rites near the Samantha Panchaka before the Kurukshetra War.
According to the Sangam classic Purananuru, the Chera king Senkuttuvan conquered the lands between Kanyakumari and the Himalayas. Lacking worthy enemies, he besieged the sea by throwing his spear into it. A similar story is inspired by the Parashurama legend. 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 from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land that rose from the sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation; so Parashurama invoked the snake king Vasuki, 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.
There is a legend of a fight between Lord Ganesha and Parashurama. Ganesha was guarding Kailasa and did not allow Parashurama to enter. Angry sage threw his Parasu (axe) towards Ganesha which broke Ganesha’s tusk.
Iconography
Vishnudharmottara Purana and Rupamandana describe him as a man with matted locks, with two hands, one carrying an axe. However, the Agni Purana portrays his iconography with four hands, carrying his axe, bow, arrow and sword. The Bhagavata Purana describes his icon as one with four hands, carrying his axe, bow, arrows and a shield like a warrior.
The region on the western coast of India from Gokarna to Kanyakumari including the Konkan was known as Parashurama Kshetra.
