परशुराम

परशुराम

Masculine.

(

-मः

)

A

hero

and

demigod

the

first

of

the

three

RĀMAS,

and

the

sixth

Avatāra

or

descent

of

the

deity

VISHṆU:

who

appeared

in

the

world

as

the

saint

JAMADAGNI,

for

the

purpose

of

repressing

the

tyranny

and

punishing

the

violence

of

the

Kshetriya,

or

military

tribe

PARASURĀMA

appears

to

typify

the

tribe

of

Brāmhans

and

their

contests

with

the

Kshetrityas.

Etymology

परशु

an

axe,

and

राम

who

delights

in

also

with

कन्

added,

परशुरामक

and

with

the

first

member,

पर्शु,

पर्शुराम,

q.

v.

परशुराम

masculine

epithet

of

Rama

(

R.

with

the

axe

).

परशु-राम

(

मः

)

1.

Masculine.

The

hero

Vishnu

in

his

6th

incarnation,

when

he

came

to

punish

the

Kshetriyas.

परशुराम

-

parazurAma

-

Masculine

-

rama

with

the

axe

परशुराम

-

parazurAma

-

Masculine

-

Vishnu,

sixth

incarnation

of

परशुराम

Masculine.

(

-मः

)

A

hero

and

demigod

the

first

of

the

three

RĀMAS,

and

the

sixth

Avatāra

or

descent

of

the

deity

VIṢṆU

who

appeared

in

the

world

as

the

son

of

the

saint

JAMADAGNI,

for

the

purpose

of

repressing

the

tyranny

and

punishing

the

violence

of

the

Kṣatriya,

or

military

tribe

PARAŚURĀMA

appears

to

typify

the

tribe

of

Brahmans

and

their

contests

with

the

Kṣetriyas.

Etymology

परशु

an

axe,

and

राम

who

delights

in

also

with

कन्

added,

परशुरामक

and

with

the

first

member,

पर्शु,

पर्शुराम,

q.

v.

परशु—राम

masculine gender.

‘Rama

with

the

axe’,

nalopākhyāna

of

one

of

the

three

Rāmas

(

son

of

Jamad-agni

and

sixth

Avatāra

of

Viṣṇu,

he

was

a

typical

Brāhman

and

his

history

typifies

the

contests

between

the

Brahmans

and

Kṣatriyas

),

kāvya literature

purāṇa

Monier-Williams' Buddhism in its connexion with brāhmaṇ ism & hindū ism: and in its contrast ,with Christianity

xiii,

1

Religious Thought and Life in India, also called 'brāhmanism and hindūism,' by Sir M. Monier-Williams

110

270

(

also

-क

)

nalopākhyāna

of

a

prince

and

of

sev.

authors

(

also

with

गर्जर,

देव,

मिश्र,

मुनि

),

Catalogue(s)

विष्णु

के

छठे

अवतार

परशुरामः

पुंलिङ्गम्

परशुः-रामः

-

‘कुठारधारी

राम’

एक

विख्यात

ब्राह्मणयोद्धा

जो

जमदग्नि

का

पुत्र

और

विष्णु

का

छठा

अवतार

था

परशुराम

पदविभागः

पुल्लिङ्गः

कन्नडार्थः

ಜಮದಗ್ನಿ

ಋಷಿಯ

ಮಗ/ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿನ

(

ಆವೇಶ

)

ಅವತಾರ

व्युत्पत्तिः

परशुधरो

रामः

विस्तारः

ವಿಷ್ಣುವು

ಈ

ಅವತಾರವನ್ನೆತ್ತಿ

ರಾಜ್ಯಮದದಿಂದ

ದೃಪ್ತರಾಗಿದ್ದ

ದುಷ್ಟ

ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯರೊಡನೆ

ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೊಂದು

ಸರಿ

ಯುದ್ಧಮಾಡಿ

ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನೂ

ಸಂಹರಿಸಿದನು.

ಇದು

ವಿಷ್ಣುವಿನ

ಹದಿನಾರನೆಯ

ಅವತಾರ.

"अवतारे

षोडशमे

पश्यन्

ब्रह्मद्रुहो

नृपान्।

त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः

कुपितो

निःक्षत्रमकरोन्महीम्"

भाग०

१-३-२०।

"अश्वत्थामा

बलिर्व्यासो

हनुमांश्च

विभीषणः।

कृपः

परशुरामश्च

सप्तैते

चिरजीविनः"

परशुराम

son

of

Horilamiśra,

grandson

of

Suryākara,

prince

of

Yamunāpura,

patron

of

Khaṇḍerāya

(

Para-

śurāmaprakāśa

).

W.

p.

312.

परशुराम

Īśāvāsyopaniṣaṭṭīkā.

NW.

282.

Gṛhyasūtravyākhyā.

NW.

10.

Mahārudrapaddhati.

परशुराम

Rasarājaśiromaṇi

med.

B.

4,

236.

परशुराम

son

of

Kṛṣṇadeva:

Pāṭīlīlāvatīvivaraṇa.

B.

4,

156.

Bhūpālavallabha.

परशुराम

son

of

Karṇa,

composed

the

Mahārudrapaddhati

in

1459.

परशुराम,

son

of

Śrīharṣa

(

not

of

Kṛṣṇadeva,

as

given

in

CC.

):

Līlāvatīṭīkā.

[

Paraśu-

]Rāma,

v.

Rāma^1.

परशुराम

/

PARAŚURĀMA.

An

incarnation

of

Mahāviṣṇu,

as

man.1

)

Genealogy.

Descending

in

order

from

Māhāviṣṇu-brahmā-bhṛgu-cyavana-ūrva-ṛcīka-JamadagniParaśurāma.2

)

Cause

for

incarnation.

Once

god

agni

went

to

kārtavīryārjuna

and

begged

for

food.

The

king

allowed

him

to

take

from

his

vast

territory

as

much

food

as

he

wanted

from

anywhere

he

liked.

agni

started

burning

forests

and

mountains

and

consuming

them.

Deep

inside.

one

of

the

forests

a

sage

named

Āpava

was

performing

penance

and

the

fire

burnt

the

āśrama

of

Āpava

also.

Enraged

at

this

the

sage

cursed

thus:

“Kārtavīryārjuna

is

at

the

root

of

this

havoc.

The

arrogance

of

Kṣatriyas

has

increased

beyond

limits.

Mahāviṣṇu

would

therefore

be

born

on

earth

as

paraśurāma

to

destroy

this

arrogance

of

the

Kṣatriyas.”

Accordingly

Māhāviṣṇu

was

born

as

paraśurāma

in

the

bhārgava

race.

(

Chapter

40,

harivaṁśa

).

brahmāṇḍa

purāṇa

gives

another

version:

viṣṇu

promised

Bhūmidevī

(

mother

earth

)

that

he

would

be

born

on

earth

as

paraśurāma

when

Bhūmidevī

went

to

him

in

the

form

of

a

cow

and

complained

to

him

about

the

atrocities

of

the

wicked

kṣatriya

kings.3

)

Birth.

paraśurāma

was

born

as

the

son

of

sage

jamadagni

of

his

wife

reṇukā.

Their

āśrama

was

on

the

shores

of

the

narmadā

river.

reṇukā,

mother

of

paraśurāma,

was

the

daughter

of

King

prasenajit.

She

had

four

sons

even

before

the

birth

of

paraśurāma

(

Chapter

58,

brahmāṇḍa

purāṇa

).4

)

Boyhood

and

education.

paraśurāma

spent

his

boyhood

with

his

parents

in

the

āśrama.

An

important

event

in

his

life

then

was

his

slaying

his

mother

at

the

behest

of

his

father.

(

See

under

jamadagni,

para

6

).

Though

paraśurāma

was

a

brahmin

there

is

nothing

on

record

to

show

that

he

did

study

the

Vedas.

Perhaps

he

might

have

had

the

Vedic

instructions

from

his

father

during

his

life

with

him.

He

had

even

from

the

beginning

shown

an

interest

in

learning

Dhanurvidyā

(

archery

).

For

obtaining

proficiency

in

archery

he

went

to

the

Himālayas

and

did

penance

to

please

śiva

for

many

years.

Pleased

at

his

penance

śiva

on

several

occasions

extolled

the

virtues

of

paraśurāma.

At

that

time

the

asuras

(

demons

)

acquired

strength

and

attacked

the

devas.

The

devas

complained

to

śiva.

śiva

called

paraśurāma

and

asked

him

to

fight

with

and

defeat

the

semdon.

paraśurāma

was

without

weapons

and

he

asked

śiva

how

he

could

go

and

fight

the

demons

without

weapons.

śiva

said:

“Go

with

my

blessings

end

you

will

kill

your

foes.”

para

urāma

did

not

wait

for

a

moment.

When

śiva

thus

assured

him

of

success,

on

he

went

straight

to

fight

with

the

demons.

He

defeated

the

asuras

and

came

back

to

śiva

when

the

latter

gave

him

many

boons

and

divine

weapons.

Till

that

time

his

name

was

only

rāma

and

he

became

paraśurāma

because

among

the

weapons

given

to

him

by

śiva

was

a

weapon

named

Paraśu

(

axe

).

There

is

a

story

behind

this

weapon

Paraśu.

Once

śiva

was

not

invited

for

a

Yāga

conducted

by

dakṣa.

An

angered

śiva

threw

his

spike

into

the

Yāgaśālā

(

sacrifical

hall

).

The

spike

spoiled

the

Yāga

and

smashed

the

hall

and

after

that

roamed

about

aimlessly

for

sometime

and

then

turned

towards

Badaryāśrama

where

at

that

time

naranārāyaṇas

were

engaged

in

penance.

The

spike

went

straight

to

the

heart

of

sage

nārāyaṇa.

nārāyaṇa

made

the

defiant

sound

‘hum’

(

huṁkāra

)

and

the

spike

turned

away.

śiva

felt

angry

for

thus

showing

disrespect

to

his

spike

and

he

attacked

the

sage.

At

once

Nararṣi

plucked

a

grass

and

reciting

a

mantra

threw

it

at

śiva.

The

grass

became

a

Paraśu

(

axe

)

and

it

attacked

śiva.

śiva

broke

it

into

two.

Then

naranārāyaṇas

bowed

before

him

and

worshipped

him.

Thereafter

the

two

pieces

of

the

Paraśu

remained

with

śiva.

It

was

one

of

these

that

śiva

gave

to

paraśurāma.

When

paraśurāma

was

returning

happy

and

glorious

with

boons

and

weapons

he

got

on

his

way

a

disciple

named

akṛtavraṇa.

(

See

under

akṛtavraṇa

).

guru

and

disciple

lived

in

an

āśrama

and

paraśurāma

became

a

noted

guru

in

dhanurveda

(

archery

).

(

Chapter

34,

karṇa

Parva

Chapter

49,

śānti

Parva

and

Chapter

18,

anuśāsana

parva

).5

)

Instruction

in

archery.

According

to

Purāṇas

Paraśurāmā

did

not

spend

his

life

as

an

instructor

in

archery.

There

are

statements,

however,

mentioning

that

karṇa

and

droṇa

took

instructions

from

him.

Pretending

to

be

a

brahmin

karṇa

commenced

taking

instructions

in

archeṛy

from

paraśurāma.

When

his

education

was

complete

paraśurāma

taught

him

brahmāstra.

One

day

tired

after

a

long

walk

in

the

forests

paraśurāma

took

rest

placing

his

head

on

the

lap

of

karṇa

and

soon

fell

asleep.

At

that

time

a

beetle

came

and

started

sucking

blood

from

the

thigh

of

karṇa.

karṇa

remained

still,

bearing

the

pain,

lest

any

movement

of

his

body

should

disturb

the

sleep

of

his

guru.

Blood

was

oozing

from

his

thinghs

and

it

slowly

made

the

body

of

the

guru

also

wet.

paraśurāma

woke

up

and

the

sight

of

the

bleeding

thigh

and

the

calm

demeanour

of

karṇa

raised

doubts

in

him.

He

questioned

karṇa

saying

that

no

brahmin

could

ever

bear

such

a

pain

with

such

calmness

and

karṇa

had

to

tell

the

truth.

Then

paraśurāma

cursed

him

for

deceit

against

his

guru

saying

that

he

would

never

be

able

to

remember

the

brahmāstra

when

the

time

to

use

it

came.

There

is

a

story

behind

alarka,

the

beetle

that

bit

karṇa.

This

beetle

was

in

his

previous

birth

a

demon

named

daṁśa.

daṁśa

once

tried

to

molest

the

wife

of

the

sage

bhṛgu.

The

Maharṣi

cursed

him

and

made

him

into

a

beetle.

On

his

request

for

mercy

he

said

he

would

get

release

from

the

curse

by

paraśurāma.

So

the

beetle

became

the

rākṣasa

again

and

left

the

place.

karṇa

took

leave

of

paraśurāma

and

went

to

hastināpura.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

3

).

Another

famous

disciple

of

paraśurāma

was

droṇa.

There

is

a

story

behind

droṇa

getting

dhanurveda

from

paraśurāma.

After

travelling

throughout

the

world

exterminating

the

kṣatriya

race

paraśurāma

gave

all

his

wealth

to

kaśyapa.

On

hearing

that

paraśurāma

was

giving

away

all

his

riches

as

gifts

to

brahmins

droṇa

rushed

to

Mahendraparvata

to

see

paraśurāma.

By

then

paraśurāma

had

distributed

all

his

wealth

excepting

dhanurveda.

paraśurāma

called

droṇa

to

his

side

and

said

that

only

two

things

remained

with

him,

his

body

and

dhanurveda.

droṇa,

he

added,

could

take

anyone

of

the

two

and

then

droṇa

took

dhanurveda

from

him.

After

that

paraśurāma

went

to

Mahāraṇya

for

the

sake

of

penance.

(

Chapter

130,

Ādi

Parva

).

There

are

some

apparent

inconsistencies

in

the

above

stories:

It

is

said

droṇa

taught

dhanurveda

to

karṇa.

droṇa

was

the

last

person

to

receive

dhanurveda

from

paraśurāma

because

the

latter,

surrendering

his

dhanurveda

in

entire,

left

for

the

forests

for

doing

penance.

Then,

when

did

karṇa

learn

dhanurveda

from

paraśurāma?

Could

it

be

before

droṇa

went

to

paraśurāma?

Then

it

must

be

accepted

that

droṇa

had

not

studied

under

paraśurāma

when

he

was

teaching

the

the

pāṇḍavas

and

kauravas.

He

learnt

it

from

somewhere

before

he

became

the

preceptor

of

the

pāṇḍavas.

karṇa

after

studying

under

droṇa

for

some

time

went

to

paraśurāma

for

higher

studies

and

droṇa

approached

paraśurāma

after

karṇa

had

left

him.6

)

The

destruction

of

the

Kṣatriyas.

The

most

important

event

of

his

life

was

the

total

extermination

of

the

kṣatriya

race.

The

Purāṇic

belief

is

that

he

went

round

the

world

eighteen

times

to

massacre

the

Kṣatriyas.

In

many

places

in

the

Purāṇas

it

is

stated

that

paraśurāma

fought

against

the

Kṣatriyas

eighteen

times.

But

in

chapter

29

of

aśvamedha

Parva

it

is

stated

that

paraśurāma

fought

against

the

Kṣatriyas

twentyone

times

So

it

is

to

be

surmised

that

paraśurāma

fought

eighteen

big

battles

and

three

minor

ones.

There

are

some

old

stories

to

explain

this

revengeful

enmity

of

paraśurāma

towards

the

Kṣatriyas.(

1

)

Family

enmity.

The

hehaya

dynasty

was

the

most

powerful

kingly

race

then.

paraśurāma

was

a

descendant

of

bhṛgu,

a

brahmin

sage.

That

is

why

he

gets

the

name

bhārgava

also.

The

Bhārgavas

were

for

generations

the

family

preceptors

of

the

hehaya

kings.

Taking

advantage

of

their

supreme

position

in

the

royal

palace

the

Bhārgavas

accumulated

great

wealth

at

the

cost

of

the

royal

riches.

Gradually

the

Bhārgavas

rose

in

prosperity

in

inverse

proportion

to

the

decline

of

the

hehaya

wealth.

It

was

at

the

time

of

ṛcīka,

grandfather

of

Parasurāma

that

they

touched

the

rock-bottom

of

their

wealth

and

they

found

funds

lacking

even

for

the

day

to

day

administration

of

the

state.

In

despair

they

went

and

requested

the

Ṛcīkas

to

lend

them

some

money.

But

they

hid

their

money

and

refused

to

give

them

anything.

The

kṣatriya

kings

got

angry

and

killed

the

brahmins.

What

stock

was

left

of

them

went

to

the

base

of

the

Himālayas.

The

wife

of

ṛcīka

who

was

pregnant

then

kept

the

child

in

her

womb

for

twelve

years

afraid

to

bring

forth

the

child.

After

that

the

child

came

out

breaking

open

the

thigh

(

ūru

)

and

so

the

child

was

called

aurva.

Even

at

the

time

of

his

birth

aurva

shone

like

a

brilliant

torch

and

not

only

that

the

child

cried

aloud

“Oh,

wicked

Kṣatriyas,

I

will

kill

every

one

of

you.

I

heard

from

my

mother's

womb

the

din

of

the

swords

you

raised

to

kill

my

ancestors.

I

will

never

wait

for

another

moment

to

wreak

vengeance

on

you.”

The

fire

that

emanated

from

the

face

of

aurva

burnt

even

Devaloka.

Kṣatriyas

as

a

class

came

and

prostrated

before

him.

The

devas

came

and

requested

him

to

abandon

his

anger

and

aurva

agreed.

The

devas

picked

up

the

fire

sparks

from

Aurva's

face

and

deposited

them

in

the

ocean.

From

those

sparks

put

in

the

ocean

was

born

baḍavāgni

alias

aurva.(

ii

)

Curse

of

the

sage.

From

aurva

was

born

jamadagni

and

from

jamadagni

was

born

paraśurāma.

In

the

race

of

the

Hehayas

was

born

at

that

time

a

very

valorous

king

named

kārtavīryārjuna.

Once

kārtavīryārjuna

gave

a

dinner

to

Agnibhagavān.

agni

began

to

devour

all

the

mountains

and

forests

in

the

world.

The

burning

was

so

indiscriminate

that

it

burnt

the

āśrama

of

a

sage

named

Āpava

also.

The

sage

cursed

kārtavīryārjuna

saying

that

the

thousand

hands

of

the

latter

would

be

cut

off

by

Pasaśurāma

born

in

the

family

of

Bhārgavas.

From

that

day

onwards

the

latent

feud

in

him

against

the

Bhārgavas

was

roused

into

action.(

iii

)

Varuṇa's

ridicule.

kārtavīryārjuna

who

got

a

thousand

hands

by

a

boon

from

a

sage

named

dattātreya

subdued

all

enemies

of

his

status

and

not

satisfied

with

that

he

went

to

the

shores

of

the

ocean

and

challenged

varuṇa

for

a

fight.

varuṇa

came

before

him

and

very

modestly

admitted

that

he

was

incapable

of

meeting

the

challenge

thrown

and

suggested

that

perhaps

Jamadagni's

son,

paraśurāma

might

accept

the

challenge

and

give

him

a

fight.

Hearing

this

kārtavīryārjuna

turned

towards

the

āsrama

of

jamadagni

on

the

shores

of

the

narmadā

river.(

iv

)

Causes

of

the

war

(

immediate

).

kārtavīryārjuna

went

for

hunting

in

the

forests

and

feeling

exhausted

after

some

time

went

to

the

āsrama

of

jamadagni

with

his

retinue.

jamadagni

received

them

well

and

with

the

help

of

the

kāmadhenu

(

wish-yielding

cow

)

named

suśīlā,

jamadagni

gave

a

sumptuous

feast

to

the

King

and

his

followers.

When

after

the

meals

were

over

they

started

to

take

leave

of

the

sage,

candragupta,

a

minister

of

kārtavīryārjuna

brought

to

the

notice

of

the

king

the

superior

powers

of

the

kāmadhenu,

suśīlā.

The

king

wanted

to

get

the

cow

and

asked

candragupta

to

tell

the

sage

about

it.

Though

the

minister

told

jamadagni

about

the

royal

desire

the

sage

refused

to

part

with

the

cow.

Then

the

minister

with

the

help

of

the

other

royal

servants

took

the

cow

by

force

and

the

sage

followed

the

cow

weeping.

On

the

way

candragupta

beat

jamadagni

to

death

and

brought

the

cow

to

the

presence

of

the

king.

The

king

was

pleased

and

the

royal

hunting

party

returned

to

the

palace

happy.

Jamadagni's

wife

reṇukā

went

in

search

of

her

husband

and

to

her

grief

found

him

lying

dead.

reṇukā

wept

beating

her

breast

twentyone

times

and

by

that

time

her

son

para

urāma

came

there

and

he

declared

that

he

would

travel

round

the

world

twentyone

times,

the

number

of

times

his

mother

beat

her

breast,

to

kill

and

exterminate

the

Kṣatriyas

from

this

world.

Then

the

dead

body

of

jamadagni

was

placed

on

a

pyre

and

they

were

singing

Viṣṇugītā

before

placing

fire

on

the

pyre

when

Śukramuni

appeared

there

and

brought

jamadagni

to

life

by

invoking

the

art

of

mṛtasañjīvanī.

By

that

time

suśīlā

somehow

escaped

from

the

custody

of

the

King

and

came

there

without

the

calf.

Then

paraśurāma

vowed

that

he

would

bring

the

calf

soon

and

taking

with

him

his

disciple

akṛtavraṇa

he

left

for

the

city

of

māhiṣmatī

the

abode

of

kārtavīryārjuna.

There

they

fought

a

grim

battle

and

after

killing

kārtavīryārjuna

and

many

of

his

followers

brought

back

the

calf.

To

atone

for

the

sin

of

this

massacre

jamadagni

advised

his

son

to

go

and

perform

penance

in

Mahendragiri.

Taking

advantage

of

the

absence

of

paraśurāma

from

the

āśrama,

śūrasena

son

of

kārtavīryārjuna,

with

his

followers

went

to

the

āśrama

of

jamadagni

and

chopped

off

his

head.

paraśurāma

returned

from

Mahendragiri

at

once

and

cremated

the

dead

body

of

his

father.

reṇukā,

his

mother,

jumped

into

the

funeral

pyre

and

abandoned

her

life.

From

that

moment

onwards

started

Paraśurāma's

fierce

programme

of

mass

massacre

of

the

Kṣatriyas.(

v

)

Victory

march.

Paraśurāma's

world-tour

was

confined

to

an

all-bhārata

tour.

The

wars

of

paraśurāma

are

not

described

in

detail

in

the

Purāṇas.

They

mention

thaṭ

paraśurāma

killed

the

Kings

of

cola,

cera

and

pauṇḍra.

To

stop

the

birth

of

Kṣatriyas

in

future

paraśurāma

destroyed

even

the

embryo

in

the

wombs

of

Kṣatariya

women.

Then

the

bhārgava

ancestors

like

ṛcīka

and

others

came

to

the

sky

and

requested

paraśurāma

to

stop

this

slaughter.

They

said:

“Oh

son,

rāma,

stop

this

slaughter.

What

good

do

you

get

by

killing

innocent

Kṣatriyas?”

By

that

time

paraśurāma

had

made

twentyone

rounds

around

bhārata

killing

the

Kṣatriyas.

(

Chapter

64,

Ādi

Parva

Chapter

38,

Sabhā

Parva

Chapter

116,

Vana

Parva

Chapter

49,

śānti

Parva

and

10

chapters

from

chapter

83

of

brahmāṇḍa

purāṇa

).7

)

Samantapañcakanirmāṇa.

samantapañcaka

is

kurukṣetra

itself

where

the

great

battle

was

conducted.

This

is

a

holy

place

and

it

was

paraśurāma

who

constructed

it.

He

stored

the

blood

of

the

Kṣatriyas

he

killed

in

the

twentyone

rounds

of

killing

in

five

lakes

in

samantapañcaka.

He

offered

blood

to

the

Manes

in

those

lakes.

The

Manes

led

by

ṛcīka

appeared

before

him

and

asked

him

to

name

any

boon

he

wanted.

Then

paraśurāma

said,

“Revered

Manes,

if

you

are

pleased

with

me

you

must

absolve

me

from

the

sin

of

this

mass

massacre

of

the

Kṣatriyas

and

declare

the

five

lakes

where

I

have

stored

their

blood

as

holy.”

The

Manes

declared,

“Let

it

be

so.”

From

then

onwards

the

place

became

holy

under

the

name

samantapañcaka.

At

the

end

of

the

Dvāparayuga

and

the

beginning

of

kaliyuga

a

great

battle

lasting

for

eighteen

days

took

place

at

this

holy

place

between

the

pāṇḍavas

and

the

kauravas.

(

Chapter

2,

Ādi

Parva

).8

)

Atonement.

To

atone

for

the

sin

of

slaughtering

even

innocent

Kṣatriyas,

paraśurāma

gave

away

all

his

riches

as

gifts

to

brahmins.

He

invited

all

the

brahmins

to

samantapañcaka

and

conducted

a

great

Yāga

there.

The

chief

ṛtvik

(

officiating

priest

)

of

the

Yāga

was

the

sage

kaśyapa

and

paraśurāma

gave

all

the

lands

he

conquered

till

that

time

to

kaśyapa.

Then

a

platform

of

gold

ten

yards

long

and

nine

yards

wide

was

made

and

kaśyapa

was

installed

there

and

worshipped.

After

the

worship

was

over

according

to

the

instructions

from

kaśyapa

the

gold

platform

was

cut

into

pieces

and

the

gold

pieces

were

offered

to

brahmins.

When

kaśyapa

got

all

the

lands

from

paraśurāma

he

said

thus:--“Oh

rāma,

you

have

given

me

all

your

land

and

it

is

not

now

proper

for

you

to

live

in

my

soil.

You

can

go

to

the

south

and

live

somewhere

on

the

shores

of

the

ocean

there.”

paraśurāma

walked

south

and

requested

the

ocean

to

give

him

some

land

to

live.

varuṇa

then

asked

him

to

throw

a

winnow

into

the

ocean.

There

is

a

legend

saying

that

it

was

a

Paraśu

that

paraśurāma

threw.

paraśurāma

threw

the

sieve

(

śūrpa

)

and

the

ocean

gave

way

to

land

for

a

distance

where

the

winnow

fell

from

where

he

stood.

This

is

the

place

śūrpāraka

now

known

as

kerala.

(

Śūrpa

=

Winnowing

basket

).

After

giving

this

land

also

to

the

brahmins,

paraśurāma

went

and

started

doing

penance

at

Mahendragiri.

(

Chapter

130,

Ādi

Parva

Chapter

117,

Vana

Parva

and

Chapter

49,

śānti

Parva

).9

)

Other

exploits

of

paraśurāma.

(

i

)

Meets

śrī

rāma.

śrī

rāma

and

lakṣmaṇa

were

returning

to

ayodhyā

from

Mithilāpurī

after

the

marriage

along

with

the

sage

vasiṣṭha

through

a

deep

forest

when

paraśurāma

blocked

their

way

and

addressing

śrī

rāma

said

thus,

‘Oh

rāma,

son

of

daśaratha,

I

heard

that

you

broke

during

the

marriage

of

sītā

the

great

Śaiva

bow

of

the

palace

of

janaka.

It

was

a

Śaiva

bow

and

I

have

now

come

here

to

test

your

prowess.

I

am

giving

you

a

Vaiṣṇava

bow

now.

Can

you

string

this

bow?”

vasiṣṭha

tried

his

best

to

pacify

paraśurāma.

But

paraśurāma

without

heeding

it

started

describing

the

story

and

greatness

of

the

Śaiva

bow

and

the

Vaiṣṇava

bow.

(

See

under

Vaiṣṇava

bow

).

Then

śrī

rāma

took

the

bow

from

paraśurāma

and

started

to

string

it.

The

brilliance

of

śrī

rāma

dazzled

him

and

he

stood

dumbfounded

at

his

skill.

paraśurāma

was

immensely

pleased

and

he

blessed

śrī

rāma.

After

that

he

went

again

to

Mahendragiri

to

perform

penance.

This

same

story

is

told

in

Kamba

rāmāyaṇa

with

some

slight

changes:--paraśurāma

did

not

like

Śrī

rāma

breaking

the

bow

of

his

guru

śiva.

So

an

angered

paraśurāma

blocked

the

way

of

śrī

rāma

and

challenged

him

to

string

and

take

aim

with

the

mighty

Vaiṣṇava

bow

he

(

paraśurāma

)

was

carrying

with

him

then.

śrī

rāma

with

perfect

ease

took

the

bow,

strung

it,

and

taking

the

missile

asked

paraśurāma

to

show

the

target.

paraśurāma

was

astonished

and

was

in

a

fix.

The

missile

could

destroy

even

the

entire

Universe.

So

paraśurāma

asked

rāma

to

aim

at

the

accumulated

tapobala

(

power

accrued

by

penance

)

of

his

self

and

rāma

did

so.

Then

paraśurāma

surrendered

to

Śrī

rāma

the

Vaiṣṇava

bow

and

arrow

and

the

Vaiṣṇava

tejas

(

divine

brilliance

)

in

him.

paraśurāma

after

having

carried

out

the

purpose

of

his

incarnation

gave

instructions

to

śrī

rāma

to

continue

the

purpose

of

his

incarnation

and

then

after

blessing

śrī

rāma

went

again

to

do

penance

at

his

holy

āśrama.

This

same

story

is

told

by

the

sage

lomaśa

to

the

pāṇḍavas

during

their

exile

in

the

forests.

This

story

is

much

different

from

the

previous

ones:

“When

the

fame

that

śrī

rāma

was

the

best

of

Kings

spread

far

and

wide

paraśurāma

once

went

to

see

śrī

rāma.

Giving

him

the

bow

and

arrow

with

which

he

had

done

the

mass

massacre

of

the

Kṣatriyas

he

challenged

him

to

string

it

and

take

aim.

With

a

smile

śrī

rāma

did

so

and

then

paraśurāma

said

rāma

should

draw

the

string

up

to

his

ears.

śrī

rāma

got

angry

and

then

on

the

face,

which

became

fierce,

by

his

anger,

paraśurāma

saw

besides

himself,

āditya-vasu-Rudras,

Sādhyas,

bālakhilyas,

Devarṣis,

oceans,

mountains,

the

Vedas

and

all

such

things

of

this

universe.

śrī

rāma

sent

out

his

missile

from

the

bow.

The

whole

universe

was

thrown

into

chaos.

Thunder

and

lightning

rocked

the

world.

Heavy

rains

flooded

the

whole

land

space.

Burning

stars

and

meteors

fell

to

the

ground.