Parashurama Avatar: Rama with the Axe

Parashurama, son of the sage Jamadagni, humbled the tyrannical kings of his age and then returned to austerity.

Parashurama, "Rama who bears the axe (parashu)", is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was born in the line of Bhrigu to the sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka. According to tradition, Lord Shiva, pleased by his intense austerity, gave him his axe. Though born a brahmin, he had the might of a great warrior.

In that age many kings had become arrogant and oppressive. The powerful King Kartavirya Arjuna, who had a thousand arms, once visited Jamadagni's hermitage and was received with lavish hospitality made possible by the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu. Out of greed the king carried the cow away by force. Parashurama pursued him and slew him in battle. Later, in revenge, the king's sons killed the sage Jamadagni while Parashurama was away. Filled with grief and anger, Parashurama vowed to free the earth from the tyrannical warrior kings, and according to the Bhagavatam he did so twenty-one times. Afterwards he gave away the whole earth in charity and went to Mount Mahendra to perform austerities.

Parashurama appeared in Treta Yuga and is counted among the chiranjivis, the ever-living ones. In the Mahabharata he is the teacher of Bhishma, Drona and Karna. His life teaches that power must serve justice, and that once a duty is fulfilled one should return to peace and austerity.

Number

6

Yuga

Treta Yuga

Form

Brahmin warrior with an axe

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 9; Mahabharata