KarmaVaani
Vaishnava tradition
परशुरामParashurama
Bhargava Rama · Jamadagnya · Chiranjivi
The warrior-sage with the axe, Vishnu's sixth avatar, one of the seven immortals still said to walk the earth.
- Abode
- Mount Mahendra
- Colour
- Fair, smeared with ash
- Arms
- 2
Parashurama, son of the sage Jamadagni and Renuka, was a brahmin who took up arms. He won his axe, the parashu, from Shiva through austerity, and when the tyrant king Kartavirya Arjuna stole his father's sacred cow and his sons later killed Jamadagni, Parashurama cleared the earth of oppressive kings twenty-one times. In the Mahabharata he is the teacher of Bhishma, Drona and Karna. The west coast remembers him as the one who threw his axe into the sea and reclaimed the land from Konkan to Kerala.
Mantra
ॐ जामदग्न्याय विद्महे महावीराय धीमहि। तन्नो परशुरामः प्रचोदयात्॥
Om Jamadagnyaya Vidmahe Mahaviraya Dhimahi, Tanno Parashurama Prachodayat
We know the son of Jamadagni and meditate on the great hero; may Parashurama inspire us.
How Parashurama is shown
An ascetic warrior with matted hair and a beard, holding a great axe, a bow and quiver on his shoulder.
- Axe (parashu)
- Shiva's gift: justice turned against tyranny.
- Bow
- The bow of Vishnu, which he handed to Rama.
- Matted hair and rudraksha
- His life as a sage under vows.
Stories
Meeting Rama
When Rama broke Shiva's great bow to win Sita, Parashurama came storming to the wedding party. He challenged Rama to string the bow of Vishnu. Rama strung it with ease, and Parashurama recognised that the power of Vishnu had passed into him, gave up his anger and returned to his austerities on Mount Mahendra.
