Lord Parashurama, the Brahmin warrior, is the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is one of the eight immortals of Hindu mythology. He is considered one of the greatest warriors and a great sage. His real name is Bhargav Rama. He is the son of one of the Saptarshis, Jamadagni, and the great-grandson of Rishi Bhrigu, who wrote Bhrigusamhita.

His mother’s name was Renuka, who is worshipped as one of the Hindu goddesses. Lord Parashurama was born in Treta Yuga on the day of Vaishakh Shukla Tritiya. His birth anniversary is celebrated in India as Parashurama Jayanti on Vaishakh Shukla Tritiya every year. The same day is celebrated as Akshay Tritiya also.

The Story of Lord Parashurama:

Parashurama had four brothers: Soma, Rutu, Turvasu, and Megha. His mother, Renuka, was a warrior princess. His father was a Brahmin, but he was also a great warrior.

He was the disciple of Sage Vishwamitra. Rishi Vishwamitra was a warrior before he became a sage. Vishwamitra had given all the military training to Parashurama. Parshurama also worshipped Lord Shiva and got many divine weapons. One of which was the big ax (Parashu). He is the master of all weapons, including Brahmastra. Lord Shiva also taught him the art of war.

During the times of Parashurama, Kshatriyas (the warrior clan) had become despotic and considered themselves superior to all four Varnas. Sahastrarjuna, also known as Kartavirya Arjuna, was the king of the Haihayas kingdom. He was one of the greatest warriors then and trounced the Asura king Ravana.

Lord Parashurama was also a disciple of Lord Dattatreya. He divided his kingdom into 1000 regions and appointed 1000 officers as his representatives to collect the taxes and to look after administrative matters. These 1000 officers were cruel and despotic. Even after becoming aware of the cruelty of his officers, Kartavirya Arjun overlooked it and continued his luxurious life. He had hundreds of wives and used to live a lavish life, overlooking the sufferings of the citizens.

Sahastrajuna Kills the Father of Lord Parashurama:

One day, Sahastrarjuna visited the ashrama of Jamadagni with thousands of soldiers without notice. Irrespective of that, Jamadagni managed to give food and shelter to all his soldiers better than he expected. He asked Jamadagni the secret behind this. He told him about the divine cow, Kamadhenu, in his ashrama, because of which there was no shortage of food there.

The king asked Jamadagni to give Kamadhenu to him, but he refused. Hence, Kartavira Arjuna beheaded him and took the cow forcefully with him. After knowing about this injustice, Lord Parashurama took the oath to rid the earth of Kshatriyas 21 times (It is believed that Kartavira Arjun’s soldiers cut the body of Jamadagni into 21 pieces; hence, he took the oath to eradicate Kshatriyas 21 times).

He attacked Sahastrarjuna and killed him along with all the Haihayas. After that, he fought 20 wars (total 21) and defeated and killed Kshatriyas. Thus, he crushed the ego of Kshatriyas and restored Dharma during that time.

Why Did Lord Parashurama Kill His Mother?

One day, Parashurama’s mother, Renuka Devi, went to a river to fetch some water for rituals. There she saw a spacecraft and some Gandharvas and Apsaras enjoying themselves. For some time, thoughts of a luxurious life came into her mind, but she came out of that and returned to the ashram. However, she was late in that process, and the ritual was delayed for some time.

Sage Jamadagni, Parashurama’s father, had divine powers, and he learned about the thoughts that arose in her mind. He got very angry and ordered his sons to behead their mother. At that time, Parashurama was not there. His four brothers could not kill their mother out of their affection.

When Parashurama returned, Jamadagni ordered him to behead his mother, and Parashurama did so without hesitation. Knowing about the obedience of Parashurama, Jamadagni was very pleased with him and asked him for a boon. Parashurama asked him to bring his mother back to life, and Jamadagni did so. Thus, Parashurama got his mother back.

But the boon did not relieve him of his sin of killing his mother. So, for penance, he became an ascetic and worshipped Lord Shiva. After some time, Lord Shiva appeared before him and told him to bathe in the water of Matrukundiya. Thus, Parashurama was relieved of the sin of killing his mother.

Lord Parshurama in the Ramayana:

During the swayamwara (an ancient ceremony of choosing the groom for the bride of her choice) of Sita, the princess of Mithila, Lord Rama lifted the bow of Shiva and broke it while trying to string it. Parashurama learned this with his meditative powers and appeared at the place of swayamwara. Initially, he got furious, but he soon realized that Lord Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu. So, he blessed the couple and left the scene.

Lord Parshurama in the Mahabharata:

Parashurama appears in the epic Mahabharata a few times. He taught the art of war to Bhishma and Dronacharya. He also gave knowledge of Brahmastra to Karna, but Karna lied, telling him that he was a Brahmin, so he cursed him that he would forget the knowledge he had given to him when he would need it the most. Parashurama also had to fight a small war with Bhishma, his disciple, over the controversy of Princess Amba, in which Bhishma defeated him.

Conflict with Lord Ganesha:

One day, Parashurama wanted to meet Lord Shiva. Hence, he was going to Mount Kailash. There, he was not allowed to see Lord Shiva as Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati were resting, and Ganesha had ordered him not to allow anybody to meet them. At that time, he was unaware that Ganesha was the son of Shiva and Parvati.

As Parashurama was quick-tempered, he became angry and fought with Ganesha, but Ganesha was a great warrior and put up an intense fight. So, as a last resort, he threw his ax, given by Lord Shiva, toward Ganesha. Lord Ganesha realized that his father gave this ax to Parashurama and hence to revere it, he took the blow on one of his teeth. With the vigorous blow, his tooth broke. Therefore, Lord Ganesha is also known as Ekadanta (with one tooth). Soon after, Shiva intervened and pacified the situation.

Lord Parashurama Gives the Sudarshana Chakra to Lord Krishna:

When Lord Krishna was at the hermitage of Sage Sandipani, Lord Parashurama came there. Lord Krishna attended and served him. After that, Lord Krishna sought his blessings. As Lord Krishna was the Supreme Lord himself, he asked what blessing he could give him. Therefore, he gave him the Sudarshana Chakra, the ultimate weapon.

Is Lord Parashurama Still Alive?

He is one of the eight Chiranjivis (immortals). He is still alive and lives in a subtle body on Mahendragiri mountain in Odisha, India. Lord Parashurama would appear at the end of Kaliyuga and would train the Kalki Avatar (the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) in warfare.

Parashurama Jayanti:

Parashurama Jayanti is celebrated yearly as the birth anniversary of Lord Parashurama during Shukla Paksha Tritiya in Vaishakha month. It coincides with Akshaya Tritiya, which is another important Hindu festival. The worship of Lord Parashurama is not as popular as that of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna.

The Chitpavan Brahmins:

According to a story, Lord Parashurama could not find any Brahmins in Konkan. Once he found sixty fishermen who had gathered near a funeral pyre on the ocean shore. These sixty fishermen families were purified and Sanskritized to Brahminhood. Since the funeral pyre is called Chitta and pure as Pavana, the community was henceforth known by the name Chittapavan or “purified at the location of a funeral pyre”. However, ‘Chitta’ also means ‘mind’ in Sanskrit, and the Chittapavans prefer “pure of mind” instead of “pure from the pyre”.

Reference: Vishnu Purana