BEND IT LIKE PARASHURAM OR FACE THE AXE !

Bend it Like Parashuram OR Face the Axe!

Jamadagni one of those saptarishis married Renuka, daughter of King Prasenjit. They had five Sons, Parashurama being the youngest, the others being Rukmvan, Sushen, Vasu and Vishvasu. As Bhrugu had foretold, Parashurama, despite of being born in a Brahmin family, had Kshatriya traits in terms of valour. He was known as Parashu = Axe  + Rama.  The Axe was his prime weapon. He became known as Parasurama. Rama of the Axe.  Parashurama once killed his mother Renuka at the behest of his father Jamadagni for his mother Renuka’s adulterous thought after sighting a stunningly handsome Gandharva bathing in the river.  She intensely longed for the Gandharva. 

      

                                     




 In fact, Renuka, Parashurama's mother, was a chaste lady. She was known for her absolute devotion to her husband, sage Jamadagni. Her devotion was such that she could fetch water from the river bed by shaping a handful of sand into a pot just by her faith in her husband. The unbaked pot would hold the water just by her devotion and complete dedication to her husband. She was overcome by desire and the impure thoughts made the pot to dissolve. Flabbergasted, she was too afraid what her husband would think of her. She remained at the river banks for a long time. Sage Jamadagni with his gnana drishti came to know what had happened and was enraged. He ordered his sons to kill their mother with an axe. The eldest one refused to do what was expected of him. Jamadagni immediately turned him into stone. The next three sons also refused and met with the same fate.

That was when the youngest son, Parashurama stepped forward. He never disobeyed his father and beheaded his mother with the axe. Jamadagni was impressed by the utter devotion of the young boy. He offered Parashurama two boons. The boy asked for his mother to be brought back to life, without any recollection of her death and that she will be purified from the desires that she previously experienced. The second boon he asked was to bring his brother's back to life without any recollection of the past events of their death. Jamadagni who was thoroughly overwhelmed by emotions instantly granted both the boons.

Parashurama appeared wherever there was no rule and law and order.

Parashurama was one of the Dashavatars of Lord Vishnu. The below given images are that of  Ten avatars of Lord Vishu.  Lord Vishnu reincarnates as follows to eradicate evil from the world.

19th century painting of avatars of Vishnu by the famous mallu painter Raja Ravi Varma.

1. Matsya, the fish, from the Satya Yuga. Vishnu takes the form of a fish to save Manu from the deluge, after which he takes his boat to the new world along with one of every species of plant and animal, gathered in a massive cyclone.
2. Kurma, the tortoise, from the Satya Yuga. When the devas and asuras were churning the Ocean of milk in order to get Amrita, the nectar of immortality, the mount Mandara they were using as the churning staff started to sink and Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to bear the weight of the mountain.
3. Varaha, the boar, from the Satya Yuga. He appeared to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth, or Prithvi, and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in the universe.
4. Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion, from the Satya Yuga. The rakshasa (Demon) Hiranyakashipu, the elder brother of Hiranyaksha, was granted a powerful boon from brahma, not allowing him to be killed by man or animal, inside or out, day or night, on earth or the stars, with a weapon either living or inanimate. Vishnu descended as an anthropomorphic incarnation, with the body of a man and head and claws of a lion. He then disembowels the rakshasa at the courtyard threshold of his house, at dusk, with his claws, while he lay on his thighs.
5. Vamana, a dwarf, from the Treta Yuga. The fourth descendant of Hiranyakashyap, Bali, with devotion and penance was able to defeat Indra, the god of firmament. This humbled the other deities and extended his authority over the three worlds. The gods appealed to Vishnu for protection and he descended as a boy Vamana. During a yajna of the king, Vamana approached him and Bali promised him for whatever he asked. Vamana asked for three paces of land. Bali agreed, and the dwarf then changed his size to that of a giant. He stepped over heaven in his first stride, and the netherworld with the second. Bali realized that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate. In deference, the king offered his head as the third place for Vamana to place his foot. The avatar did so and thus granted Bali immortality. Then in appreciation to Bali and his grandfather Prahlada, Vamana made him ruler of Pathala, the netherworld.
6. Parashurama, warrior with the axe, from the Treta Yuga. He is son of Jamadagni and Renuka and received an axe after a penance to Shiva. He is the first Brahmin-Kshatriya in Hinduism, or warrior-saint, with duties between a Brahmin and a Kshatriya. King Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited the father of Parashurama at his ashram, and the saint was able to feed them with the divine cow Kamadhenu. The king demanded the cow, but Jamadagni refused. Enraged, the king took it by force and destroyed the ashram. Parashurama then killed the king at his palace and destroyed his army. In revenge, the sons of Kartavirya killed Jamadagni. Parashurama took a vow to kill every Kshatriya on earth twenty-one times over, and filled five lakes with their blood. Ultimately, his grandfather, rishi Rucheeka, appeared before him and made him halt. He is a Chiranjivi (immortal), and believed to be alive today in penance at Mahendragiri.
7. Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya, from the Treta Yuga. He is a commonly worshiped avatar in Hinduism, and is thought of as the ideal heroic man. His story is recounted in one of the most widely read scriptures of Hinduism, the Ramayana. While in exile from his own kingdom with his brother Lakshman and the God Hanuman, his wife Sita was abducted by the demon king of Lanka, Ravana. He travelled to Ashoka Vatika in Lanka, killed the demon king and saved Sita.
8. Krishna was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev, from the Dwapara Yuga. He is also a frequently worshiped deity in Hinduism and an avatar in Vaishnava belief. He appeared alongside his elder brother Balarama. Balarama is regarded generally as an avatar of Shesha. However, Balarama is included as the eighth avatar of Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava lists, where Buddha is omitted and Krishna appears as the ninth avatar in this list. He particularly included in the lists, where Krishna is removed and becomes the source of all avatars.
9. Buddha: Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism,from the Kali Yuga, is generally included as an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. Buddha may be depicted in Hindu scriptures as a preacher who deludes and leads demons and heretics away from the path of the Vedic scriptures. Another view praises him as a compassionate teacher who preached the path of ahimsa (non-violence).
10. Kalki ("Eternity", or "White Horse", or "Destroyer of Filth"), will be the final incarnation of Vishnu, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga, our present epoch. He will be atop a white horse and his sword will be drawn, blazing like a comet. He is the harbinger of end time in Hindu eschatology, and will destroy all unrighteousness and evil at the end of Kali Yuga.

 

An elaborate tale of Parashurama is being narrated as follows :

Jamadagni had a cow called Nandini, descendent of the celestial Kamadhenu, who could satisfy all desires.  King Kartavirya or Sahasrarjuna saw this cow and tried to claim it by force. 

Kartavirya had been blessed with thousand hands.  Resisting him was impossible.  ‘These arms you have are meant to help the world,’ said Jamadagni, ‘instead you used them to plunder and steal.  You are no king, you are a thief.’  Kartavirya did not care to heed these words.  He pushed Jamadagni away and dragged out the cow.

An angry Parashurama once again picked up his Axe and hacked off the wicked king’s arms one by one until he bled to death.

Kartavirya’s sons avenged their father’s death by beheading Jamadagni.  So Parashurama raised his Axe for a third time, and took an oath, ‘If the rules of the society are not respected by the Kings themselves, how are we any different from animals who live by force?  I shall kill every king who disrespects the rules of society. Rules of society are greater than any king.’

Parashurama went around the world killing all rulers he found unworthy.  His killing spree had  Five Hundreds slaughtered.  Five lakes were filled with their blood.  Parashurama killed all the Kshatriyas who came along his way.  A few survived by hiding behind women.  From these cowards were born the next generation of kings who were too timid to govern. 

While Parashurama washed his blood soaked axe upriver, beyond the bend, there were village belles washing clothes downriver. The axe was so bloody that it turned the entire river red. This, the women washing clothes saw and exclaimed "Ai hole!" (Oh, what a river!). The name stuck and the village is now known as Ai hole.

‘Will I ever find a perfect king who respects the rules of marriage and rules of property?’ wondered  Parashurama.

Parashurama is a violent avatar of Lord Vishnu who enforces rules. 

Parashurama’s story reveals a period of great unrest between Kings and Sages. 

Sita+Rama parigrahan or marriage ceremony took place through Swayamvara.  Sita chose the bow of Shiva and asked the participant Kings or Princes to bend the bow.  Many suitors before Ram, the prince of Raghu clan, tried to lift the bow and failed.  However, Ram effortlessly not only lifted the bow but also broke it to win the hands of Sita in marriage. 

Hearing the sound of the bow breaking, Parashurama raised his axe and rushed to Mithila the country ruled by Sita’s dad Janaka.  The sound of Ram breaking the bow was heard even in the Devalok. At that time Parashurama was meditating at the Mount Mahendra.  Parashurama’s presence frightened everyone. 

The kshatriyas were afraid to confront the sage, but Sita approached the sage. He blessed her, saying "Saubhagyawati bhavah", literally meaning "be thou blessed with good luck".

Again Parashurama blessed her, saying "Dheergha Sumangali bhavah," or "You will have your husband alive for your lifetime.

‘Who is this man who dares break the bow of Shiva when asked to bend it?’   Parashurama thundered fast and furious. 

So when he turned to confront Rama, the destroyer of Shiva's bow, he could not pick up his axe to do so. This was so because, as he blessed Sita with good luck, he could not cause any harm to her husband.

Janaka was about to get up and cajole the agitated warrior-priest but Vishwamitra grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Let the boy handle this,’ he whispered to the king.

With not a trace of fear on his face, Ram said, ‘I did”.

‘And you are?’

“Ram, son of Kaushalya, scion of the Raghu clan, prince of Ayodhya.’

‘He who liberated Ahalya, who was adulterous in deed.  Do you know who I am?’

‘My namesake, Rama of the Bhrigu clan, also known as Rama of the axe, Parashurama, who beheaded his mother, Renuka, on his father’s instructions, for being adulterous in thought.’

‘When warrior breaks a bow when asked to bend it, it indicates a mind that does not know when to stop, like my mother’s who could not control desire, and like Kartavirya’s who could not control his greed,’ declared Parashurama.

‘What kind of a mind cannot overcome rage and keeps killing king after king, in clan after clan, generation after generation, in the hope that repeated punishment will create a perfect world?’ asked Ram.

Parashurama had no answer.  He had not expected such a sharp retort from this young man.  The air was filled with tension.  Those around dared not to breathe.  ‘Are you saying control is bad?’ asked Parashurama.

‘Control creates domesticated animals.  The purpose of society is to inspire humanity, not tame them,’ said Ram.

‘What then will create culture?  Why not live like rakshashas? Without rules, the strong will dominate the weak and no one will help the helpless,’ Parashurama shouted.

‘Rules cannot be used to compel people to care.  It will only amplify fear.  The whole purpose of sanskruti is to outgrow fear so that we do not feel the need to grab, control or dominate.  Your mother was beheaded not because she desired another, but because your father felt inadequate.  Your killing of Kartavirya only sowed the seeds of vengeance in his sons, just as their killing of Jamadagni sowed the seeds of vengeance in you.  You call it justice, but how much punishment is adequate – when is it fine to forgive and move on?   A society that does not make room for imperfection can never be a happy society.’

These words uttered by Ram pleased Parashurama.  Not every king on earth was like Kartavirya.  There was still hope.  He smiled. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Parashurama offered Ram his bow. ‘You broke Pinaka, which is Shiva’s bow.  Let me see how well you handle Saranga, which is Vishnu’s bow.’

Ram took the bow, bent the shaft, strung it, mounted an arrow on it and pulled the string back effortlessly.  Parashurama was impressed.  ‘This bow had been with the Bhigru clan for generations but none but he had been able to hold it, let alone wield it.

‘I have mounted an arrow on this bow.  What should I strike?  This arrow cannot go in vain,’ said Ram.

‘Strike my mind with it, for I had assumed I alone would solve the world’s problems by enforcing rules.   Shatter the boundaries of my mind, help me appreciate that the rules have to be followed voluntarily to create a happy society.

Ram released the arrow and it struck Parashurama’s mind, shattering all limitations.  Everyone had seen arrows strike physical targets.  For the first time they saw an arrow strike a mental target.

Parashurama was so pleased that he declared that he would withdraw from the world. 

‘The Krita Yuga ended when Kartavirya tried to steal my father’s cow and broke our faith in kings.  Now I see that Treta Yuga has dawned with Ram who will reinforce humanity’s faith in kings.  No more will I kill warriors, or frighten them into being good, because now there is one amongst them who will show how to be good.  My task is done.’

Parashurama hurled his axe into the sea and retired to Mount Mahendra, renouncing violence forever.

Puranas write that the western coast of India was threatened by tumultuous waves and tempests, causing the land to be overcome by the sea. Parashurama fought back the advancing waters, demanding Varuna release the land of Konkan and Malabar. During their fight, Parashurama threw his axe into the sea. A mass of land rose up, but Varuna told him that because it was filled with salt, the land would be barren.

Parashurama then performed a tapasya for Nagaraja, the King of Snakes. Parashurama asked him to spread serpents throughout the land so their venom would neutralize the salt filled earth. Nagaraja agreed and a lush and fertile land grew. Thus, Parashurama pushed back the coastline between the foothills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, creating modern day Kerala.

      

When you mention about Kerala  as the land of Parashurama, it becomes mandatory to write about Lord Vishnu’s fifth avatar Vamana of the Dashavatar and the prosperous ruler of Kerala King Mahabali or Maveli as he is popularly known.  Kindly refer to the fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu as the dwarf Vamana to defeat the enviable king Mahabali under whose regime Kerala was honest, beautiful and prosperous country.  Mahabali’s fame reached Devalok and they wanted to defeat the mortal king Mahabali.   Vamana sends Mahabali to patal and a boon was given to Mahabali  that he can visit his subjects once in a year on the occasion of Kerala‘s harvest festival “ONAM”.  During ten days of Onam celebrations malayalees or mallus remembers and honor their just ruler Maveli and celebrate the festival at any cost and renew the prosperous times of Maveli with fantastic feast, sports and other gaiety and festivities.  The Onam feast has twenty one dishes served on plantain leaf and to top up with a number of puddings or paysams.

The boat race, Thrissur Pooram festival with caparisoned majestic tuskers or elephants, its art forms such as Kathakali, Mohiniattam and other famous folklores are major attraction for visitors from global populace to the state.  The people observe discipline and neat fashionable dress code. The beautiful and talented people of Kerala are famous worldwide.   The most internet savvy population known for its computer mastery and literary treasures are definitely a community to watch out for.

 

  

        

          



A landscape blessed with most beautiful and picturesque sceneries and its intelligent and hardworking people boast of the most literate state of present day India.  Kerala is famous for its cleanliness and the right consciousness.  People of Kerala never leave anything without debate and righteousness.  Mallu examine the pros and cons of every action and has a most secular ambience which offers an honorable living for its democratic people and is a model state in India.  Maveli’s subjects are the most prosperous people in modern India as well with an enviable per capita income.

Kalarippayattu

 

Parashurama and the saptarishi Agastya are regarded as the founders of kalaripayattu, the oldest martial art in the world. Parashurama was a master in the art of weaponry, as taught to him by Shiva. As such, he developed northern kalaripayattu or vadakkan kalari, with more emphasis on weapons than striking and grappling. Southern kalaripayattu was developed by Agastya and focuses more on weaponless combat. Kalaripayattu is known as the 'mother of all martial arts'.

The literal meaning of his name is "Rama with an axe". Shiva himself taught Parashurama kalaripayattu. Parashurama was so good at it that he devised his own style of fighting called as vadakkan kalaripayattu or northern kalaripayattu. He was the guru of Dronacharya, who went on to instruct Pandavas in the Mahabharata. The Japanese martial art “KARATE” is originated from Kalarippayattu.

Indian Actress PARINEETI  CHOPRA rejuvenates and do a makeover in Kerala

Parashurama was the guru of both Bheeshma (Devavrata) and Dronacharya. Also, the Sudarshan chakra (or Sudarshan Vidya) is said to be given by Parashurama to Krishna.

Parashurama was the instructor of the warrior Karna, born to a Kshatriya mother but raised as the son of a charioteer, or lower class of Kshatriyas. Karna came to Parashurama after being rejected from the school of Drona, who taught the five Pandava and one hundred Kaurava princes. Parashurama agreed to teach Karna, believing him to not be of Kshatriya birth, and gave him the knowledge of the extremely powerful Brahmastra weapon. But an incident would render the Brahmastra almost useless to Karna.

One day, Parashurama was sleeping with his head resting on Karna's thigh, when a beetle crawled up and bit Karna's thigh, boring into it. In spite of the bleeding and the pain, he neither flinched or uttered a cry so that his teacher could continue his rest. However, the blood trickled down, reaching Parashurama and awakening him. Convinced that only a Kshatriya could have borne such pain in silence and that Karna had therefore lied in order to receive instruction, he cursed Karna that his knowledge of the Brahmastra would fail him when he needed it most. Later, during the Kurukshetra war, Karna had a dream at night when he thought of his guru and asked him to take back the curse he had warranted years back. Parashurama explained that he knew that the day would come; he knew that Karna was a Kshatriya, but deemed him to be a worthy student and instructed him nevertheless. However, the outcome of the war would have left the world in ruins if Duryodhana were to rule, as opposed to Yudhishthira. For that reason, Parashurama requested that Karna accept the curse and fall at the hands of Arjuna, inadvertently saving the world.

The ages of mankind are known as Satya Yuga. Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga in the religion of Hinduism.   Parashurama belonged to Satya Yuga and Ram Treta Yuga.  Dvapara Yuga rests with Shree Krishna and Kali Yuga is that of Kalki.

Parashurama believed in perfection and he never compromised on that count.

I have always strived for perfection in whatever I do in my life knowing well that God alone is perfect.  However, it is our duty to inch towards perfection or do things in near perfect ways.

Parashuram was a legend and was instrumental for creation of my mother land and that is more than enough to feature him in JOHNNY’S BLOG.