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Posted by Harsh Nevatia Apr 15, 2007 |
On 19th April 2007 according to the western calendar, falls a lesser-known event on the Hindu almanac. This is Parashurama Jayanti or the birth anniversary of Parashurama Bhargava, the sixth avatar of Vishnu. Parashurama carried an axe or ‘parasha’ in Hindi and hence his name means the axe wielding Rama.
The purpose of this avatar was to rid the earth of the kshatriya race that had become arrogant and irreligious. Parashurama wiped out the race 21 times in bloody conflicts and established the supremacy of the brahmin race.
Parashurama is different from the other avatars of Vishnu in that he did not and will not ascend to heaven. He is a chiranjeevi and will live in mortal form till the destruction of the world at the end of Kaliyuga. Therefore he plays a role in the later avatars of Vishnu. In the Ramayana Parashurama creates a volatile situation when Rama breaks Shiva’s bow to marry Sita. In the Mahabharata Karna receives education from him claiming to be a brahmin. Parashurama discovers the deception and curses Karna. In Vishnu’s yet to come Kalki avatar, Parashurama will be the tutor and mentor of Kalki who will destroy the world because it has become evil beyond redemption. Under Parashurama’s guidance Kalki will perform a long and difficult penance to please Shiva and obtain the celestial weapons required for the destruction of the world. This is narrated in the Kalki Purana.
There are several lesser-known tales about Parashurama. Ganesh, the Elephant God, is also known as Ekdanta because he had only one tusk. Many stories abound how he happened to lose one tusk. One such story involves Parashurama. Once Parashurama went to pay his respects to Shiva but was stopped by Ganesh. Parashurama threw his axe at Ganesh, knowing that it was given by Shiva and hence would not harm Ganesh. The axe severed one of Ganesh’s tusks. Ganesh realized that Parashurama was a true devotee and let him pass. Parashurama is also known as the founder of the state of Kerala in south India. Before Parashurama’s birth Kerala did not exist. Parashurama threw his axe in the sea. Varun the demi-God of the Sea retreated till the point where the axe fell, thus creating Kerala.
One of the most fascinating tales about Parashurama is related to the origin of the Yellamma cult. Parashurama’s mother Renuka daily fetched water from the river early in the morning so that his father Jamadagni could start his rituals. One day Renuka saw some young men frolicking in the river and was so overwhelmed by their handsomeness that she tarried a while. When she reached home late, Jamadagni was so furious that he ordered his sons to cut off her head. Only Parashurama stepped forward to obey his father. Renuka ran and hid behind a low caste woman. Parashurama chopped of both their heads. His father was pleased and offered Parashurama a reward. Parashurama asked for both women to be restored. Jamadagni did the needful but inadvertently interchanged the heads. From that time onwards the devadasis worship the low caste woman with the head of Renuka as Yellamma. Another version adds that Jamadagni turned his four elder sons, who had refused to his bidding, into eunuchs. Hence Yellamma is also worshipped by the eunuchs.
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