Ashok Sharma
Lord Parshurama, who is the sixth Avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu in Hinduism,is also known as angry sage by his temper.Though born as a Brahmin, he carried the traits of a Kshatriya such as aggression , warfare ,valour etc.At the same time, he also carried the traits of prudence, serenity and patience.So in view of his traits,he is generally regarded as Brahmin-Kshtriya.Lord Parshrama is considered to one of the very few greatest warriors ever born on Earth.He was born at a time when the Kshatriya class had begun to abuse their powers, tyranize people and take whatever belonged to others by force.
According to Hindu legends, Parshurama was born on Akshya Tritiya in Baisakh in the Dwapar Yuga to a Sarswat Brahmin sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka who lived in a hut.His father was one of the Saptarishis.It is believed that Jamadagni and Renuka, his parents, did a severe penance towards Lord Shiva praying for the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu in their family.With Lord Shiva’s blessings, the divine child was born and he was named Rambhadra.Parshuram was a self made warrior and he learned archery and warfare from many sources.Once he undertook a severe penance to please Lord Shiva who tested him in several ways and finally granted him the celestial axe.After getting the celestial axe, Rambhadra came to be known as Parshurama.He was also a disciple of Lord Shiva and learned the scriptures and the arts of warfare from Lord Shiva and then acquired celestial weapons from Lord Shiva and the other gods on Shiva’s instructions.Lord Parshurama and Ravana’s son Indrajit are believed to be the only humans who have ever possessed the three weapons of the Trinity Brahmanda astra, Vaishnava astra and Pashupat astra.It is said sage Jamadagni had a cow called Surbhi which gave them everything that they desired.A king named Kartivirya Arjuna , while returning from the war, rested at Jamadagni’s Ashram who arranged food and showed great hospitality to the king and his army.The king was astonished how the sage could arrange food for such a large army.He learnt about the celestial cow and wanted to have it.But the sage refused.One day while Parshurama was away, the king took the cow by force.On his arrival in the hut, Lord Parshurama came to know about the crime and he became angry.Taking his axe in his hand,he challenged the king and killed king Kartivira who had a thousand arms.The other persons from the warriar class challenged him and he also killed all of them. According to some versions of the legend, Parshurama returned with the celestial cow to his sage father and told him about his martial exploits.But his father didnot approve of his action saying that a Brahmin should never kill a king.He asked Parshurama to expiate his sins by going on a pilgrimage.He obeyed his father but when he returned after the pilgrimage, he came to know that his father was killed by Kartiviriya’s sons and the warriors while he was away.He was infuriated and he picked up his axe alone and killed Kartivirya’s sons and many warriors in retaliation.
There are many legends associated with Lord Parshurama.According to one legend, once Parshurama went to Kailash to meet Lord Shiva, he was stopped by Lord Ganesha because Lord Shiva was in meditation.Angry Parshurama threw his axe at Ganesha who allowed it on his left tusk because that axe had been given to Parshurama by his father.After this incident, Ganesha is known as Ekdanta.He also fought back the advancing seas to save the lands of Konkan and Kerala.Lord Parshurama was born towards the end of Tretayuga, lived to see the Dwaperyuga and is also said to be witnessing the initial phase of Kaliyuga.Parshurama’s mother Renuka was a virtuous lady.She would fetch water each day in pot made from unbaked clay.One day as she went to fill water, it so hapoened that she saw some Gandharvas (divine beings) passing by in the sky.This evoked a moment of desire in her and the pot lost its shape and she was drenched.Sage Jamadagni saw this through her divine sight and he was infuriated.He asked his eldest son to behead Renuka but he refused.So the sage turned him into a stone.His other three sons met the same fate.Finally he asked his youngest son Parshurama to behead his mother.Parshurama, sensed his father’s anger, so he took his axe and killed his mother.His father was pleased with him and granted him two boons and asked him to name two wishes to be fulfilled.Lord Parshuram immediately asked his father to restore his mother to life and also to turn his four brothers from sand to human again.Thus, he obeyed his father, displayed prudence and then performed his duty to bring back his mother and brothers to life.Parshurama was not a racist.He killed only those kshatriyas who abused their powers and let loose a reign of oppression and fear. Once Lord Shiva challenged Parshurama to a battle to test his skills in warfare.The spiritual master, Lord Shiva and the disciple ShriParshurama were locked in a fierce battle for twenty one days.While ducking to avoid being hit by the Trident of Lord Shiva, Shri Parshurama attacked him with his Parshu.It struck Lord Shiva on the forehead creating a wound but Lord Shiva was very pleased to see the warfare of his disciple.When he met Lord Rama, a Khshtriya and the other incarnation of God Vishnu,he left fighting and his anger was cooled down. Parshurama played an important role in the Mahabhata and Ramayana.He served as a mentor to Bhishma, Drona and Karana and had a face off with Lord Rama while the latter was returning from Sita’s Swayamvara. It is believed that Lord Parshurama is one of the seven immortals of Hinduism and is still alive and lives in Mahendergiri Mountain Peak in Odisha.According to Kalki Purana,he will appear at the end of Kali yuga and be the martial and spiritual guru of Kalki Avtar, the tenth and final Avtar of Lord Vishnu.
An organisation named Parshuram Yuva Dal is rendering a yeomen’s service in social and religious fields in the Jammu Division.The volunteers of Parshuram Yuva Dal got installed steel containers at various places in the city for holding water for animals to drink.This organisation also organises Blood Donation Camps, Eye camps and provides uniforms and stationery items to those students of Government school, who belong to economically weaker families.Recently, the Dal has got installed a grand marble idol, about 11 ft high of Lord Parshurama ji at Kargil Hanuman Mandir, Udhampur.According to the local unit of Parshuram Yuva Dal, it is the tallest marble idol of Lord Parshurama in the world. A grand Shobha Yatra on the eve of Parshurama Jayanti is also taken through various bazars in different cities on eve of Parshurama Jayanti in which thousands of people from all communities participate.It is a feast to the eyes and the soul to watch Jhankis and other items displaying our rich cultural ethos, brotherhood and Dogra folk dances.A grand community feast (Bhandara) is also organised after the culmination of Shobha Yatra.People, alongwith their children ought to participate in such Shobha Yatra and expose our youngsters to the life and heroic and noble deeds of our Gods, Goddesses, sages and saints.
The writer is serving as Sr. Lecturer in English, Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Thial (Udhampur)
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