Top 5 Interesting facts about Lord Parashurama

‘Jayanti’ is the Sanskrit word for Victory and Parusharama Jayanthi is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.

Parashurama Jayanti 2020 falls on the 25^th of April this year. According to the Hindu calendar, it falls in the month of Vaishakha on the third day of Shukla Paksha.

Regions that observe Parashurama Jayanthi

• Gujarat
• Haryana
• Himachal Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh
• Punjab
• Rajasthan

Story behind his name

Parashurama’s original name was Rama, but after learning Vedas, Rama showed a desire to learn Archery. Hence, Sage Jamadagni advised him to go to the Himalayas and worship Lord Shiva. When Devtas came to Shiva for help against Asuras, Shiva ordered Rama to destroy them. Rama destroyed all the Asuras without any weapon.

Lord Shiva was impressed by his valour and gave a weapon called Parshu(axe). Thus, Rama became Parshurama.

Story of Parashuram

Parashuram was the sixth avatar of Vishnu. He was born to sage Jamadagni and Kshatriya Renuka.

Parashuram was the fifth son of Jamadagni and Renuka.

According to the legend, Mahishmathi Nagri, a region in central India was ruled by the demon king ‘Kiratarjuna’ and his kingdom of the kshatriyas.

Goddess Earth was concerned about the evil deeds of the king, hence she asked Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu said that he would be born to the sage ‘Jamadagni’ and destroy the kingdom. Lord Vishnu reincarnated as the great warrior Parashurama and defeated the king and the kshatriyas, restoring peace on earth.

Top 5 interesting facts about Parashurama

Parashurama defeated the whole clan of Kshatriyas

According to Bhagwat, Parashuram was born to destroy the kings of Haideya dynasty. He wanted to live for the benefit of mankind. He restored peace and Dharma on Earth.

Parashurama still resides on Earth

Parshuram’s power is not renewable due to birth on Akshaya Tritiya as the word “Akshaya” means the never diminishing.

It is also said that Lord Parashurama still prevails on Earth as he is a Chiranjeevi(Immortal) and that is the main reason why the sixth incarnation is not worshipped. On the other hand, his other avatars, including Rama and Krishna, are worshipped. There are very few temples where Lord Parashurama is worshipped. 

Famous Parashurama Temples in India :

1. Thiruvallam Sree Parasurama Swami Temple, Kerala
2. Parshuram Devasthan , Chiplun, Maharashtra
3. Bhagwan Parshuram Kund Mandir, Arunachal Pradesh
4. Kunjarugiri Parashurama Temple, Karnataka
5. Parshuram Mahadev Temple , Rajasthan

Parashurama broke Lord Ganesha’s Tooth

Once Parashurama went to visit Lord Shiva when he was stopped by Lord Ganesha as he was in meditation. Parashurama got angry and threw his axe at Lord Ganesha and Lord Ganesha allowed it on his left tusk because that axe was given as a boon by his father Shiva. After this incident, he came to be known as ‘Ekdanta’.

Parashurama rescued Kamadhenu

King of Maheshmathi Katvurya Arjuna was returning back from war, and he rested at Jamadagni’s ashram. Jamadagni gave hospitality to the king and his army. The king saw that Kamadhenu(the cow) could easily arrange all the food items very easily, hence, he desired to take her for any price. But, when Jamadagni refused, the king stole Kamadhenu.

This angered Parashurama and he killed the king and the army and rescued Kamadhenu.

Parashurama cursed Karna

One afternoon, Parashurama rested on Karna’s lap as he was tired and fell asleep. At that time, a bee was buzzing and flying around Karna, and finally settled on his thigh. Not wanting to disturb Parashurama, he didn’t even hinge a little and the bee bore into his thigh causing him immense pain. Blood began to ooze and it touched Parasurama’s cheek. He woke up and was startled seeing the blood.

Out of concern, he asked the reason for the blood, and Karna explained the whole incident.

Parashurama was surprised as a Brahmin is soft-bodied and doesn’t have much endurance power. Parashurama had all along assumed Karna to be a Brahmin and he asked him to confront the truth.

After Karna told the truth about him being Kshatriya, this angered Parashurama and he cursed him saying that he will forget his knowledge when he needs it the most for lying to his teacher for attaining training.

Celebrations and Rituals of Parashurama Jayanthi

• Devotees stay awake at night and recite Vishnu Sahasranama
• Charity is considered very auspicious on this day
• Observing fasts and other religious works have been the trademarks of this day for centuries
• Any auspicious work done on this day will be long-lasting and permanent
• Akshaya Tritiya is celebrated on this day, hence people all over India celebrate weddings, plan new business ventures, long journeys, and other events. They also buy gold, silver, and other assets on this day so that it lasts long. To know more unknown facts about Akshaya Tritiya, click on the link above.