Parashurama | |
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Member of Dashavatara and Chiranjivi | |
![]() Parashurama by Raja Ravi Varma | |
Other names |
|
Devanagari | परशुराम |
Sanskrit transliteration | Paraśurāma |
Affiliation | Vaishnavism |
Abode | Mahendra Mountains |
Weapon | Parashu (Parashu) |
Day | Thursday |
Genealogy | |
Born | Akshaya Tritiya |
Parents | |
Siblings | Ṛumaṇvān, Suhotra, Vasu, and Viśvāvasu[2] |
Spouse | Dharani (Lakshmi)[1] |
Dashavatara Sequence | |
---|---|
Predecessor | Vamana |
Successor | Rama |
Parashurama (Sanskrit: परशुराम, romanized: Paraśurāma, lit. 'Rama with an axe'), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama,[3] is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism.[4] Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According to legends, Shiva advised him to go and liberate the Mother Earth from felons, ill-behaved men, extremists, demons and those blind with pride. He is described as one amongst the Chiranjivis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.
Born to Jamadagni and Renuka, the Brahmin Parashurama was foretold to appear at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on the earth. The Kshatriya class, with weapons and power, had begun to abuse their power, take what belonged to others by force and tyrannise people. He corrected the cosmic equilibrium by destroying these Kshatriyas twenty-one times (leaving some lineages). He is married to Dharani, an incarnation of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu.[5]
In the epic Ramayana, he arrives after Sita Swayamvara, upon hearing the loud noise when Rama uplifts and breaks the divine bow Pinaka. He later deduces that Rama is Vishnu himself, he himself asked Rama to destroy the fruits of his austerities.
In the epic Mahabharata he was the guru of Bhisma, Drona, Rukmi and Karna.[6][7]
Parshuram is said to carry various traits including courage, aggression, and warfare along with serenity, patience and prudence. He was known to show his benevolence to Brahmins, children, women, old men and other weaker sections of the society.
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).