Parasurama

Parasurama, from the Sanskrit parasu ("axe") and rama ("man"), is the sixth avatar of Vishnu, the preserver god in the Hindu trinity. During the Krita Yuga, he quite fittingly appeared in the form of a man wielding an axe, and restored the flagging Hindu social order which was being disturbed by enterprising Kshatryas.

Hinduism teaches that whenever humanity is threatened by extreme social disorder and wickedness, God will descend into the world as an avatar to restore righteousness, establish cosmic order, and redeem humanity from danger. The avatar doctrine presents a view of divinity that is compatible with evolutionary thinking since it suggests a gradual progression of avatars from amphipian through mammal to later human and godly forms. Most importantly, the concept of avatar presents the theological view of a deeply personal and loving God who cares about the fate of humanity rather than ignores it. Time and time again, the various avatars are willing to intervene on humanity's behalf to protect its overall cosmic wellbeing (loka-samgraha).

Parasurama in the Context of the Avatar Doctrine

The avatar doctrine is a seminal concept in certain forms of Hinduism, particularly Vaishnavism, the sect that worships Vishnu as the Supreme God. The word Avatar in Sanskrit literally means "descent" of the divine into the realm of material existence. Through the power of maya ("illusion" or "magic"), it is said that God can manipulate forms in the physical realm, and is therefore able to assume bodily forms and become immanent in the empirical world. Hinduism states that the Absolute can take on innumerable forms and, therefore, the number of avatars is theoretically limitless; however, in practice, the term is most ubiquitously related to Lord Vishnu, of whom Narasimha is an incarnation.

Hinduism recognizes ten major avatars, collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' ('dasa' in Sanskrit means ten). Scriptural lists of these ten divine manifestations frequently differ, however, the most commonly accepted has Parasurama preceded by Matsya, a fish; Kurma, a turtle; Varaha, a boar; Narasimha, a man-lion hybrid; as well as Vamana, a dwarf; and followed by Rama, a noble man; Krishna, the teacher of the Bhagavadgita; Buddha, a spiritually enlightened being, and finally Kalkin, the last of the avatars who has yet to arrive. These avatars usually take physical form for the purpose of protecting or restoring dharma, the cosmic principle of order, when it has devolved. Krishna explains this in the Bhagavadgita: "Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness O Arjuna, I send forth Myself." (Shloka 4.7) Vishnu's tenure on earth typically involves the performance of a particular series of events in order to instruct others concerning the path of bhakti (devotion) and ultimately leading them to moksha (liberation).

Mythology

The most famous story concerning Parasurama describes his actions to restore the decline of dharma. During the Krita Yuga, the Kshatrya (warrior) caste had become overconfident in their military and political power, and began to oppress the Brahmanas, the priestly caste which was traditionally held to be the highest rung on the Hindu social ladder. Parasurama himself was born into the race of Bhrigu, a lineage was marred by caste confusion. His father Jamadagni, although born a Brahmana became a Kshtrya because his mother had erroneously consumed food imbued with the properties of the latter caste. Jamadagni sired Parasurama by Renuka, who bore him a son, who was promptly named Parasurama because he carried an axe called Parashu, which was given to him at birth by Shiva, the destroyer god of the Hindu Trinity.

During Parasurama's life the social order was suffering due in no small part to Kartavirya, a powerful king who had obtained a hundred arms. On one instance, the wicked Kartavirya and his minions went to Jamadagni's hermitage when Renuka was there alone. According to custom, she took care of the king and his followers. Kartavirya saw Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, which belonged to Jamadagni. Desiring to possess the cow, Kartavirya drove Renuka away and took the sacred cow. Soon thereafter, Jamadangi and others came back to the hermitage and saw what had happened. They pursued the king, then overpowered him and killed him, bringing back the cow that was rightfully theirs. When the king's son heard of his fathers death, he returned to the hermitage with an army in tow and killed Jamadangi. Seeking revenge, Parasurama swore that he would drive all Kshatryas from the earth. In twenty one battles, he destroyed all the Kshatryas on earth. It was thought that from then on that all Kshatryas were descendent from Brahmanas, illustrating the superiority of the priestly caste over that of the warriors. Also, by his victory and the power it afforded him, Parasurama secured for his father a place within Hindu asterism as the constellation of the Saptarishis, of which he is the Great Bear.

An entirely different story details the origin of Parasurama's name. Originally, he was named Rama. Rama was a brilliant archer, and in gratitude for this skill he travelled to the Himalayas where he did penance for many years. Shiva was very happy with Rama's devotion, and so when fighting broke out between the gods and the demons, Shiva ordered Rama to fight on behalf of the gods. Rama was without his bow, and so he asked Shiva how he could fight without his weapon. Shiva encouraged him go to battle regardless of his lost weapon, which Rama did, emerging victorious. Shiva rewarded Rama with many gifts and weapons, including the Parasu axe, which became Rama's weapon of choice. From this point on, Rama was known as Parasurama, "Rama with the axe."

Another popular myth involving Parasurama tells of an instance when Parasurama's mother went to the river in order to bathe. Here she saw Chitraratha, king of the celestial muscians known as the apsaras. Upon seeing the divine being, Renuka was gripped by licentiousness. When she returned to the hermitage of her husband, he quickly ascertained the magnitude her transgressions by way of his yogic powers. Enraged, he ordered his sons to kill their mother. The four eldest sons refused, and were cursed by their father to become fools. Parasurama complied, however, and used his axe to behead his mother. As a token of appreciation for his son's obedience, Jamadagni offered his son a boon. Parasurama asked that his mother be restored to life without recollection of what had been done to her, and that his brothers be given back their normal intelligence. Also, he asked his father to ensure that no one would be able to defeat him in combat from that point on.

Depiction

In general, images of Parasurama do not vary to any significant degree. He is quite fittingly depicted as a large, virile man carrying an axe, either standing or sitting. He has either two arms or four, although figures of the two armed variety are far more common. The axe is held in his right hand, while his left hands is held in the Suci pose, as if he is pointing toward something. His body is highly adorned with ornaments, and on his head is the jata-mukuta, a headdress formed of piled, matted hair. Parasurama's colour is red, and he wears white clothing.

Significance

Parasurama was the first avatar to appear in fully developed human form, and so he is the first of the dasavatara to operate distinctly in the realm of civilization as know it. While the stories of the previous avatars operated in a more fantastic mythological mode, recounting larger-than-life feats of the superhuman variety, stories of Parasurama are more worldly, reflecting upon political and economic struggles which may have been based upon actual events which occurred early in the history of India. Despite his human form, Parasurama represents an early stage in the development of the homo sapien, one which is still reliant upon tools and weapons in order to subsist and survive, and so he leaves room for future avatars such as Rama and Krishna to improve the social, intellectual and spiritual sensibilities of humankind.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bassuk, Daniel E. Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: the myth of the god-man. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1987. ISBN 0391034529
• Gupta, Shakti. Vishnu and His Incarnations. Delhi: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1974.
• Mitchell, A.G. Hindu Gods and Goddesses. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1982. ISBN 011290372X
• Parrinder, Geoffrey. Avatar and incarnation: the Wilde lectures in natural and comparative religion in the University of Oxford. London: Faber, 1970. ISBN 0571093191