The Story Behind Parashurama Beheading His Mother

Parashurama is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. One of the most violent avatars of Vishnu, he is the fifth son of Renuka and Jamadagni. His choice of weapon is a Parashu or a battle axe, which he received from Lord Shiva after undergoing intense penance.

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The literal meaning of his name is "Rama with an axe". Shiva himself taught Parashurama kalaripayattu, which is the mother of all martial arts. Parashurama was so good at it that he devised his own style of fighting called as vadakkan kalaripayattu or northern kalaripayattu. He was the guru of Dronacharya, who went on to instruct Pandavas in the Mahabharata. He also taught Bhishma and Karna the art of warfare.

Story Behind The Beheading

Renuka, Parashurama's mother, was a chaste lady. She was known for her absolute devotion to her husband, sage Jama. Her devotion was such that she could fetch water from the river bed by shaping a handful of sand into a pot just by her faith in her husband. The unbaked pot would hold the water just by her devotion and complete dedication to her husband.

One day while on her way back home after getting the water, she saw a group of Gandharvas [heavenly beings] go past her in a chariot. She was overcome by desire and the impure thoughts made the pot to dissolve. Flabbergasted, she was too afraid what her husband would think of her. She remained at the river banks for a long time. Sage Jamadagni with his gnana drishti came to know what had happened and was enraged. He ordered his sons to kill their mother with an axe. The eldest one refused to do what was expected of him. Jamadagni immediately turned him into stone. The next three son's also refused and met with the same fate.

That was when the youngest son, Parashurama stepped forward. He never disobeyed his father and beheaded his mother with the axe. Jamadagni was impressed by the utter devotion of the young boy. He offered Parashurama two boons. The boy asked for his mother to be brought back to life, without any recollection of her death and that she be purified from the desires that she previously experienced. The second boon he asked was to bring his brother's back to life without any recollection of the past events of their death. Jamadagni who was thoroughly overwhelmed by emotions instantly granted both the boons.