Parasurama was tired in both mind and body. Vidyudabhi, his axe, hung heavy in his hand. His heart heavier still.

He glanced at the blood-stained blade. No matter what he did, he could not wash the blood from the axe.

The great God Shiva had given him this weapon and reluctantly taught him how to wield it. Lord Shiva had warned him that giving in to emotions and searching for revenge would not soothe his grief or bring back his father, cruelly murdered by the Kshatriyas.

With Vidyudabhi in his powerful hands, he was invincible in battle. His flowing locks of hair, his unruly beard, his red, angry eyes, and his stalwart figure had struck fear into the hearts of Kshatriyas across the land.

He killed in anger at first, to avenge his father. Then he killed to protect himself and the people from the arrogant Kshatriyas. Then killing became a habit, violence a way of life, and it seared his soul. He had had enough of this cycle of violence.

But the Kshatriyas were now bent on revenge too. They came for him and harried him wherever he went. He had then turned at bay, like a wounded elephant, upon his enemies.

The axe had done its bloody work, and the Kshatriyas were all gone now to the land of their ancestors.

The Boy Who Was

He had been Rama once; the bright student of his father, the Rishi Jamadagni, and the princess Renuka. He was the beloved child of the family, the youngest. He knew the Vedas and all the other sacred works. In spiritual knowledge, no one could match him. He was a gentle child who loved the ashram.

All that changed the day he beheaded his mother with an axe at his father’s command. His mother was restored later by his father, but the act of violence had marked him forever, and he became Parashurama, Rama of the Axe.

The axe owned him and defined him. All his other attributes were forgotten, and he became an extension of the weapon. He could not free himself from it until he finally managed to drop it near the Himalayas in the holy Kund near the mountains of the land of the rising sun (present-day Arunachal Pradesh).

But the pain of killing his mother, that sin, would not leave him, and it darkened his soul. He wandered alone in places where there were few men.

The Second Loss

He returned to his father’s ashram seeking peace and relief, only to find his father had been beheaded by the evil Kshatriya, Kartavirya Arjuna.

Now Kartavirya Arjuna had a thousand hands and was an incarnation of the Sudarshana Chakra, the celestial weapon itself.

Parashurama, bent on revenge, prayed to Lord Shiva and received Vidyudabhi, Shiva’s divine axe, and went forth to seek his vengeance.

He killed Kartavirya Arjuna, and then could not stop.

He became Parashurama completely. Vidyudabhi owned him. (Parasu means axe; Parashurama means Rama who bears the axe.)

There were lakes of blood behind him from the men he had killed. He bore the burden of a thousand curses from the families of those he had slain.

People moved out of his way, frightened and fearing his quick temper. He sought a way to be free. He sought freedom from his burdens, his sorrow, and his sins.

The Giving Away

He gave up all the lands he had conquered to the Brahmins, who claimed that would release him from his sins. He knew better, it would not. But he had no use for the land. He had no desire for pomp or power. He gave away everything except his weapons and his knowledge. He had walked to the very end of Bharatavarsha. From the towering heights of the Himalayas, he had come south to the tip of land washed by the three oceans (modern-day Kanyakumari).

The Reckoning

He meditated for a long time, the gentle sea breeze soothing him. The music of the waves calmed his tired mind, and he found a measure of peace. He knew that to gain true peace, he would have to give up his axe, the axe that was so much a part of him that parting with it would tear him apart. But its work was done. There were no Kshatriya males left alive now.

Parashurama stood upon a rock in the middle of the sea. He raised his hand, holding the bloody axe high.

The world waited. There was a hush. The wind stilled, and the ocean stopped its eternal dance.

Parashurama drew his hand back and threw his axe into the ocean.

The axe twirled and flew fast and high through the air. The bloodied blade met the ocean near Gokarna.

The ocean recoiled from that fearsome weapon and exposed the land beneath, a barren land that sloped gently toward the sea.

The Gift

Parashurama was despondent at this. A barren land? Even the sea had rejected his axe. He sat in meditation, and Varuna, the lord of the oceans, appeared before him.

“Rama,” said Varuna, “do not be sad. I have accepted your sacrifice and given you this land in return, stretching from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. It is barren now, but seek the help of Shesha, the divine serpent, and this will become one of the most beautiful lands in Bharatavarsha.”

Parashurama meditated upon Shesha, and the divine snake appeared and blessed the land with its venom. The barren earth turned rich and fertile. Verdant valleys appeared, and thick forests teemed with life. High mountains rose on one side, the sea sparkled on the other, and rivers ran crystal clear. It was a beautiful land, and Parashurama felt pride and peace at creating such a wondrous place.

“This land is yours, Parashurama, and it shall be called Parashurama Kshetra after you,” said Varuna.

Parashurama then gave Shesha, his people, and their descendants a prominent place in the land and the freedom to roam freely there.

(They worship snakes even today in Kerala, coastal Karnataka, and parts of the Konkan. Perhaps the tale is a lesson for us: we need to protect snakes, as they are very much an important part of the ecosystem. In an agricultural society, snakes play a vital role in keeping pests like rats in check.)

The Departure

But to return to our major story.

Parashurama spent a few years on this land and then brought sixty-four families of Brahmins from the north and settled them in this land reclaimed from the sea.

He then left for his permanent abode in the Himalayas, where he waits for Kalki, the final avatar of Vishnu. Parashurama will be his guru.

The land Parashurama reclaimed from the sea is now called Kerala, God’s own country.

Namaste till the next time. 🙏