Parashurama

Quick Facts

About Parashurama

The immortal axe-wielding avatar of Vishnu who annihilated the kshatriya race twenty-one times and taught only Brahmins. He trained Bhishma, Drona, and Karna - cursing Karna to forget his weapons at the moment of greatest need when his caste deception was revealed.

In Their Words

When you need your knowledge most, it will abandon you - as you deceived me.

Parashurama

Traits

• Immortal
• Wrathful
• Master of Arms
• Unforgiving

Story Appearances

• The Fallen SunKarna's guru who curses him❧ 20 min
• The Princess Who Became DeathFights Bhishma for Amba's sake❧ 22 min
• The Fallen SunTeacher whose curse seals Karna's fate❧ 28 min

Stories Featuring Parashurama

58 further tales on this site name Parashurama, in canonical reading order.

• Karna's Birth & CurseThe Tragic Backstory of the Sun's SonAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of DronaAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• Drona and DrupadaThe Broken FriendshipAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• The Fire-Born and the Woman Who Became a ManDrupada's Children, Drona's Old Feud, and Amba's Vow Across LivesAdi Parva ‧ 29 min
• The Age After the AxeHow the warrior caste came back, and how it was spoiled againAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• Ganga Beyond the RiverThe mother who shaped BhishmaAdi Parva
• Kurukshetra Before the WarWhy the field was already holyAdi Parva
• The Fire in the SeaRevenge the dead never asked forAdi Parva
• The Teacher Who Came Too LateFlour stirred in water, and a mountain walked toAdi Parva
• Mahishmati, City Guarded by FireThe Narmada capital of old powerSabha Parva
• The Warrior With the AxeParashurama, Jamadagni, and the Long VengeanceVana Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Rudra's Share and the Sinking EarthTwo quarrels over what may be given away, on the Kalinga shoreVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Two Pots of RiceA mother and daughter exchange their bowls and exchange their sonsVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Warning in the DreamA father begs his son to live, and the son chooses to be rememberedVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Five Lakes of BloodParashurama's oblation to the fathers at SamantapanchakaVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Bow at the FrontierParashurama Tests Rama of Ayodhya and Loses His EnergyVana Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down fromUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Twenty-Three Days on the SaraswatiBhishma fights his own preceptor and neither man can winUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Fall of Bhishma and the EarringsIndra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of ArrowsBhishma Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Hymn Before the ConchesKrishna sends Arjuna down from the chariot to praise the goddessBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology insteadBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one eveningBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anythingBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.Bhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into itDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a maceDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Stones and the Golden KingSatyaki kills Sudarsana on the road to Arjuna, and cuts the mountaineers' stones out of the airDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a kingDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Kurukshetra Day 17: The Earth Takes the WheelKarna's Last Morning to Karna's Last HourKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Calf and the WheelKarna tells his charioteer the curse that will kill himKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Bhargava WeaponKarna spends his teacher's last gift on the PancalasKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• How Parashurama Won Shiva's WeaponsYears of penance, a war fought with empty hands, and the arsenal that reached KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duelsKarna Parva ‧ 23 min
• Where the Carnage Did Not CeaseArjuna counts every point at which the war should have stoppedShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• Karna at RajapuraA bride carried off, a hundred kings unhorsed, and the city a rival gave awayShanti Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Princes the Earth HidWhat was left of the Kshatriyas after the axeShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• What Is Owed to Mother, Father and TeacherAsked which duty matters most of all, Bhishma names three people and calls them the three sacred firesShanti Parva ‧ 13 min
• Krishna's Gift to the Dying GrandsireThe Boon That Took Away Pain, Hunger and Thirst So Bhishma Could SpeakShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Wife Who Cooled a Naga's AngerPadmanabha would not go out to a waiting guest, until his wife named the ends of Ravana and KartaviryaShanti Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Three Born of the FireBhrigu, Angiras and Kavi rise from a libation, and three gods claim themAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• Upamanyu's PenanceThe boy who refused every god but Shiva, and the god who came disguised as Indra to hear him do itAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Devotees of MahadevaKapila, Valmiki, Gritsamada and others tell Yudhishthira what a lifetime's devotion to Mahadeva bought them.Anushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• What Sends a Man to Heaven or HellBhishma on gifts, the Sraddha, and the two lists of deedsAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Sage Who Shot at the SunHow the umbrella and the sandals came into the worldAnushasana Parva
• The Two Bowls of RiceHow a mother's swap made a brahmana of one line and a warrior of the otherAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Wind Answers the Thousand-Armed KingKartavirya boasts, and an invisible voice begins to argueAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Hand That Rose From the GrassBhishma's own memory of Shantanu's shraddha at the gate of GangaAnushasana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets goAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1The TeacherPours his knowledge into Karna
2. 2The CurseDooms his finest student
3. 3The DuelBattles Bhishma to a standstill

Key Relationships

• Student & Cursed➝Karna
• Student & Equal➝Bhishma
• Champion of➝Princess Amba

Places in Parashurama's Story

Drawn from the stories Parashurama appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Kashiकाशी
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Shalvaशाल्व
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Angaअंग
• Gokulगोकुल
• Salmali Forestसाल्मली वन
• Mahendra Parvataमहेन्द्र पर्वत
• Pushkaraपुष्कर

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa