Parashurama- Did he killed the entire Kshatriya race?

 Did Lord Parashuram killed all the Kshatriyas?

It is widely believed that Lord Parashurama obliterated Kshatriya dynasties from the face of the earth 21 times. Let us try to see if its true.

Lets first learn a bit about who Lord Parashuram is:

The Mahabharata,Hari Vamsa, Srimad Bhagvatam tell us stories about Lord Parashuram. Lord Parashuaram was born to Rishi Jamdagni and princess Renuka. His name was Rama and he learnt the art of warfare from none other than Lord Shiva. He is also known as the teacher of Bhishma Pitamah, Guru Dronacharya and Radheya Karna.

Lord Parashuram is also credited with obliterating Kshatriya Kings 21 times.

Why did Lord Parashuram killed Kshatriya Kings 21 times. Let us see why he did so from Chapter 116 and Chapter 117 of the Vana Parva of Mahabharata.

In chapter 116 and Chapter 117 it is mentioned that once there lived a King named Kartavirya Arjuna of the Haihaya dynasty. He once arrived at the sages hermitage, where he was received by both Rishi Jamdagni and Renuka. The two took great care of the King and his soldiers through the blessing of Kamdhenu cow. Upon seeing the mystical cow Kamdhenu, the King Kartavirya Arjun got obsessed with it and stole it by force from Rishi Jamdagni.

When Rama came home, his father himself told him all that had happened. Then when Rama saw how the cow was lowing for its calf, resentment arose in his heart and he went to kartavirya arjuna. Upon seeing Parashuram marching in anger towards him, he asked his army to attack lord Parashuram. His army attacked Lord Parashurama, but they were no match for him. Then finally Kartavirya Arjuna attacked Parashurama. Parashurama rescued kamdhenu by cutting off thousands hands of Kartavirya Arjuna and thereby killing him.

Kartavirya's sons were enraged at the murder of their father so they attacked a defenseless Jamadagni at his ashram when Parashurama and his other sons were away. They killed the rishi and stole the cow and its calf.

Parashurama on seeing his father dead made a vow to kill all Kshatriya Kings.

And then Parashurama took up his axe and went to Mahishmati, the capital of Kartavirya Arjuna, and killed all of Kartaviryaarjuna’s sons, whose blood became a great river. He also exterminated the Kashatriya followers of Kartavirya's sons. And seven times did that powerful lord exterminate the military rulers of the earth. In the tract of land, called Samantapanchaka five lakes of blood were made by him.

Canto 9 Chapter 16 of Srimad Bhagvatam gives reasons why Parashurama killed the kshatriyas.

ŚB 9.15.16

श्रीराजोवाच
किं तदंहो भगवतो राजन्यैरजितात्मभि: ।
कृतं येन कुलं नष्टं क्षत्रियाणामभीक्ष्णश: ॥ १६ ॥

Synonyms

śrī-rājā uvāca — Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired; kim — what; tat aṁhaḥ — that offense; bhagavataḥ — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rājanyaiḥ — by the royal family; ajita-ātmabhiḥ — who could not control their senses and thus were degraded; kṛtam — which had been done; yena — by which; kulam — the dynasty; naṣṭam — was annihilated; kṣatriyāṇām — of the royal family; abhīkṣṇaśaḥ — again and again.

Translation

King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: What was the offense that the kṣatriyas who could not control their senses committed before Lord Paraśurāma, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for which the Lord annihilated the kṣatriya dynasty again and again?

ŚB 9.16.11

दृष्ट्वाग्‍न्यागार आसीनमावेशितधियं मुनिम् ।
भगवत्युत्तमश्लोके जघ्नुस्ते पापनिश्चया: ॥ ११ ॥

Synonyms

dṛṣṭvā — by seeing; agni-āgāre — at the place where the fire sacrifice is performed; āsīnam — sitting; āveśita — completely absorbed; dhiyam — by intelligence; munim — the great sage Jamadagni; bhagavati — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; uttama-śloke — who is praised by the best of selected prayers; jaghnuḥ — killed; te — the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; pāpa-niścayāḥ — determined to commit a greatly sinful act, or the personified sins.

Translation

The sons of Kārtavīryārjuna were determined to commit sinful deeds. Therefore when they saw Jamadagni sitting by the side of the fire to perform yajña and meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is praised by the best of selected prayers, they took the opportunity to kill him.

ŚB 9.16.12

याच्यमाना: कृपणया राममात्रातिदारुणा: ।
प्रसह्य शिर उत्कृत्य निन्युस्ते क्षत्रबन्धव: ॥ १२ ॥

Synonyms

yācyamānāḥ — being begged for the life of her husband; kṛpaṇayā — by the poor unprotected woman; rāma-mātrā — by the mother of Lord Paraśurāma; ati-dāruṇāḥ — very cruel; prasahya — by force; śiraḥ — the head of Jamadagni; utkṛtya — having separated; ninyuḥ — took away; te — the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; kṣatra-bandhavaḥ — not kṣatriyas, but the most abominable sons of kṣatriyas.

Translation

With pitiable prayers, Reṇukā, the mother of Paraśurāma and wife of Jamadagni, begged for the life of her husband. But the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna, being devoid of the qualities of kṣatriyas, were so cruel that despite her prayers they forcibly cut off his head and took it away.

 

ŚB 9.16.16

विलप्यैवं पितुर्देहं निधाय भ्रातृषु स्वयम् ।
प्रगृह्य परशुं राम: क्षत्रान्ताय मनो दधे ॥ १६ ॥

Synonyms

vilapya — lamenting; evam — like this; pituḥ — of his father; deham — the body; nidhāya — entrusting; bhrātṛṣu — to his brothers; svayam — personally; pragṛhya — taking; paraśum — the axe; rāmaḥ — Lord Paraśurāma; kṣatra-antāya — to put an end to all the kṣatriyas; manaḥ — the mind; dadhe — fixed.

Translation

Thus lamenting, Lord Paraśurāma entrusted his father’s dead body to his brothers and personally took up his axe, having decided to put an end to all the kṣatriyas on the surface of the world.

ŚB 9.16.17

गत्वा माहिष्मतीं रामो ब्रह्मघ्नविहतश्रियम् ।
तेषां स शीर्षभी राजन् मध्ये चक्रे महागिरिम् ॥ १७ ॥

Synonyms

gatvā — going; māhiṣmatīm — to the place known as Māhiṣmatī; rāmaḥ — Lord Paraśurāma; brahma-ghna — because of the killing of a brāhmaṇa; vihata-śriyam — doomed, bereft of all opulences; teṣām — of all of them (the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna and the other kṣatriya inhabitants); saḥ — he, Lord Paraśurāma; śīrṣabhiḥ — by the heads cut off from their bodies; rājan — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit; madhye — within the jurisdiction of Māhiṣmatī; cakre — made; mahā-girim — a great mountain.

Translation

O King, Lord Paraśurāma then went to Māhiṣmatī, which was already doomed by the sinful killing of a brāhmaṇa. In the midst of that city he made a mountain of heads, severed from the bodies of the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna.

ŚB 9.16.18-19

तद्रक्तेन नदीं घोरामब्रह्मण्यभयावहाम् ।
हेतुं कृत्वा पितृवधं क्षत्रेऽमङ्गलकारिणि ॥ १८ ॥
त्रि:सप्तकृत्व: पृथिवीं कृत्वा नि:क्षत्रियां प्रभु: ।
समन्तपञ्चके चक्रे शोणितोदान् ह्रदान् नव ॥ १९ ॥

Synonyms

tat-raktena — by the blood of the sons of Kārtavīryārjuna; nadīm — a river; ghorām — fierce; abrahmaṇya-bhaya-āvahām — causing fear to the kings who had no respect for brahminical culture; hetum — cause; kṛtvā — accepting; pitṛ-vadham — the killing of his father; kṣatre — when the whole royal class; amaṅgala-kāriṇi — was acting very inauspiciously; triḥ-sapta-kṛtvaḥ — twenty-one times; pṛthivīm — the entire world; kṛtvā — making; niḥkṣatriyām — without a kṣatriya dynasty; prabhuḥ — the Supreme Lord, Paraśurāma; samanta-pañcake — at the place known as Samanta-pañcaka; cakre — he made; śoṇita-udān — filled with blood instead of water; hradān — lakes; nava — nine.

Translation

With the blood of the bodies of these sons, Lord Paraśurāma created a ghastly river, which brought great fear to the kings who had no respect for brahminical culture. Because the kṣatriyas, the men of power in government, were performing sinful activities, Lord Paraśurāma, on the plea of retaliating for the murder of his father, rid all the kṣatriyas from the face of the earth twenty-one times. Indeed, in the place known as Samanta-pañcaka he created nine lakes filled with their blood.

 

 

Here it is written that Lord Parashuram killed all the Kshatriyas 21 times, if so how could have Kshatriyas remained. The answer is simple, he killed the sinful rulers from the face of the earth, but he never killed pious rulers. We can also see it from family tree of the Ikshvaku dynasty, that most of their Kings were alive and not killed by Lord Parashuram. We also know that he fought the tyrant Kings and their soldiers and not their families. So there is a very large possibility that these dynasties continued to grow too as child and women were not harmed during the battles. And mostly there is record of him killing Kartavirya Arjuna and his sons, and their supporters. No other such families as such are mentioned who were obliterated by Lord Parashuram. 

In some versions, it is mentioned that Lord Parashurama vowed to kill all Kshatriyas on Earth to avenge perceived wrongs committed by them. It is said that he engaged in a series of battles and successfully defeated and killed numerous Kshatriya kings and warriors, resulting in the death of several prominent Kshatriya families.

However, it is important to note that not all versions of the story depict Lord Parashurama as killing every single Kshatriya. Some variations suggest that Lord Parashurama's actions were more focused on punishing specific families or clans of Kshatriyas who had become corrupt, oppressive, or unjust in their rule. These versions present his actions as a means to restore righteousness and protect the oppressed rather than a complete eradication of the entire Kshatriya class.

As with many mythological narratives, different interpretations and retellings of the story of Lord Parashurama's actions exist within Hindu traditions. The specific details and extent of his actions can vary across texts and cultural beliefs.

Similar things are also written about Pandavas in the Adivansavatarana Parva of the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata. Here it is written that:

"And the fourteenth year, O monarch, when the Pandavas returned and claimed their property, they did not obtain it. And thereupon war was declared, and the Pandavas, after exterminating the whole race of Kshatriyas and slaying king Duryodhana, obtained back their devastated kingdom.

Here it is written that Pandavas exterminated the entire race of Kshatriyas, but we find it in the Mahabharata that it is not true as different Kings and Kingdoms are written about in the Ashwamedha Yagya Parva. We even find the sons of Shakuni alive after the completion of the war in the Ashwamedha Yagya Parva.

So we can conclude that this words were merely used by the author as adjectives to portray the valour of the various character in the epic. This lines were merely used to glorify their valour and strength, and are sometimes not accurate to rely upon. The Parashuram did kill the tyrant rulers 21 times, but he didn’t obliterate the entire Kshatriya race from the face of the earth as stories of many noble kings and their lineages are found in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Similarly we read in the Mahabharata, even though Gandhari cursed Lord Krishna that Yadavas would be destroyed. But we read it in mahabharata that many of them actually survived. So we can conclude that the obliteration of Kshatriyas from the face of the earth cannot be hold true, as many kings and their lineages were desribed in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. And mostly there is record of him killing Kartavirya Arjuna and his sons, and their supporters. No other Kshatriya families as such are mentioned who were obliterated by Lord Parashuram. 

An interesting fact Jains too have their own story about Lord Parashuram, whereas in this story Lord Parashuram is portrayed in negative light. As per Jain lore, Parshuram was asked to behead his mother. This is because she had an affair with a king, Kartavirya Arjuna. When Renuka is killed, an upset Kartavirya Arjuna wants to kill Parshuram. But upon not finding him, he kills Parshuram’s father, Jamadagni, instead. This makes Parshuram so angry that he kills seven clans of the kshatriyas. Kartavirya Arjuna’s widow secretly gives birth to a king called Subhom. Subhom challenges Parshurama to a fight and defeats not only Parashurama, but 21 families of Brahmins. He then establishes himself as Chakravarthi.

 

Thank You all for reading the blog. Hope it was knowledgeable and informative. 

God bless you all

Jai Shree Ram