Life and acts of Parashurama: A journey through 21 names

[Nityanand Misra]

Dear list

I offer my best wishes on Askhaya Tritiya and Parashurama Jayanti.

As many of you would know, there is a special significance of the number 21 with Parashurama, as he waged 21 wars against Kshatriya-s as per the Mahabharata and the Purana-s. The complex Sanskrit word ‘triḥsaptakṛtvas’ (“seven times thrice”, i.e. “twenty-one times”) is mostly used in the context of Parashurama’s twenty-one bloody wars against the Kshatriya-s. The word is used in this context in many Hindu scriptures (including the Mahabharata, ‘Bhagavata Purana’, ‘Brahmanda Purana’, ‘Agni Purana’, ‘Brahmavaivarta Purana’, ‘Skanda Purana’, and ‘Garuda Purana’) as well as epic poems (including ‘Kiratarjuniya’ by Bharavi and ‘Narayaniya’ by Narayana Bhattathiri) and stotra-s (including ‘Dashavatara Stotra’ by Vedanta Deshika).

Some of you may be interested in this article on 21 names of Parashurama:

http://www.dailyo.in/variety/akshaya-tritiya-parashurama-jayanti/story/1/16891.html

Your comments and feedback are welcome. 

Thanks, Nityananda