Essay name: Purana Bulletin
Author:
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies
The "Purana Bulletin" is an academic journal published in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. They represent Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit and cover a wide range of subjects.
Purana, Volume 8, Part 1 (1966)
63 (of 340)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Jan., 1966] PARA艢UR膧MA 55 The echo of the exploits of Para艣ur膩ma that is heard in the
R膩m膩ya峁嘺 assumes magnitude in the Mahabharata. The fight
between Parasurama and K膩rtav墨rya is narrated in all details and
as is to be expected, its description in different places in the same
text of the Mahabharata, show slight variations in the trend of
the story. Thus, for example, the Aranyaka version dispenses
with Kamadhenu in the possession of the Bhargavas. The Bhrgus
are, however, represented as the priests of K峁泃avirya, by whose
liberality they were greatly enriched. When fortunes changed
Krtavirya's descendants were in need of momey, they approached
the Bhrgus and found some money buried underground. K膩rta-
v墨rya himself, the opponent of Para艣ur膩ma, is depicted as a perfect
fiend in some versions; in others, the evil doings are ascribed to
his vicious sons. The 膧ra峁噛aka, Dro峁嘺 and Santi versions
describe the Para艣ur膩ma-K膩rtavirya feud in great detail. The
names of the kings slaughtered by Parasurama are given. It is
also known that S眉rp膩raka and Apar膩nta were created by Parasu-
r膩ma, when he was forced to leave the earth given to K膩艣yapa.
As will be seen presently, the creation or reclamation of coastal
Western India by Parasurama has been another favourite theme
of poets and bards.
The Parasurama-anecdotes in the Mahabharata impart a
colour to the personality of Para艣ur膩ma. The military achieve-
ments of our hero do find expression in glorious terms and he has
also the honour of being the tutor in the science of arms of Drona,
Karna and Bhisma. At the bidding of Lord Siva, Parasur膩ma
even fights successfully against the daityas. The Udyoga Parvan
is not worthy in its digression depicting Para艣ur膩ma in the role of
a peace-maker and not as an inveterate enemy of the Ksatriyas.
The narration of the story of Dambodbhava by Para艣ur膩ma which
shows the futility of fighting Nara-N膩r膩ya峁嘺 reveals him as an
advocate of peace (Udyoga, 94). The Ambop膩khy膩na, in the
same Udyoga Parvan (175, 4-5), refers to the royal sage Hotra-
v膩hana, Amb膩's maternal grand-father as the friend of Para艣ur膩ma.
Para艣ur膩ma is represented here not only as championing the cause
of a K峁triya princess but also as a teacher of the Ksatriya
