Death to Tyrants

 

महाभरत

Mahābharata

As retold by

Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi

The Story of Parashurama, continued...

“When a wave of soldiers realized the danger and came at him, he unleashed showers of arrows from the invincible bow of Shiva, cutting them down like wheat at harvest time. The dead bodies of young princes littered the road by the river. The vultures circled overhead. The tigers lurked in the shadows awaiting the feast that would be theirs by night. Still the powerful Paraśurāma continued to unleash his rage without mercy against the diabolical soldiers that had savaged his father.

"Finally, Kartavirya Arjuna himself, the vicious king who ruled the city of Mahishamati on the banks of the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, mounted his golden chariot and flew at Paraśurāma. With a weapon in each of his thousand arms, or armed with a thousand weapons, he charged the young Paraśurāma in his chariot of fiery horses."

  Bhiṣma paused. He raised his head to drink again from the refreshing spring of the river Ganges that flowed from a place in the ground where the mighty Arjuna had shot an arrow.

Bhishma tells the story of Parashuram

              

 “The rage of Paraśurāma was greater than the power of the corrupt dictator Kartavirya. He had long oppressed the humble people of the Narmada, raping their daughters, pillaging their villages, and filling his treasury with booty. He had polluted rivers, destroyed farms, and extorted taxes from the people, impoverishing them while living in luxury. He had stolen the Kamadhenu cow of the forest sage, Jamadagni, out of greed. Now it was time to pay for his crimes and for the murder of Jamadagni. It was time to wet the earth with his blood."

        

      

“In hand to hand combat, Kartavirya was superior. Legend has it that he had a thousand arms, though it may also have been true that he had a thousand weapons. In any case, Paraśurāma chopped off his arms, one by one until the proud Kartavirya was left looking only at stumps.

Some say he chopped off Kartavirya’s arms using only arrows which Paraśurāma produced by the thousands, creating a storm of darts. Others believe that it was the single-handed use of his axe that caused the slaughter. When Kartavirya was defenseless and begging for mercy, Paraśurāma beheaded him with his mighty battle axe, given him by Lord Shiva, destroyer of planets.

                Bhisma said, “And when the duel was over, Paraśurāma was even thirstier for the blood of despots. He would continue his rage against the diabolic kings and princes for the rest of his life, until he had annihilated an entire generation of Kshatriyas and despotic tyrants.

Parashuram killed an entire generation of despotic princes

"When he had finished, he conducted the Ashvamedha sacrifice, a great horse sacrifice performed only by the greatest of kings."

“After bequeathing all the lands he had conquered to the humble brahmaṇas who lived by the side of the Narmada, he rested. His ordeal finished for the moment, Paraśurāma renounced the use of violence and went to the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains where it is always eternal spring. There he sits in meditation, waiting for the day when he must return to overcome the terrible and despotic rulers who would exploit the poor and humble peoples of the world. It is said that there he meditates, .

Bhishma continues...

His great disciple Bhiṣma, one of the greatest warriors who ever rode the chariot, continued: 

"As I child I learned to carry the axe and sword, and to string the bow and hit the target. I learned the different kinds of arrows and how to control various weapons by mantra. Gradually I grew into a young man and was strong, so I helped him with the simple chores of ashram life.

Typical Ashram

"He taught me the martial arts and how to discipline the mind and body. From the great Vasistha whom I had offended in my former life, I learned the eight-fold path of Asthanga-yoga, the analysis of matter and energy found in Sankhya philosophy and the different chakras of Kundalini yoga.

With the help of Paraśurāma I became expert in sword, bow, ax and arrow. I learned to wield the iron rod and the mace; how to throw darts with a sling and how to shoot hundreds of arrows fast as the wind. I learned how to prepare different kinds of arrows, with copper tips, with poison, with bronze and other metals, and the use of flaming arrows."

Ancient weapons

                I practiced the lance and spear, the javelin and other thrown weapons, iron rods and darts. I learned the importance of the hand guard called the hastaghna against the friction of the bowstring.  I learned to play the dundubhi and bakura, the musical instruments of war to put fear into the hearts of men. 

horse and rider in Himalayas

I learned to ride a horse in the foothills of the Himalayas and how to care for my horse. I learned to wear armor and chain mail. I was taught how to set snare, nets, and traps, and how to use burning rope as a smoke weapon.  We ventured onto the abandoned plains of Kurukṣetra, these very plains you see today. In those days, this was a green place and we would thunder across the plains on our horses, mentor racing disciple.

Parashuramaavatar

My Lord, Paraśurāma found me an eager student. I mastered each art in their turn while serving my guru faithfully, bringing him water and tending the ashram.  I learned drill and discipline at the feet of the master.  I practiced wrestling with other students. I became expert in the art of the mace, how to leap and turn and zigzag in the air. Once I had mastered horsemanship I was allowed to practice with a chariot, which was armed with all military devices including swords and shields, bow and arrows, mace, sling and darts and javelins.

War elephants

                After this, I learned to control war elephants, to subdue them with mantras and kind words, to fight with bow and arrow while the elephants raged across the Kurukṣetra plains. Many men came to learn the science of arms from my master and many were turned away. Paraśurāma adhered to the laws of dharma and would only train those who swore to use their powers to uphold truth and justice. At last, when I was ready, he initiated me in the use secret weapons known only to the highest mystics. He endowed me with weapons that Shiva himself had bestowed upon him when he raged against the marauding Haihaya Kshatriyas of old.

I became expert in the use of all these weapons, and skilled in the art of war. I had been given the best education of any prince ready to assume the command of all the Indias and rule greater Bharata.

                “And when I was ready to become a man, I was sent away from the ashram of my Lord Paraśurāma, the terrible killer of kshatriyas. I began my way down the valley of the river Ganges, my mother, and returned home to the kingdom of my father Shantanu.

Die to Live

                 The old man impaled on a bed of arrows pauses. A small boy dressed as a brahmaṇa gathers water from the geyser near his head and offers it to the dying warrior embedded on a thousand arrows. He wipes the sweat from Bhiṣma’s brow as the sun moves further in the northerly direction, bringing the great warrior closer to death.

Talks in Thailand.

When I was in Thailand last year, I had the opportunity to chat with Gopa Kishore at the headquarters of Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Thailand.

Here's part of an interview I did at the Gupta Govardhan ashrama in Chiang Mai, Thailand in January of 2014.

The Axe of Parashuram

महाभरत

Mahābharata

As retold by

Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi

Story of Parashurama: Continued

And so the family continued their life on the banks of the Narmada. The anger of the great sage had passed. Those who pass their lives in austerities and vows of poverty are often prone to anger. Anger and pride are the vices of the renounced order of life. The sage Jamadagni had fallen victim to the vice of anger in his cruel punishment of Renuka.  But his son had redeemed him with his call for mercy.

On her part, Renuka served her children as only a devoted mother can and no longer entertained adulterous thoughts of luxurious young princes with their riches and elephants. As time went on, no one remembered the incident but young Ram and his father the great sage, Jamadagni. It all seemed like a dream now. 

The moons changed, the monsoon came and went and the Narmada flooded her banks. The rice grew in the paddy and the tigers stalked the water buffalo in the long grass by the river. Jamadagni spoke often of the treachery of kings in his lectures which were attended by more young men eager to learn.

Old Jamadagni explained the laws of dharma for brahmanas and the military code for warriors. He lamented that the warriors no longer followed the ancient rules. The young princes abused their power and wealth, corrupting virgins, drinking wine, hunting and killing deer and forest animals for sport, and gambling away their fortunes. And when their fortunes ran out, they looted and plundered the poor and innocent people who lived in the towns and villages by the banks of the Narmada.

These rogues had no respect for old people and teachers. According to the rules of ancient warfare a nobleman should never make war on  innocent people untrained in weapons. Women and children should be protected, not abused and exploited. Jamadagni was unhappy with the kings and princes who wandered the land like bandits, marauders and ne’er-do-wells, preying on the poor and defenseless brahmaṇas who only wanted to live in peace.

               

 In the meantime, Parashuram was becoming a man. Young Parashuram would go into the forest and practice martial arts for hours with his axe. He could split a sapling in half from ten paces distant. He knew that one day he would need to combat the evil kings and princes who were threatening his father’s way of life. Every day he went to practice; he would practice alone in this way until one day he received a vision. 

In a dream he saw Lord Shiva. When he awoke, he was  convinced that he would only become expert in the use of the axe and other weapons by pleasing Shiva, the god of destruction. So he undertook great penances and austerities, fasting and controlling his breath and life force until one day Lord Shiva appeared before him, smiling and riding a bull.

As Parasurama looked in awe, the god said, “You have practiced the arts of war long and hard in my forest. How can I help you?” Young Paraśurāma begged him for the secrets of martial warfare. Lord Shiva then taught the young Paraśurāma, training him in the use of the axe and in archery secretly. Upon the completion of his training Shiva gave him two powerful weapons: a divine axe and bow endowed with mystic powers and told him, “Go, and use your axe and bow to right the wrongs of this world. Wherever kings and princes usurp their power and exploit the poor and helpless, wherever such diabolical despots exist, do battle with them and destroy them.” And so Paraśurāma became a man.

So empowered, Paraśurāma returned to the ashram of his father, Jamadagni. In the time he had spent in the forest, his father had grown old. The saint Kashyapa was there as a guest in the ashrama, imparting the knowledge of the Vedas, which Paraśurāma absorbed completely. Now at this time, Jamadagni had acquired an amazing cow. This cow could give any quantity of milk desired and so had the name Kamadhenu, which means “wish-fulfilling cow.” When there was famine or drought, old Jamadagni’s cow came to the rescue. Kamadhenu was beloved by all. Everyone lived in peace, with the blessings of the mystic cow.

There was at this time a despotic king called Sahasra-Arjuna or Kartavirya Arjuna. He was the king of the ancient Haihaya kingdom and ruled the land on the banks of the great Narmada River with force and blood. Thousands were kidnapped and slaughtered during his rule. He destroyed forests, diverting the river for his own purposes. He demanded rice and gold in tribute for his enjoyment and was always intoxicated with wine.

This Kartavirya was a terrible monster. He had a thousand arms and with his arms moving like a great water wheel, he drove the waters of the Narmada backwards and destroyed farmlands. Kartavirya drove a gold chariot through the skies and conquered the earth by slaughtering all before him. One of his great enemies was the ten-headed demon Ravana.  When the two clashed, Kartavirya humiliated the ten-headed Ravana.

The thousand armed Kartavirya Vs. Ten-headed Ravana

One day this terrible and diabolical king rode his golden chariot down the river by the bamboo forest where the tigers hid and the elephants played. He brought thousands of hungry warriors, terrifying the women who washed their laundry in the Narmada. The monkeys hid in the mango trees and the cranes by the river scattered at the thunderous sound of Kartavirya’s soldiers, marching by the riverside and banging their axes against their shields.  

Parashuram confronts Kartavirya

The great and diabolical king sent messengers to the ashram of Jamadagni, demanding milk and rice for his hungry troops. And when it was found that the cow of Jamadagni had the mystic power of feeding thousands, Kartavirya demanding this cow for himself and took it by force from this humble sage, laughing at him, humiliating him, insulting his sons and the women.

The soldiers of Kartavirya carried off the helpless cow. These ruthless warriors had a great feast by the riverside, killing deer and roasting them in a huge fire, laughing, drinking wine, singing lewd songs and making merry. Some of the soldiers returned to the ashram of Jamadagni. They wanted to kidnap his wife Renuka and use her as a dancing girl at the feast.

When they found Jamadagni alone and he resisted them, the fierce soldiers of the diabolical king tortured and wounded the father of Paraśurāma. The murderous warriors of the Haihaya kshatriyas continued for three days, despoiling virgins, ruining the rice paddies by their thunderous marching, killing animals, and insulting the humble brahmaṇas who lived on the banks of the Narmada.

Paraśurāma returned home to find his mother Renuka crying. He had heard the violence, but asked his mother, “What happened?” “They took Kamadhenu, and then they attacked your father.” said the young princess, weeping to her astonished son. "There he lies, close to death."

With this, Paraśurāma, the son of Jamadagni, trained in the art of war by Shiva, the destroyer of worlds, became enraged. While he had been born a humble brahmaṇa, poised in forgiveness, he still had the blood of a warrior. He had killed before in obedience to his father, and now, the time had come to chastise the ruthless princes who had abused the poor brahmaṇas who lived quietly on the banks of the Narmada. Taking up the axe and magical bow given him by Shiva, Paraśurāma set out to avenge the insults to his father and his brutal murder by the ruthless soldiers.

“So he came, armed and bloodthirsty, past the tall bamboo where tigers hide in wait for thirsty elephants. The tiger like Paraśurāma, invincible in battle, lusty for blood, enraged at the murder of his father came against those drunken soldiers, sleepy with liquor, intoxicated by sex and wine. While they were numbers in thousands, he hacked with his mighty battle-axe and tore them limb from limb, five at a time.

Parashurama Vs. Kartavirya