Parashurama - Lineage

Lineage

See Place of birth

The exact birthplace of Parashurama is contested, although the history of his lineage took place in the Haihaya Kingdom located in modern day Maheshwar.

The grandfather of Parashurama was a great rishi named Rucheeka, and was a direct descendant of Brahma. One day, the rishi was traveling through the countryside seeking a bride. At the time, there were two dominant clans, the Bharat-Suryavamsha, or Solar Dynasty and the Chandra-vamsha, or Lunar Dynasty. The ruling King Gadhi belonged to the Lunar Dynasty and had a beautiful daughter, Satyavati, who was unwed. Rucheeka visited the king, who entertained him at his court. The rishi was besot with the beauty of Satyavati, and at the end of the evening he asked the king to have her as his bride.

The king was taken aback, but could not deny the request of a Brahmin. As such, he agreed to give his daughter away to the rishi, but on condition that Rucheeka give him one-thousand horses, all with one ear black and the body entirely white.

The rishi agreed to the demand of the king. He then did a penance to Varuna, and was blessed with the horses that the king had requested. Rucheeka gave them as dowry, and in turn received Satyavathi for marriage.

Satyavathi adjusted well to an ascetic life as she was blessed with a good countenance, but she did not have any children. Meanwhile, at the kingdom, her father had no heir to the throne as well, and this also worried Satyavati. One day, Rucheeka asked her what was wrong, and she told him of her concerns for the kingdom.

The rishi agreed to help both Satyavathi and her mother. He gave Satyavathi two potions, one for her mother so that she would have a mighty Kshatriya son, and one for Satyavathi so that she would have a son that would become a great sage. Satyavathi gave the potions to her mother. However, not trusting the sage, her mother switched the containers.

In time, both mother and daughter found they were expecting children. However, the sage noticed that when he looked at his wife he saw a Kshatriya aura, and he asked what had happened. Satyavathi told Rucheeka, to which he responded, 'Now our son will be a great warrior instead of a king." Satyavathi begged the rishi to instead make her grandson become the great warrior and her son a rishi. Seeing her distress, Rucheeka acquiesced. Satyavathi gave birth to a son, Jamadagni, who became a great saptarishi, while her grandson Parashurama was sixth incarnation of Vishnu, and one of the greatest warriors of his age.