15-Richeek, Jamadagni and Parashuraam

Shuk Dev Jee said - "Hey Pareekshit, thus Pururavaa had six sons from Urvashee - Aayu, Shrutaayu, Satyaayu, Raya, Vijaya, and Jaya. Shrutaayu's son was Vasumaan, Satyaayu's son was Shrutanjaya. Raya's son was Ek, and Jaya's son was Amit, Vijaya's son was Bheem, his son was Kaanchan, his son was Hotra and his son was Jahnu. He was the same Jahnu who drank all the water of Gangaa River by filling it in his hands. Jahnu's son was Pooru, Pooru's son was Balaak and Balaak's son Ajak. Ajak's son was Kush. Kush had four sons - Kushaambhu, Tanaya, Vasu, and Kushnaabh. Kushnaabh's son was Gaadhi.

Gaadhi had a daughter named Satyavatee. Richeek Rishi asked Gaadhi to give him his daughter. Gaadhi thought that Richeek was not a worthy husband for his daughter, so he said - "We are of Kushik Vansh. Our daughter is difficult for you so you bring 1,000 such horses who are of white color but their one ear is of black color as fees." When Richeek Muni heard this, he understood his purpose and brought such horses from Varun and married to Satyavatee.

Once both Satyavatee and her mother requested Richeek Muni for a son. So he cooked some Charu (Kheer) for both of them separately and went to take bath. Satyavatee's mother thought that Richeek must have cooked better Charu for his wife, so she asked that Charu for herself. Satyavatee gave her own Charu to her mother and ate her mother's Charu herself. When Richeek Muni heard this, he said to his wife - "You have done a great harm to yourself. Now your son will punish the people and your brother will be a good Brahmvettaa (knower of Brahm). Satyavatee tried to please her husband, then Richeek Muni said - "OK, then your grandson will be like that, not your son." 

When time came Satyavatee gave birth to Rishi Jamadagni. After that Satyavatee got converted into Kaushikee River which made Tri-Lok holy. There was a Renu Rishi, his daughter was Renukaa. Jamadagni Rishi married to her. She had Vasumaan etc named several sons from Jamadagni Rishi. The youngest of them was Parashuraam Jee. His glory is famous in the world. It is said that Bhagavaan Himself took Ansh Avataar as Parashuraam to end Haihaya Vansh. He emptied Prithvi from Kshatriya 21 times.

Pareekshit asked - "Definitely at that time Kshatriya must have been unreligious, but what bad they had done to Parashuraam Jee so that he killed them 21 times?" Shuk Dev Jee said - "In those days, Arjun was the king in Haihaya Vansh. He was a good Kshatriya. He had pleased Bhagavaan's Ansh Avataar Dattaatreya and got 1,000 arms and a Var of nobody could defeat him, that is why he was called Sahastrabaahu (Sahastra = 1,000, baahu = arms, so Sahastrabaahu means who has 1,000 arms). Besides he attained Indriyaan's unlimited powers, wealth etc. He became Yogeshwar. He could take minutest or largest form. He had attained all Siddhi. He used to wander in space without any hindrance.

Once he was playing with many beautiful women in Narmadaa River wearing his Vaijayantee Maalaa. At that time, just in a playful mood, he stopped the flow of Narmadaa River through his 1,000 arms. Ten-headed Raavan was also there somewhere nearby [in fact he came to have a fight with Sahastrabaahu but he didn't know that he was there at that time]. As he stopped the flow of the river downward, the river started flowing upwards and Raavan's tents etc got sinking in that water. Raavan considered himself very mighty, so he could not tolerate this. He went and abused him. Then Sahastrabaahu caught him in his arms in front of those women and kept him as captive in his capital Maahishmatee Puree. Later he released him at the request of Pulastya Jee.

One day he went for hunting and came to Jamadagni Rishi's Aashram. Jamadagni Jee had the Kaamdhenu cow in his Aashram, so he entertained Raajaa and his army with it. When Arjun saw this glory which was more than his own, he did not even ask for it and untied the cow and took it forcefully to Maahishmatee Puree. The cow started crying. When they had gone, Parashuraam Jee came at the Aashram and heard the incident. He rushed after them taking his Pharasaa etc.

Sahastrabaahu was about to enter his city that he saw Parashuraam Jee coming towards himself. He sent his 17 Akshauhinee army to fight with him, but Parashuraam Jee destroyed all of them in a few moments. Then Sahastrabaahu himself came to fight with him. He took 500 bows together in his 1,000 arms and aimed his arrows at Parashuraam Jee, but Parashuraam Jee cut all of them with his one arrow. Then he cut Sahastrabaahu's 1,000 arms and then cut his head too. Seeing this his 10,000 sons got frightened and ran away from there.

Parashuraam Jee brought Kaamdhenu back to his Aashram along with her calf and handed over them to his father. He told everything whatever happened at Maahishmatee Puree. Hearing all that Jamadagni Muni said - "You did not do good, My Son, you are very brave but you killed the king without any purpose. Son, we are Braahman. We should have pardoned him. Pardoning is our greatest quality. Even Brahmaa Jee also got Brahmpad because of pardoning. Killing of a King is more than the killing of a Braahman, so go now to Teerth and wash away your sins."

16-Parashuraam's Killing of Kshatriya and Vishwaamitra's Lineage

Shuk Dev Jee said - "Hey Pareekshit, Parashuraam obeyed his father by living in Teerth (holy places) for one year. After he had come back to his Aashram, one day it so happened that Parashuraam's mother Renukaa went to the bank of River Gangaa. There she saw Chitrarath playing with Apsaraa wearing his lotus garland. She went to fetch the water but continued to look at Chitrarath. In fact she got attracted to Chitrarath for a moment and forgot that her husband's Havan time was up. When some time passed and she returned to herself, then she got frightened of his Shaap and came back home hastily. She kept the Jal Kalash and stood with both hands joined together before her husband. Maharshi knew her mental sin, so he told his sons - "Kill this sinner". But none of his older sons listened to his order. Then he asked Parashuraam to kill his mother along with all his brothers. Parashuraam obeyed him and killed his mother along with his brothers. The reason of obeying his father was that he knew the power of his father's Tapasyaa. Maharshi Jamadagni got very pleased at this and said - "Son, ask anything you like." Parashuraam Jee said - "Let my mother and all brothers should be alive and they should not remember that I killed them." Within no time they all got up as if they woke up after a deep sleep [and they did not remember anything].

The sons of Sahastrabaahu, who ran away from the warfront, always remembered their father's killing. One day Parashuraam Jee went to forest with his brothers. Considering this opportunity to take revenge from him, sons of Sahastrabaahu came there at the Aashram. At that time Maharshi was sitting in his Yagya Shaalaa and he did not know what was happening outside. So they just attacked him and killed him. Renukaa requested them not to do so, but they cruelly cut his head and took it with them. Renukaa cried and cried and called her son - "Parashuraam, please come soon." Parashuraam heard her cry and came rushing there. There he saw that his father has been killed. He got extremely sad. He handed over his father's body to his brothers and he himself got ready to kill all Kshatriya with his Pharasaa in his hand. He went to Maahishmatee Puree and cut the heads of all the sons of Sahastrabaahu Arjun. This caused a river of blood to flow. He took his father's killing as a cause and emptied the earth from Kshatriya 21 times. And this caused to make five ponds of blood in Samant Panchak area of Kurukshetra.

He brought his father's head back and joined it to his body. Then he did a Yagya in which he assigned East to Hotaa, South to Brahmaa, West to Adhwaryu and North to Udgaataa [who does Saam Gaan]. Then he took bath in the end of the Yagya and sat on the bank of Brahm Nadee Saraswatee. Jamadagni got the status of a Sapt Rishi - the seventh one. In the next Manvantar Parashuraam Jee will be one of the Sapt Rishi and extend the knowledge of Ved. He is still living on Mahendra Parvat but now he does not punish anybody. That is how Bhagavaan took Avataar in Bhrigu Vansh and killed many kings.

Mahaaraaj Gaadhi's son was Vishwaamitra Jee. he did lots of Tap and attained Brahm Tej in spite of being Kshatriya. He had 100 sons. Among them the middle son's name was Madhuchchhandaa, that is why his all sons were known as Madhuchchhandaa. He adopted Bhrigu Vanshee Ajeegart's son Shunahshep (Devaraat) as his own son and told his own sons to regard him as their own eldest brother. He was the same Bhrigu Vanshee Shunahshep who was bought by Harishchandra's son Rohit to be sacrificed in his father's Yagya. Then Vishwaamitra Jee got him released through prayer to Varun etc Prajaapati. In the Yagya of Devtaa, the same Shunahshep was given by Devtaa to Vishwaamitra, that is why he was called "Devaih Raatah" means Devaraat in Gaadhi Vansh.

Vishwaamitra's eldest son did not like this so he with his 48 younger brothers was not ready to regard him as his eldest brother, at this Vishwaamitra Jee gave them Shaap - "All of you become Mlechchh (non-Hindu)". Thus those 49 brothers became Mlechchh, then the middle son Madhuchchhandaa said with his 50 younger brothers "We are ready to obey you" and they accepted Shunahshep as their oldest brother. Vishwaamitra Jee got very pleased with this and blessed them and said - "Devaraat is also of your Gotra so obey him." Hey Pareekshit, Vishwaamitra Jee had several other sons too - Ashtak, Haareet, Jaya, Kratumaan etc. Thus his sons created many other Gotra inside Kaushik Gotra."

Home  | Bhaagvat

Previous  | Next