The great Parashurama who was born as Maharishi Bhargava, was the son of a great Brahmin father Rishi Jamadagni and a Kshyatriya mother Renuka and is thus known to be a Brahmankshatriya or the warrior Brahman, whose motto in general was later followed by all Saraswat brahmins especially all 7 mohyal clans since ancient times. I will write a little more information about him to put some more light upon his great character, to whose lineage the great Chhibber Clan of Mohyals belong. His janmsthali (birthplace) is considered to be in Janapava , which is now known as Indore town in Madhya Pardesh.
There are two names for the same person according to our ancient puranas as Parashurama is none other than the Bhargav rishi and Bhargavas owe their lineage to Bhrugu Rishi, and his son Chavan Rishi, who is better known for creating Chyavanprash. So Bhargava or Parashurama is the head of Chhibber clan of the Great Mohyals, as they belong to Maha Rishi Bhrigu gotra (who contributed in Manu Samriti also) and Parshurama also known as Bhargava belongs to his family. As per lienage of Bhrigu, described by M.L. Bhargava in his book "Bhargava Jati Ka Itihas", Parshuram was in his 39th generation of Bhrigu and had existed during the period of Bhagwan Ram Chandra and period of Ramayana. Bhagwan Parshuram was known as this, because he was carrying a 'farsa' all the time and used it to kill enemies. Parshuram is also known as 'Bhargava Rama', because he destroyed the Kshatriyas kings who were more or less of ausric nature, and just like Ramachandra of Ayodhya he destroyed these ausric kings, with his Parsa or Axe, and thus he was called with his title as the great “Parshurama”
The first victim of Great Parasurama was a ruler of central India, of Haihaya Clan of Kshatriyas known according to Puranic stories as Kartavirya Arjuna.. Bhargava and Kshatriya clans were hostile to each other for this many years until they started living in harmony. Kartavirya Arjuna was a legendary king of an ancient kingdom during the Ramayana period of Treta Yuga with capital at Mahishamati which is on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madyhya Pradesh. Kartavirya Arjun was son of Raja Kritavirya who was the king of the Haihaya Kshatriyas. But his real name was Arjuna. He is described as having the power of thousand hands and he was a great devotee of Dattatreya, the son of Atri Muni. The town of Mahishamati is currently known as Maheshwar which is a town in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. It is located 13 km east of National Highway 3 (Agra-Mumbai highway) and 91 km from the city of Indore. Maheshwar town is built on the site of the ancient city of Somvanshya Shastrarjun Kshatriya, and was the capital of famous king Kartavirya Arjuna who is also known as Shree Shastrarjun, who is mentioned in the both the Hindu epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Maheshwar was known as Mahissati (Mahishamati in Sanskrit) in ancient times and was the capital of Southern Avanti or Ujjaini [Modern Ujjain].
According to the Bhagavata Purana SB 9.8.5-6, the Haihaya kshatriyas are mentioned as the uncivilized people, The Bhagavata Purana is also known as Srimad Bhagavatam, which is one of "Maha" Purana texts of Hindu literature, and it primary focuses on Bhakti (devotion) to the many incarnations of lord Vishnu, in particular Krishna. The purana written in Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas (cantos or books) and some 18,000 verses. The text itself credits Maharishi Ved Vyasa with its authorship.
The Purana states that Haihayas Kshatriyas, who belonged to the Lunar Dynasty were at war with several groups including other Kshatriyas of Solar Dynasty. The Haihayas sacked Kashi [Beneares] during the reigns of King Haryaswa and King Sudeva (whom they killed), King Divodas and his son Pratarddana (who finally expelled them outside of the Vatsa Kingdom). The hostile Haihaya King Kartavirya Arjuna defeated the Naga Kshatiryas who were led by Karkotaka Naga. Later Kartavirya Arjuna made Mahishmati as his capital of his own kingdom on the banks of Narmada river,The Purana states that the five Kshatriya kindoms of Shakas, Yavanas[foreigners], Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas, known as five hordes (pānca-ganah), had militarily supported the Haihaya and Talajunga Kshatriyas in depriving the great king Ikshvaku dynasty King Bahu, who was the 7th king in descent from Raja Harishchandra of his kingdom of Ayodhya. Which just a generation later, Bahu's son, king Sagara recaptured the kingdom of Ayodhya after totally destroying the Haihaya and Talajangha Kshatriyas in the battle. In the King Sagara lineage was born the great king Bhagirath who after the demise of Saraswati river due to the tectonic changes brought through his penance Ganges river upon the land of Bharatvarsha. In the great epic Mahabharata, Book 13, Chapter 153, It states that the “Mighty Kshatriya Talajangala who were in cohort with the Haihaya Kshatriyas was destroyed by a single Brahmana. viz., Rishi Aurva, who was the Great-Grandfather of Parashurama.
In the Epic Mahabharata, Book 1, Chapter 2 it states “In the interval between the Treta and Dwapara Yugas, Rama (the son of Jamadagni) great among all who have borne arms, urged by impatience of wrongs, repeatedly smote the noble race of Kshatriyas. And when that fiery meteor, by his own valour, annihilated the entire tribe of the Kshatriyas, he formed at Samanta-panchaka five lakes of blood” [Basically here it is codified to describe the total annhilation of pancha –ganah or the five Kshatriya kingdom groups of Shakas, Yavanas[foreigners], Kambojas, Pahlavas and Paradas, known as five hordes (pānca-ganah), who had militarily supported the Haihaya and Talajunga Kshatriyas].
Now according to the narrated story in the Purana about this whole episode it states that when Parashurama returned home once to find his mother “Renuka” crying hysterically, he asked her why she was crying, she said his father “Jamadagni Rishi“ had been killed mercilessly by the Haihaya king Kartavirya Arjuna. She beat her chest 21 times in sorrow and anguish at her husband's death. In a rage, Parashurama vowed to exterminate the world's Haihaya-Kshatriyas 21 times. He killed the entire clan of Kartavirya Arjuna (or Sahasrarjuna) and then conquered the entire area controlled by these Kshatriya clans. This whole episode is mentioned in Mahabharata, Book 1, Chapter 104 which states that ” In olden days, Rama, the son of Jamadagni, in anger at the death of his father, slew with his battle axe the king of the Haihayas”.
Parsurama himself was a great rishi, and to avenge his vow according to Vedic dharma he followed Manu Smriti, which was composed by his great ancestor Maharishi Bhrigu, and thus following its prescribed instructions he decided to conduct the Ashvamedha Yagna [fire sacrifice], which was done only in those days by sovereign Kshatriya kings.The Ashvamedha Yagna in which a horse was used to go through all teritories of various kingdoms demanded that those kings either submit to Parashurama's imperial position or thwart the sacrifice by defeating him in battle. They did not to submit and chose to fight him and were thus were killed. Parashurama then became responsible for killing the world's corrupted Haihaya kings and other kshyatriya rulers and warriors with Ausric vrittis or habits, who came to attack him in revenge for the killing of Kartavirya Arjuna, to prevent a Brahmin from being an emperor and threatening their ruling position. The great Parashurama exterminated the world's Haihaya-Kshatriyas 21 times, thus fulfilled his vow. His conquered area also covered most of the coastal area of Kerala State along with the Konkan region, which is the coastal region of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra States, which is also sometimes called Parashurama Kshetra (Parashurama's country). This episode is mentioned in the Teerath Parva section of Epic Mahabharata, in Book 3, Chapter 85, which states, One proceeds to Surparaka, where Jamadagni’s son (Parashurama) had formerly dwelt. This Surparaka area is also is in western India,of Maharashtra state with the modern name Sopara.
Parshuram later gave away the entire land he conqured from Kshatriyas to his good friend and an elder, the great Maharishi Kashyapa who helped him perform the Ashwamedha yagya to take his revenge and fullfill his vow and then went for penance. This episode is mentioned in the epic (Mahabharata, Book 1, Chapter 64) which states that the son of Jamadagni (Parashurama), after twenty-one times making the earth bereft of Kshatriyas wended to that best of mountains Mahendra and there began his ascetic penances. The Mahendra mountains are in central India, the northern end of the Eastern Ghats of India, situated in the western part of Orissa state.
The great Kashyapa Maharishi whom Parshurama gave away all his land is the in charge of “Mohan” Mohyal clan, as they belong to his gotra [lineage], so since ancient times because of their great friendship, the marriages between the Chhibbers and Mohans were considered very auspicious by our Mohyal elders.
In the later life of Parashurama, he gave up violence, became an ascetic and practiced penances, mainly on the Mahendra Mountains. The territories he received from the Kshatriyas he slew, were distributed among a clan of Mohyal Brahmins called the Bhumihars the descendants of Kashyap Rishi, who are in a way part of the Mohyal Brahmins. They ruled these lands for many centuries, and in the ancient days the South indian Kingdoms like the Cheras, Pandyas, Dravida, Mushika, Karnata, and Konkana were also ruled by their descendants.
A temple of Parashurama created by the Mohyal Chhibber clan Rulers of our ancient heritage is also situated at Akhnoor, which is 18 km away from the city of Jammu in J&K state. Every year, in the month of May, an enormous fete in the form of a parade, referred as Parshuram Jayanti, with hundreds of tableaux, thronged through the main city of Jammu. Local community leaders and followers arrange for the celebrations and it is celebrated with great enthusiasm.
There is a Parsurameswar Temple, located in Bhubneshwar , Orissa, India is the best preserved specimen of an early Hindu temple from the Sailodbhava period of the seventh and eighth centuries AD. and is the finest testimonial to the architectural work of Vishwakarma Moharana sculptors Parsurameswar is dedicated to Mahadeva . It is one of the oldest temples in Orissa. This temple was built about 650 AD, in ancient Orissan style of architecture.
According to ancient Hindu scriptures Parshurama is a Chiranjeevi and still doing penance in Mahendragiri or Mahendra mountains in the Eastern Ghats of the Orissa state in India.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Chhibber+Mohyal
