Parshuram Jayanti 2022: History, significance, rituals and all you need to know

Parshuram Jayanti is marked to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Parshuram who was believed to be the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The occasion falls on the third day of the Full Moon phase or Shukla Paksha in the month of Vaishakh. The name Parshuram literally means Rama with Parshu - that is an ax. It is believed that  Lord Parashuram descended on earth to save the people from the menace of Kshatriyas. History and Significance: It is said that Lord Vishnu took birth as the fifth son of Prasenajit’s daughter Renuka and Bhrigu dynasty’s Jamadagni. He was then married to Dhanavi who was believed to be an incarnation of Lakshmi. As per Hindu mythology, it is believed that Parshuram’s avatar is immortal and still lives on earth. According to Kalki Purana, the 10th and final avatar of Lord Vishnu is Kalki and Lord Parshuram is the martial teacher of Kalki. It is also said that Parshuram was a great warrior and was the guru of Bhishma, Karna and Dronachary. As per the Harivansh Purana from Haideya dynasty, the king Kartaveerya Arjun of Mahishmati Nagar (in present-day’s Central India) was brutal and people were facing a lot of difficulties due to the barbarity of Kshatriyas in his kingdom. Goddess Earth then invoked Lord Vishnu and he came in the form of Parshuram. It is said that he freed the Earth 21 times from the Kshatriyas. Date and Time: Start of Tithi: 3 May 2022 at 5:18 am End of Tithi: 4 May 2022 at 7:32 am Rituals of Parshuram Jayanti: Devotees take a holy bath before sunrise and wear clean traditional clothes at the start of the day. A fast is observed on this day which starts the night before. Lakshminarayan, a form of Lord Vishnu is worshipped by the devotees. People take satvik aahar which includes milk and milk products. Bhog of fruits and milk products are offered by the devotees. They also offer flowers, kumkum and chandan to Lord Vishnu.