Parashurama, also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the Chiranjivis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.
Parashurama by Raja Ravi Varma
Parashurama, surrounded by settlers, commanding Varuna, god of the waters to recede to make land known as 'Parashurama Kshetra' from Gokarna to Kanyakumari for the Brahmins
Parashurama with his axe (two representations)
A Parashurama temple in Kerala
The Dashavatara are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word Dashavatara derives from daśa, meaning "ten", and avatāra, roughly equivalent to "incarnation".
Hindu god Vishnu (centre) surrounded by his ten major avatars (Krishna-Buddha version). Anticlockwise from top left: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Krishna; Buddha and Kalki
Vishnu surrounded by his avatars; artwork by Indra Sharma
Hindu god Vishnu's ten major avatars (Balarama-Krishna version) Dasavatara shrine, 18th century ivory (National Museum, New Delhi). From top descending: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Balarama ; Krishna and Kalki.
1st to 5th of the Dashavataras on Udupi Sri Krishna Matha gopuram, Karnataka.
