Parashurama Bhargava (Sanskrit: परशुराम भार्गव) or Parasurama (Axe-wielding Rama), the sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-with-the-axe. He received an axe after undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of warfare and other skills. He is a Chiranjeevin, who fought the advancing ocean back thus saving the lands of Konkan and Malabar (Maharashtra - Karnataka - Kerala coastline). The coastal area of Kerala state along with the Konkan region, i.e., coastal Maharashtra and Karnataka, is known as Parashurama Kshetra (Parashurama's area). Some say it extends all the way to Mumbai in Maharashtra. Parashurama is said to be a "Brahma-Kshatriya" (of the duty between a Brahmana and a Kshatriya), the first warrior saint and a descendant of the Brahmarshi Vishvamitra.
