According to the Bhagavata Purana, the sage Richika was asked by King Gadhi to bring a thousand white horses with black ears to marry Satyavati.

When Richika learned of this exchange, he said that the child born of his mother-in-law would be a great Brahmana, but that his son would become an aggressive warrior, who would bring a bloodbath to this world.

Satyavati prayed to amend this outcome, so that her son would be born as the great Brahmana, but that her grandson would become the aggressive warrior.

After achieving the status of a rishi, Jamadagni visited a number of holy sites, and finally reached the palace of King Prasenajit of the Solar dynasty.

Surya then appeared before the rishi as a Brahmin, and gave him two inventions that would help mankind deal with his heat - sandals and an umbrella.

[9] Jamadagni was once visited by the Haihaya king Kartavirya Arjuna and his retinue (who was said to have thousand arms/hands), to whom he served a feast offered by the divine cow, Kamadhenu.

The helpless rishi, who loved the cow, pursued Chandragupta's party as they traversed the forest, unwilling to allow them to steal her.

Infuriated by his defiance, the minister struck down Jamadagni, and took Kamadhenu to the king's capital city of Māhiṣmatī.

After a long wait, Renuka started to search for her husband, finding him almost dead, surrounded by a pool of his own blood.

[10][11] When Jamadagni was to be cremated, the sage Shukra arrived on the scene, and restored the rishi's life with the Mṛtasañjīvanī mantra.

While Parashurama had left for this penance, Shurasena, a son of Kartavirya Arjuna, and his men, exacted their vengeance by beheading Jamadagni at his hermitage, and taking his head with them so that he could not be resurrected again.

Thence, Parashurama, inheriting his fallen father's Sharanga, started his twenty-one expeditions to obliterate the kings of the Kshatriya race.