According to legends, Shiva advised him to go and liberate the Mother Earth from felons, ill-behaved men, extremists, demons and those blind with pride.

He is described as one amongst 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.

Born to Jamadagni and Renuka, the Brahmin Parashurama was foretold to appear at a time when overwhelming evil prevailed on the earth.

[5] In the epic Ramayana, he arrives after Sita Swayamvara, upon hearing the loud noise when Rama uplifts and breaks the divine bow Pinaka.

The valorous Rāma made the entire [world] clear of the kṣatriyas, but protected [i.e. spared] only the very great family of Ikṣvāku, due to its being the family to which his maternal grandfather was related, and due to his mother's words.The warrior class challenges him, and he slays every single member of the class, save for those belonging to the lineages of Manu and Ikshvaku.

[6][7][11] In the Ramayana, following Rama's wedding to Sita at Mithila and during their homeward journey to Ayodhya, his party comes across a number of inauspicious signs.

Humbled, Parashurama acknowledges that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu and requests the prince to allow him to return to the mountain Mahendra so that he could practice yoga and accrue merit.

[12] In the Mahabharata, Parashurama intercedes on the princess Amba's behalf, promising to command his disciple Bhishma to do his duty and marry her after her abduction.

Bhishma tries to calm the sage, but in vain, and he finally agrees to battle his guru to safeguard his Kshatriya duty.

On the 24th day, when Bhishma chooses to use a deadly weapon, at the behest of the divine sage Narada and the devas, Parashurama ends the conflict and the battle is declared a draw.

This fort on a lower plateau has a temple of goddess Renuka, Parshuram's mother and also a Yagya Kunda with pits for poles to erect a shamiyana on the banks of a big water tank.

[citation needed] According to the Sangam classic Purananuru, the Chera king Senkuttuvan conquered the lands between Kanyakumari and the Himalayas.

P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar has theorised that Senguttuvan may have been inspired by the Parashurama legend, which was brought by early Aryan settlers.

[11] The legends of Parashurama appear in many Hindu texts, in different versions:[26] In Chapter 6 of the Devi Bhagavata Purana, he is born from the thigh with intense light surrounding him that blinds all warriors, who then repent their evil ways and promise to lead a moral life if their eyesight is restored.

[27] In Chapter 4 of the Vishnu Purana, Rcika prepares a meal for two women, one simple, and another with ingredients that if eaten would cause the woman to conceive a son with martial powers.

[11] In Chapter 2 of the Vayu Purana, he is born after his mother Renuka eats a sacrificial offering made to both Rudra (Shiva) and Vishnu, which gives him dual characteristics of Kshatriya and Brahmin.

[28] Parashurama is described in some versions of the Mahabharata as the angry Brahmin who with his axe, killed a huge number of Kshatriya warriors because they were abusing their power.

[31][32][note 2] In the regional literature of Kerala, he is the founder of the land, the one who brought it out of the sea and settled a Hindu community there.

[10][note 3] According to the Sangraha Parva, after killing 21 generations of Kshatriyas, he filled their blood in five pools collectively known as the Samantha Panchaka (Sanskrit: समंत पञ्चक).

[35] The ancient Saptakonkana is a slightly larger region described in the Sahyadrikhanda which refers to it as Parashuramakshetra (Sanskrit for "The Land Of Parashurama"), Vapi to Tapi is an area of South Gujarat, India.

[36] The Hindu literature on iconography such as the Vishnudharmottara Purana and Rupamandana describes him as a man with matted locks, with two hands, one carrying an axe.

[37] The Parashurama avatar symbolizes the strict and non-relinquishing aspect of showing daya (mercy), where he has to be harsh for the well being of the srushti (world).