This week, our Monday Mantra introduced us to Parashuram. He’s another avatar of Lord Vishnu (if you remember, last week our mantra was for Varaha, also an avatar of Vishnu).

Parashuram is a warrior and a sage; an immortal who is believed to still exist in our world. He’s a warrior but he’s about more than fighting and battles. His story is one of discipline, righteousness and the struggle between good and evil.

Parashuram straddles two worlds – he was born into a Brahmin family (the priestly caste), but had the spirit of a Kshatriya (the warrior caste). He could recite Vedic scriptures as easily as he could wield weapons; a rare combination. You can read more about his story here.

He carries an axe, rather than a sword, bow or other weapons often seen used by the devas. The axe can be seen as cutting through:

• harmful patterns
• injustice or misuse of power
• fear of taking necessary action
• anger that needs to be transformed into courage and clear boundaries

Our mantra was used to create the energy of courage, disciplined action and cutting away what is no longer right

Om Paraśurāmāya Namaḥ