Parashurama and the saptarishi Agastya(for a differnt kalpa) are regarded as the founders of Kalaripayattu, the oldest martial art in the world. Parashurama was a master in the art of weaponry, as taught to him by Shiva. As such, he developed northern kalaripayattu or vadakkan kalari, with more emphasis on weapons than striking and grappling. Southern kalaripayattu was developed by Agastya and focuses more on weaponless combat. Kalaripayattu is known as the ‘mother of all martial arts’.Bhragava Rama popularly known as Parashurama is the descendant of Bhrigu, one of the Seven Seers, Saptha Rishis., who codify the sacred texts for Humans for every Kalpa.

He is also known as,

• Ramabhadra (रामभद्र) – gracious Rama
• Bhargava (भार्गव) – descendant of Bhrigu
• Bhrigupati (भृगुपति) – lord of Bhrigu dynasty
• Bhriguvanshi (भृगुवंशी) – he who belongs to Bhrigu lineage
• Jamadagnya (जामदग्न्य) – son of Jamadagni

Rama was born to Sage Jamadagni an Renuka.

Rama was a staunch Shiva Devotee of Shiva and Lord Shiva granted him the Axe, the weapon wielded by Rama.

This Rama who is also an Avatar of Lord Vishnu is called Bhargava Rama,of Bhargava lineage and Parashurama , , the wielder of Axe, Parashu to distinguish him from his later Avatar Lord Rama.

Not much of Parashurama has come to light except that he exterminated Kshatriyas, lost to Lod Rama and taught Brahmastra to Karna.

Parashurama, slong with Sage Agastya were the bridges to the Dravidian cultures.

They strode like colossus.

Parashurama was responsible for creating Konkan, maharastra, Goa and Kerala regions of India.

He provides a wealth of information on ancient history of South India.

I shall deal with them separately in the coming articles.

Today we speak of Judo, Jujitsu and other forms of defense Technics and warfare.

And the these are attributed to the Chinese.

Not so.

Parashurama  and Sage Agastya were the founders of these Martial Arts.

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Parashurama and the saptarishi Agastya are regarded as the founders of kalaripayattu, the oldest martial art in the world. Parashurama was a master in the art of weaponry, as taught to him by Shiva. As such, he developed northern kalaripayattu or vadakkan kalari, with more emphasis on weapons than striking and grappling. Southern kalaripayattu was developed by Agastya and focuses more on weaponless combat. Kalaripayattu is known as the ‘mother of all martial arts’.

Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, also practiced kalaripayattu. When he traveled to China to spread Buddhism, he brought the martial art with him, which in turn was adapted to become the basis of Shaolin Kung Fu..

References and citations.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashurama

• I have used the present tense for Parashurama as He is a Chiranjeevi

Filed under: Hinduism Tagged: Agastya, Bhargava Rama, Jujitsu, kalaripayattu, Kerala, Martial arts, Parashurama, self defense, Shaolin Kung Fu, vadakkan kalari