The Avatar:

The Warrior Sage.
The name Parashuram translates to "Lord Ram with an Axe". He is a scholar and a master of the Vedas.

The Story:

The Kshatriya King Kartavirya was known to have a thousand arms and ruled the land between the Himalayas and the Narmada river. The King was extremely arrogant, and this arrogance only grew as he captured more kingdoms. As his power increased, the more drunk with power he became, driving him to commit many atrocities upon his subjects, especially Brahmins.

One day, the King learned about the celestial cow Kamadhenu which was, at the time, in the possession of the Sage Jamadagni. It was believed that Kamadhenu could provide anything a person desired and hence, the King craved to own it. In his quest to acquire Kamadhenu, Kartavirya came to the Sage's hut and asked him for the cow. However, Jamadagni refuses and the King, in his hubris, takes it by force.

Parashuram, Sage Jamadagni's son, learns of this crime and against his father's will, vows to take revenge. Axe in hand, he challenges the King to battle, and kills him after cutting off his 1000 hands. Other members of the ruling Kshatriya clan also challenge Parashuram, and are all killed as well. After the bloody battle, Parashuram retrieves Kamadhenu and returns to his father who chastises his son for killing a King – an act that is against the Dharm of a Brahmin – and orders him to go on a pilgrimage to atone for his sins.

Upon the return of the warrior sage from his pilgrimage, he learns that his father has been killed by revenge seeking Kshatriya warriors. Enraged, he picks up the axe once more and goes on yet another rampage. It is said that during this genocide Parashuram killed all the male members of the ruling Kshatriya clan, leaving only women and young children. Once his anger subsided, he grows repentant, throws away his axe and opts for a yogic life.

According to legend, Parashuram is a Chiranjeevi (immortal) and is still alive and is in penance at Mahendragiri.

At VR Chennai:

The Parashuram avatar is represented in the form of a mural that depicts the instance when Lord Varun, the God of Water, blesses Parashuram while he sits in meditation in Gokarna. The mural is 12m (36 ft) long and is hand-painted by the artists of Cholamandal Artist's Village. It is located in the pathway connecting Ulòka Gopuram and Kaliman Gopuram.

Parashuram's Axe:

The axe was Parashuram's weapon of choice. According to the legend, Parashuram threw his axe northward across the ocean from Kanyakumari. As a result, the land of Kerala arose and was re-claimed from the waters. The installation has been crafted by Kalarings Studio using fibre reinforced plastic.

Vamana

Ram