PARASHURAMESHWAR TEMPLE PART 4 - GUDIMALLAM

PARASHURAMESHWAR TEMPLE – ANDHRA PRADESH – CHITTOOR – GUDIMALAM – Part 4

SHIVA – PARASHURAMA – BRAHMA -  THE LEGEND - GUDIMALLAM

Sage JAMADAGNI was a SAPTARISHI in the current MANAVANTARA  and PARASHURAMA or Bhadrarama was his son out of his Kshatriya wife RENUKA & the 6^th incarnation of MAHAVISHNU  who visited the earth to absolve it from the weight of the sins of mankind.

So chaste was Renuka, the wife of Sage Jamadagni, that she used to carry water daily in pots made out of unbaked clay with the power of her devotion to her husband. One day she was attracted to some gandharvas flying over the river and was momentarily filled with desire, the unbaked clay dissolved in the water.

Sage Jamadagni divined through his yogic powers all that had happened and in a fit of rage asked his sons to execute her. None except, Parashurama agreed and beheaded his mother to death with his axe.  The sage cursed his other sons to become stone.  Pleased with Parashurama Sage Jamadagni gave two boons to him, who in turn asked his mother to be revived with one boon and wanted his brothers back to life from being a stone with the other.

 

Burdened with the guilt of the act of Matri Hatya, or beheading his mother, he wanted to do penance and as advised by Rishis, he went in search of the SHIVA LINGAM at GUDIMALLAM. After searching for many a days, he found the temple in a forest and dug a pond nearby for the daily prayers and started his penance.

 

 

The pond used to give a single divine flower every day morning, which Parashurama used to offer to lord Shiva. He appointed a Yaksha named Chitrasena (an incarnation of Lord Brahma) to guard the flower. In return Chitrasena had to be fed with an animal and a pot of toddy every day. Parashurama used to hunt an animal for Chitrasena daily.

 

One day when Parashurama went out to hunt, Chitrasena felt tempted to worship Shiva himself. He used the single flower to worship Shiva. An enraged Parashurama attacked Chitrasena when he found the flower missing.  The fierce battle lasted for a long period that a pallam, or pit, was created at the site. Thus ’Gudipallam’, or ‘temple in the pit’, became Gudimallam over time. Unable to choose the victor, Shiva is finally merged Chitrasena and Parashuram into the Shivling. The Gudimallam Shivling still shows Parashurama standing on the Yaksha with the hunted beast and toddy pot.

 

Brahma as Chitrasena, Vishnu as Parasurama and Shiva as the Lingam form the unique Shivalingam.

https://www.omdhara.org/Blog/SHIVA-%E2%80%93-PARASHURAMA-%E2%80%93-BRAHMA---THE-LEGEND---GUDIMALLAM/78