In this spectacular Pata painting, Lord Parashuram, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, is moving forward with his axe.

Parashurama was a Brahmin who belongs to the Treta Yuga, and is the son of great sage Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-axe. He received an axe after undertaking a rigorous penance to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva gave him the methods of warfare.

A powerful Kshatriya king named Kaarthaveeryarjuna, who had 21 sons. The King once visited the ashram of Jamadagni, with his sons and soldiers. Jamadagni arranged food for the king and his soldiers. A divine cow helped Jamadagni for all these arrangements. Impressed much with his food, the king inquired about the cow. The sage told him that the divine cow, could give anything. The greedy king forced Jamadagni to give it to him. And had taken the divine cow by force.

Once Parashurama was back, he went to the kings place and killed Karthaveeryarjuna. Finding the king being killed by Lord Parashurama, the kings sons had returned to the place of Jamadagni and killed the sage Jamadagni. After Parashurama returned to the ashram, his mother renuka has cried a lot saying his father had been killed. Lord Parashurama has attacked 21 times and killed the 21 sons of the king,and many many soldiers,with battles after battles,to kill many kshatriyas on the earth whose blood began to flow like a great river. For killing all the kshatriyas Lord Parashurama was associated with sins and had visited many temples and removed all his sins.