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Story of Akrtavrana and Parashurama

Akrtavrana was a great saint and disciple of Parashurama, the sixth Avatar of Hindu God Vishnu. An interesting story in the Puranas narrates how Akrtavrana became a disciple of Parshuram and also how the saint got the name Akrtavrana.

Parashuram was once returning after having darshan of Shiva. Mahadev Shiva had blessed Parashuram with divine weapons.

Parashuram was walking through a dense forest on his way home when he heard the cries of a boy. On enquiry, he found a tiger attacking a young boy. He immediately shot an arrow and killed the tiger.

The tiger immediately turned into a Gandharva (divine being – singers in heaven). The tiger form was due to a curse and with Parshuram killing the tiger, he was relieved of the curse.

The wounds of the boy were also healed after the divine incident.

The boy then became a disciple of Parshuram and called himself Aktravrana – one not having any wound.

Akrtavrana is mentioned in many chapters in the Mahabharata. Suta who first recited the story of Mahabharat to sage in Naimisha forest is a disciple of Akrtavrana.