Śūrpāraka Tīrtha

Śūrpāraka is a tīrtha (pilgrimage place) set up by Paraśurāma on the coastal strip of land that he won back from the ocean. The strip lies along the western coast of the Indian peninsula. It became the Konkan and Kerala coast, and Śūrpāraka was its first sacred centre. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa tells this account in Chapters 57 and 58.

Paraśurāma’s problem

Paraśurāma performed the Aśvamedha at Mahendra-parvata and gave the whole earth to Kaśyapa as dakshiṇā (the priest’s gift). After this he had no place to live. Kaśyapa was now the owner of the earth. He told Paraśurāma: “The earth belongs to me now. You should not remain on it.” So Paraśurāma had given away the world he had won. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 57)

Varuṇa and the gift of the ocean

In Chapter 57, Varuṇa, the deva of the ocean and of cosmic order, appeared before Paraśurāma. He spoke with him about the limits of the ocean. Paraśurāma asked Varuṇa to give back from the ocean enough land for him to live on.

The strip of 400 yojanas

Varuṇa agreed to draw the ocean back from a strip of 400 yojanas along the western coast. The land rose from the sea along the western coast of the peninsula and became Paraśurāma’s domain. The Purāṇa names this region as the Konkan coast and Kerala. The land was new, fertile and holy, because it had risen from the ocean by a divine agreement. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 58)

Śūrpāraka is set up

The first holy centre that Paraśurāma set up on this land was Śūrpāraka. The word śūrpa means a winnowing basket. Śūrpāraka is identified with the ancient port town of Sopara (present-day Nala Sopara, near Mumbai in Maharashtra). It was one of the oldest sea-trading towns on the western coast of India. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 58)

Paraśurāma’s coastal land

The coastal land that Paraśurāma won from the ocean is Paraśurāma-kshetra, the land made by Paraśurāma. It covers the whole western coastal strip from south Maharashtra through Goa to Kerala. The people of this region have long held that Paraśurāma made the land. Many tīrthas, temples and Śakti Pīṭhas along this coast are linked with his presence. The winning of land from the sea is one of the greatest acts of the Bhārgava avatāra.

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapters 57–58