Reṇukā

Reṇukā was the devoted wife of the great ṛshi Jamadagni and the mother of Paraśurāma, the sixth avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu. She was a pativratā (a wife wholly devoted to her husband) of the highest order. She lived with Jamadagni in their āśrama (hermitage) on the banks of the Narmadā river.

Do not confuse her with Reṇuka (with a short a). He was the nāga, or elephant (gaja), messenger whom Brahmā sent to the Diggajas in the Anuśāsana Parva.

Who she was

The Purāṇas honour Reṇukā as a pativratā of unusual virtue. Her complete devotion to her husband was the base of the holiness of the āśrama. She is the mother of Paraśurāma, the avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu who was born to free the earth from the harsh rule of kshatriya kings who had left dharma. The āśrama she shared with Jamadagni on the bank of the Narmadā was a great centre of tapas (austerity) and Vedic study. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 79.

Life on the Narmadā

Reṇukā’s life at the Narmadā āśrama was that of the ideal wife of a ṛshi. She kept the household, gathered the materials for yajña (fire ritual), served guests, and supported her husband’s hard tapas with her own gentle strength. The āśrama flourished through the combined power of Jamadagni’s tapas and Reṇukā’s pātivratya-dharma (the duty of a devoted wife).

In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Bhagavān Sūrya visits the āśrama and debates with Jamadagni. This led to a śāpa (a curse) on each side and to Brahmā’s step in between. The episode is set in this household, with Jamadagni and Reṇukā dwelling and enjoying life together (viharanti) on the banks of the Narmadā. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 79.

The Brahmāṇḍa account: the āśrama at Mahendra-parvata

The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa places Reṇukā’s life in the āśrama at Mahendra-parvata. There Jamadagni did his tapas, and there the kāmadhenu was kept. Reṇukā ran the household of the āśrama and raised five sons with Jamadagni.

When the forces of Kārtavīrya Arjuna killed Jamadagni in the āśrama, Reṇukā cried out twenty-one times as she beat her breast in grief. These twenty-one cries became the measure of Paraśurāma’s terrible vow. He would destroy the kshatriya race twenty-one times, once for each cry of his mother’s grief. The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Madhyama Bhāga, Chapters 22–30.

The Mahābhārata account: Vana Parva

The Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata gives the account of Kārtavīrya Arjuna and Paraśurāma in Chapters 114–117. Lomaśa tells it to Yudhishṭhira at the tīrtha of Samantapañcaka.

In this account, Jamadagni lived in his forest āśrama with Reṇukā and their sons, among them Paraśurāma. Kārtavīrya Arjuna took the divine cow Surabhi from the āśrama by force, and Paraśurāma killed him in return. The sons of Kārtavīrya then sought revenge. They came to Jamadagni’s āśrama while Paraśurāma was away, and they killed the ṛshi, who was meditating and had no weapon.

Reṇukā found her husband’s body and was overcome with grief. She beat her breast twenty-one times. Those twenty-one cries became the measure of Paraśurāma’s terrible vow. He would destroy the kshatriya race twenty-one times, once for each cry that his mother had raised. His campaign ended with five lakes filled with the blood of kshatriyas at Samantapañcaka. The Mahābhārata tells this in Vana Parva, Chapters 116–117.

The origin of the umbrella and sandals

The Anuśāsana Parva tells of a day in Reṇukā’s life at the āśrama. Jamadagni was practising archery, and he had Reṇukā bring back his spent arrows again and again. At noon the heat of Bhagavān Sūrya scorched her head and feet, and she had to stop for a short while in the shade. She was afraid her husband would be displeased at the delay. She held back her pain and went on.

When Jamadagni learned the reason, he grew very angry with Sūrya for causing her pain. He threatened to strike the sun down with his bow. Bhagavān Sūrya came as a brāhmaṇa and in the end gave himself up as one who seeks refuge (śaraṇāgata). To make amends, he gave Jamadagni the chatra (umbrella) and the upānaha (sandals). From then on, these have been gifts whose puṇya (merit) never ends. The Mahābhārata tells this in Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 95–96.

Her place in the tradition

Reṇukā’s importance reaches beyond one Purāṇa. She is one of the Ashṭa Pativratās, the eight supreme pativratās honoured in the tradition. She is worshipped as a mother-devī, Reṇukāmbā or Eḷḷammā, at several important tīrthas, especially in the Deccan. Her name stands for unwavering devotion to a husband and for the power of pātivratya. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 79.

Sources

• Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 79
• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapters 22–30
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 114–117
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 95–96