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  • People had extreme love and respect for Kashyap and they regarded Maharishi as their own father. Therefore, today, if someone does not know his gotra, he is allowed by the science to call himself to  be of  Kashyap gotra.  When Kashyap rishi had the entire power of the universe at his feet, he with his wooden footwear and a Kamandalu (water bowl), went away giving his message as : “Do accomplish  all the powers, the power  of science, intelligence, the power of rule  and strength  but let these powers be  not concentrated in one person.” It is needless to stress the importance of this message in today’s world.


    We are  Rig-Vedis .Originally there are four Vedas. – The Rig-Veda, the YajurVeda, the SamaVeda and the Atharva Veda. AyurVed is a  subsidiary of RigVed . Sage (muni)  Vyasa first taught RigVed  to his disciple named “Pail”. Since the Vedas are infinite, Bharadwaj Muni prayed to Brahmadev, saying  “ Give me the  Vedant (its knowledge from the beginning to the end). Teach me everything. And give me a blessing accordingly.” Brahma said to Bharadwaj, “ Vedas have no fear. How do you say you want to learn everything? Because the Vedas are like heaps of Mountains. Looking at them to be infinite, Bharadwaj feared in heart, and said; “Give me whatever you think is proper, only that I will take as the essence of  Vedas. So, immediately some mantras  were selected  from  the complex, infinite Vedas, This is how Bharadwaj studied the four Vedas.” ( the Guru Charitra  Chapter 26th)
    Of all the  four Vedas, the  RigVed is the most ancient Vedic literature in Sanskrit. Its period dates back to ten thousand years. There was no art of writing at that time. So, the Vedas are called Shruti (That which is heard) and the Mantras, and Suktas (Songs) in them were heard by the rishis in the divine voice, and were seen by  the Rishis with  their inner eyes. All these mantras were to be pronounced by voice and absorbed or imbibed in action, and learnt by heart, to teach to others, i.e. by the Guru to the disciples, by the father to his son, similarly by one generation to the next. In this way they were, preserved with their pronunciation for thousands of years in succession by generations after generations. This should be regarded as a miracle of history. Later, Lord Panini made the Wyakaran (grammar) and so was language created. This Rig-Ved has eight divisions and five branches. – Ashvalayan, Shankhyayan, Shakala, Bashkala, and Manduka…Thus  the Rig Ved has thirteen parts in all. Since the Vedas are infinite, it was not possible for any disciple to learn all the Vedas. So, every disciple studied only one branch. Those ancestors of the Karmarkars, whosoever were disciples of Kashyap rishi, might have studied only the Ashvalayan branch, therefore we belong to the Ashvalayan branch. In the religious ritual, one has to pronounce the Pravar along with the Gotra. That text is like this : Kashyapavatsarnaidhruveti  or Kashypavatsarasiteti  !!


    We the Karmarkars are the sons of Parshuram’s Konkan. Today’s Konkan, the part of the Sahyadri ranges of mountains is a creation of lord Parshuram. The arrogant by the power of rule and wealth, the Kshatriya kings oppressed the peaceful, studious, ascetic Brahmins with their extreme violence. Sahastrarjuna even  imprisoned the gods.
    As the rishi Jamadagni welcomed the Indra, Sahastrarjuna forcefully took away his Kamdhenu (the cow). Lord Vishnu took birth as Jamdagni’s son to retaliate the Kshatriyas. When Parshuram learnt that the Kamdhenu died, he cut the hands and the head of Sahastrarjuna, and in revenge, the son of Sahastrarjuna cut the head of Jamadagni. Therefore, to get rid of the father’s obligation, Parshuram took an oath to kill the sons and wipe out the Kshatriyas from the earth for 21 times. Lord Parshuram was a favourite disciple of Kashyap rishi. When Parshuram was determined to wipe out the kshatriyas from this earth, Kashyap advised him “fire does not quench by if you   are giving the offerings, it grows continuously. When knowledge, Valour, and Manhood come together and the rule and the wealth is concentrated in one hand, the effects are very dangerous, therefore you go near to the Sahyadri, where the sea and the mountain are constantly fighting, and create the new earth”  This is how Parshuram created the culture. Today’s Konkan region below the Sahyadri is the symbol of the manliness of Parshuram.

    According to Revered Vinobaji Bhave, Parshuram was the first to experiment collective  non-violence (a-hinsa). Lord Parshuram is the deity of people of the Konkan. When in Ayodhya the construction of Babri Mosque was underway during the regime of Adilshah, of Vijapur, who belonged to the shiya sect, a temple of Lord Parshuram, the creater of  the Konkan was taking shape, in the Konkan region. About  600 hundred years ago, Shri Narayan Ganapule residing in a village near Ratnagiri, had a message in his dream to go to the Parshuram kshetra (area) and serve there. So, he went to Parashuram area and lived there along with his family. There were three idols that of Kama, Parshuram and kal. That was regarded to be the incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Gradually this temple became famous. With the help sought from Adilshah two domes of this temple were constructed. The daughter of the king of Janjira, Siddiki gave funds to construct the third dome of the temple, because when her husband had gone on sea warfare, and there was no trace of him, she was told to seek Lord Parshuram’s blessings. She vowed to construct the Parshuram temple. She completed her vow when her husband returned safely. After that for three hundred years both the Hindus and the Muslims used to visit this temple with devotion.


    Like Haji Mallang in Kalyan, Nijamuddin in Delhi and Chisti Dargah at Ajmer, the temple of Parshuram became the place of faith both for the Hindus and the Muslims. Shivaji Maharaj, after his coronation as a king, visited this Parshuram temple to ask for blessings. At the same time, after his tour all over Bharat(India) and having seen the miserable conditions prevailing everywhere then, Samarth Ramdas Swami had come to Chiplun to visit the Parshuram temple.
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