446 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 9
of heaven, and thus he discharged semina, which was kept and preserved in
an earthen pot and from which Drona was born. So Dronacarya is the son
of Bharadvaja Muni. Others say that Bharadvaja, the father of Drona, is a
different person from Maharsi Bharadvaja. He was a great devotee of
Brahma. Once he approached Dronacarya and requested him to stop the
Battle of Kuruksetra.

Parasurama or Renukdsuta. He is the son of Maharsi Jamadagni and
Srimati Renuka. Thus he is also known as Renukasuta. He is one of the
powerful incarnations of God, and he killed the ksatriya community as a
whole twenty-one times. With the blood of the ksatriyas he pleased the
souls of his forefathers. Later on he underwent severe penances at the
Mahendra Parvata. After taking the whole earth from the ksatriyas, he
gave it in charity to Kasyapa Muni. Parasurama instructed the Dhanur-
veda or the science of fighting to Dronacarya because he happened to be a
brahmana. He was present during the coronation of Maharaja Yudhisthira,
and he celebrated the function along with other great rsis.

Parasurama is so old that he met both Rama and Krsna at different
times. He fought with Rama, but he accepted Krsna as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. He also praised Arjuna when he saw him with
Krsna. When Bhisma refused to marry Amba, who wanted him to become
her husband, Amba met Parasurama, and by her request only he asked
Bhismadeva to accept her as his wife. Bhisma refused to obey his order,
although he was one of the spiritual masters of Bhismadeva. He fought
with Bhismadeva when he neglected his warning. Both of them fought very
severely, and at last Parasurama was pleased with Bhisma and gave him the
benediction of becoming the greatest fighter in the world.

Vasistha. The great celebrated sage among the brahmanas, well known
as the Brahmarsi Vasisthadeva. He is a prominent figure both in the
Ramayana and Mahabharata periods. He celebrated the coronation cere-
mony of the Personality of Godhead Sri Rama. He was present also on the
Battlefield of Kuruksetra. He could approach all the higher and lower
planets, and his name is also connected with the history of Hiranyakasipu.
There was a great tension between him and Visvamitra, who wanted his
kdmadhenu. Vasistha Muni refused to spare his kamadhenu, and for this
Visvamitra killed his one hundred sons. As a perfect brahmana he tolerated
all the taunts of Visvamitra. Once he tried to commit suicide on account
of Visvamitra’s torture, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. He jumped
from a hill, but the stones on which he fell became a stack of cotton, and
thus he was saved. He jumped into the ocean, but the waves washed him
ashore. He jumped in the river, but the river also washed him ashore. Thus
