The trailer of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana dropped at the crack of dawn on Thursday, July 30, and in the trailer, fans saw a glimpse of Ranbir playing Parashurama as well as Lord Rama. One might wonder why Ranbir is playing both these parts and the answer lies in the fact that both these characters are avatars of Lord Vishnu.How are Parashurama and Rama connected?Lord Vishnu had ten avatars and of them, Parashurama was the sixth avatar, and Rama was the seventh. Their paths crossed with each other after Rama strung Lord Shiva’s bow, Pinaka, during Sita’s swayamvar.As per Valmiki’s Ramayana, Sita had placed the condition in her swayamvar that whosoever could string the bow, would be eligible to marry her. Lord Rama participated in the ceremony, and strung the bow, but after his divine touch, the bow broke into two parts, and this angered Parashurama. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva and had spent years in the Kailash mountains in his prayer. Lord Shiva had then blessed him with a divine axe.Parashurama challenged Rama to string his bowAfter Lord Rama broke the bow, Parashurama halted his journey back to Ayodhya and challenged him to string his own divine bow, Sharanga, handed by Lord Vishnu. When Lord Rama managed to do it with ease, Parashurama presented him with the divine bow, believing that he too was an avatar of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama at Sita’s swayamvar.Parashurama is one of the seven immortal beingsParashurama, as per Hindu mythology, is also one of the seven immortal beings, along with Hanuman, Ashwatthama, King Mahabali, Vibhishana, Veda Vyasa and Kripacharya.Parashurama is also a significant character in the epic of Mahabharata, as he was the guru of Bhishma, Dronacharya and Karna.Parashurama was ordered to kill his mother, by his fatherParashurama was born to Sage Jamadagni, who was one of the descendants of Bhrigu, the author of Bhrigu Samhita. His mother is Renuka, who was a princess, and the daughter of King Prasenajit. Parashurama was the youngest of their five sons.Story continues below this adThe legend goes that one day, Renuka, who was otherwise known for her spiritual powers and immense focus, lost the track of time, and this angered Sage Jamadagni. He then ordered his sons to kill Renuka. The four older sons refused to obey his orders, but Parashurama took his father’s words seriously and beheaded his mother.ALSO READ | Ramayana trailer key takeaways: Sita as warrior princess, Ravana’s fight to become kingSage Jamadagni was delighted when he saw his son’s dedication and offered him a boon. Parashurama asked that his mother be brought back to life, which was granted by Jamadagni.Parashurama’s violent anger, vow to kill corrupt rulersParashurama is known for his violent anger that was seen by the world after his father was killed during meditation. It is said that a king named Kartavirya Arjuna visited Sage Jamadagni’s ashram and demanded to take his wish-fulfilling cow Kamdhenu.Story continues below this adWhen Jamadagni refused, Kartavirya Arjuna took the cow forcefully. When Parashurama learnt about this, he fought and killed the king. To seek revenge, the king’s sons killed Jamadagni while Parashurama was away. Parashurama then took a vow to kill all the corrupt kings in the world.It is yet to be known if Nitesh Tiwari’s film will cover these parts of Parashurama’s life.About RamayanaStarring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash in key roles, Ramayana has been produced by Namit Malhotra on a budget of Rs 4,000 crore. The film is said to be in two-parts, with one part releasing this Diwali, and the second part releasing on Diwali 2027. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is the most expensive film in the history of Indian cinema.