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Kartavirya Arjuna 

Narada Purana says that the Sudarshana Chakra desired to fight with Lord Vishnu as it considered as the super power, which the Lord should realize and challenged Lord Vishnu.

The Lord Vishnu said to the Sudarshana Chakra “Let your desire be fulfilled. You will be born as a powerful king Kartavirya, and you will have the same thousand arms like Adhiraja Surasura, the King of Kings of lower worlds with arrogance. I will be born as Parashurama and I will defeat your arrogance."

During the time Ravana ruled over the heavens and the earth, there lived a king called Kirtaviryan who ruled Mahishmati. Though he had many wives and he performed several penances, he remained childless. One of his wives Padmini, unable to bear the anguish of the King approached Anasuya, the daughter of Kardama Muni and Devahuti and the wife of Maharishi Atri. Anasuya told her to perform the penance to Lord Dattatreya so that the King and Queen would get their heart's desire. So Padmini and Kirtaviryan went to the forest and strictly prayed to Lord Dattatreya. Pleased with their devotion Lord Dattatreya appeared before them and granted them a boon that they would give birth to an illustrious son whom no one except Lord Vishnu could defeat.

Sudarshana Chakra took birth as son  to Kirtaviryan and Padmini and he was named Kartavirya Arjuna. He was born with a thousand arms and a look-alike of Adhiraja Surasura, the King of Kings of Rakshastal, due to which he was also called as Sahasra Arjuna.

Kartavirya Arjuna acquired Yogic Powers and caused rain to fall at his wish. Kartavirya Arjuna because of the boons was more powerful than all beings. He ruled the earth for 85,000 years with righteousness as an unchallengeable Samrat.  During his rule there was peace, prosperity and justice. Narada Purana has two chapters devoted to various mantras to Kartavirya Arjuna, including a Kartavirya Gayatri Mantra, a list of 108 names of Kartavirya Arjuna, and a Kartavirya Kavach, analogous to the Narayana Kavach.

The Puranas recount that Kartavirya Arjuna once troubled Varuna and asked him if there was anyone equal to him in power. Varuna replied that only Jamadagni's son, Parashurama rivaled Kartavirya. Enraged, Kartavirya went to Jamadagni's hermitage to see Parasurama’s prowess.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif"">Kartavirya and his army visited Rishi Jamadagni, who fed his guest and the whole army with offerings from his divine cow Kamadhenu. The king demanded the cow for the betterment of his subjects. Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif"">King Kartavirya Arjuna lost control of his senses and sent his soldiers to take the cow. As the conflict developed among the Jamadagni and the King, Kartavirya Arjuna lost his cool. He drunk with power and sense of invincibility and chopped off the head of Jamadagni.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif"">When Jamadagni's son Parashurama returned to the hermitage, he was informed of the context by his mother. Furious at this heinous crime by a Kshatriya who on the contrary was expected to uphold Raj Dharma and righteousness, son of Jamadagni, Lord Parashurama vowed to vanquish the power drunken Kshatriya clan from Earth as the resorted to oppress humans, Yakshas and the very gods themselves. Kartavirya even had the audacity to insult Indra in front of Indrani.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif"">In revenge, Kartavirya Arjuna had sent seventeen Akshouhini to fight against the lone Parashurama who was on foot. Parashurama single-handedly slew the entire army and spared no one alive. Kartavirya arrived in his divine golden chariot which could go anywhere unobstructed. The King himself was a powerful archer, capable of simultaneously wielding five hundred bows and shooting five hundred arrows at a time. Parashurama broke Kartavirya's bows, slew his horses and charioteer and destroyed the chariot itself with his arrows. Kartavirya hurled many weapons, rocks, and trees at Parashurama, but the sage parried all these. Parashurama hacked off his thousand arms with his arrows and dismembered him with his axe.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.4in"><span style="font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif"">Read now how this led to the Battle of 10 Kingdoms at Vedic Wings…Sivkishen, Author