Vṛkāsura

Vṛkāsura, also called Vṛka, was an asura, the son of Śakuni. He wanted a quick vara (boon) and went to Bhagavān Śiva for it. The vara he asked for was deadly, and it turned against Śiva himself. Śiva ran across the worlds until Bhagavān Vishṇu, in the form of a young brahmacārī (student), tricked Vṛka into using the vara on his own head. The account is told in Chapter 88 of the 10th Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa.

Parīkshit’s question and Śuka’s answer

Parīkshit saw a puzzle. Those who worship Bhagavān Śiva often become rich and enjoy great pleasures, though Śiva himself lives in poverty, smears his body with ash and wanders with ghosts and spirits. But those who worship Bhagavān Vishṇu, the lord of Lakshmī, often seem to have less. How should this be understood?

Śuka answered. Śiva is always united with Śakti, the cosmic power of the three guṇas. His being is identified with the samastā-ahaṃkāra-tattva, the whole principle of ego, from which the whole manifest world arises. To worship the ahaṃkāra-devatā (the deva of ego), even in its highest Śaiva form, brings the results of that world: wealth, power and enjoyment of the senses. They come quickly and in plenty.

Bhagavān Hari is nirguṇa: he is wholly beyond prakṛti and its three guṇas. He is the sākshi-caitanya, the witnessing awareness that sees without being bound. To worship him leads not to worldly gain but to moksha, freedom from the whole cycle of guṇa, karma and phala (fruit). This is a far greater gift. But it asks for vairāgya (detachment) and surrender, not only strong bhakti for the sake of results.

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa also spoke to Yudhishṭhira after the Aśvamedha yajña:

“When I wish to truly bless someone, I first take away their wealth little by little. As their efforts fail and their relatives leave them, they become virakta (detached). Then they seek the company of my pure devotees. Through that *satsaṅga (good company), they come to me directly and reach that Brahman which is beyond all material description. This is harder and rarer, and far more complete, than the quick varas of the ahaṃkāra-devatās.”*

Vṛka seeks a vara

The asura Vṛka, son of Śakuni, was a man of fierce will and dangerous ambition. One day he met Nārada on the road and asked: “Of the three great devas, who is pleased most quickly?”

Nārada answered truthfully: “Worship Śiva at Kailāsa. He is pleased very quickly by small devotion, and he is angry very quickly at small faults. Rāvaṇa and Bāṇāsura praised him as court poets praise a king, and he gave them unmatched powers. Then they suffered greatly because of it. But the path is fast.”

Encouraged, Vṛka went to the great tīrtha of Kedāra. There he did a terrible tapas. Each day he cut pieces of flesh from his own body and offered them into the sacred fire in Śiva’s name. On the seventh day Śiva had still not appeared, and Vṛka had no more flesh to offer. He got ready to cut off his own head.

Śiva’s vara and what followed

Mahādeva Śiva, whose heart is compassion itself, rose from the sacred fire like Agni before Vṛka could harm himself further. He seized Vṛka’s arms, stopped the blade, and healed all his wounds with one touch. He said: “Enough, enough! Ask for a vara. I am pleased. Those who surrender at my feet with even a drop of water bring me joy. You do not need to cut your body.”

Vṛka’s request was chilling: “Grant me this. Whoever’s head I touch with my hand, that person shall die.”

Śiva smiled and granted it, as one feeds milk to a snake that will turn and bite.

As soon as the vara was given, Vṛka looked at Śiva with a terrible gleam in his eyes. He wanted to test the vara, and the nearest head was right in front of him. He raised his hand toward the head of Śiva.

Śiva was struck with fear. He had given a weapon he could not control, and it was aimed at himself. He turned and ran through the sky, through the air, across all the worlds to their very edges, always northward. Vṛka followed gladly, coming closer each moment.

Not one of the great devas could suggest a way out, neither Brahmā, nor Indra, nor any of the lokapālas (guardians of the directions). Śiva entered the darkness beyond the known worlds and reached Vaikuṇṭha, the shining home of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. Only those who have given up all violence and attachment can reach it.

Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa’s trick

Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa saw the frightened Śiva and the nearing Vṛka. He took the form of a young brahmacārī, blazing like fire, wearing a mekhalā (girdle), the skin of a kṛshṇa-mṛga (black antelope), carrying a staff and adorned with rudrāksha beads. He walked toward Vṛka from a distance, calm and steady. He bowed to the asura politely and spoke as a friend:

“O son of Śakuni, you look tired. You must have come from far. Rest a moment. The body is the vehicle of all one’s aims, and it should be cared for.

“Now tell me, if I may ask: what has brought you here in such haste? If you want help, another person’s help can often do what one cannot do alone.”

Vṛka was pleased by the gentle words and lost his guard. He told the brahmacārī the whole matter: the tapas, the vara and the plan to kill Śiva.

The brahmacārī looked gently doubtful: “And you really believe Śiva’s word? Hmm. You know, Śiva’s mind has been touched by Daksha’s śāpa (curse), and he became the lord of the piśācas. His word is not always sure. But why not test the vara here and now? There is a simple way to know for certain whether it works. Put your own hand on your own head. If it works, wonderful: you will know it is real. If it does not, you will know Śiva cheated you, and you can deal with him as he deserves.”

Vṛka’s pride found the reasoning too strong to resist. Sure of his own safety, he missed the plain result. He put his own hand on his own head.

He died at once. His skull broke from within.

In the sky the devas shouted in victory, rained flowers and beat their drums.

Bhagavān Vishṇu’s words to Śiva

With Vṛka dead, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa turned to the freed Śiva and spoke with a warm smile:

“O Deva, O Mahādeva, this wicked man was destroyed by his own *pāpa (sin). He had done a great wrong to a great mahātman (great soul). One who does wrong to the lord of all creation, to you, the father of all worlds, how can he stay unharmed? He could not.*

“Bhagavān Hari, whose powers are beyond all understanding, who lives as the ātman in all beings, has now freed you.”

The Bhāgavata says that whoever tells or hears how Bhagavān Hari freed Śiva from this danger is himself freed from the bondage of saṃsāra and from all enemies.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 88