FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.88.21

देवं स वव्रे पापीयान् वरं भूतभयावहम् । यस्य यस्य करं शीर्ष्णि धास्ये स म्रियतामिति ॥ २१ ॥
devaṁ sa vavre pāpīyān
[devam sa vavre paapeeyaan]
varaṁ bhūta-bhayāvaham
[varam bhoota-bhayaavaham]
yasya yasya karaṁ śīrṣṇi
[yasya yasya karam sheershni]
dhāsye sa mriyatām iti
[dhaasye sa mriyataam iti]
devam — from the lord saḥ — he vavre — chose pāpīyān — the sinful demon varam — a benediction bhūta — to all living beings bhaya — fear āvaham — bringing yasya yasya — of whomever karam — my hand śīrṣṇi — on the head dhāsye — I place saḥ — he mriyatām — should die iti — thus .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
devaṁ sa vavre pāpīyān
devam
from the lord
saḥ
he
vavre
chose
pāpīyān
the sinful demon
varaṁ bhūta-bhayāvaham
varam
a benediction
bhūta
to all living beings
bhaya
fear
āvaham
bringing
yasya yasya karaṁ śīrṣṇi
yasya yasya
of whomever
karam
my hand
śīrṣṇi
on the head
dhāsye sa mriyatām iti
dhāsye
I place
saḥ
he
mriyatām
should die
iti
thus .
  • pāpīyān — the sinful one
    Comparative of pāpa — even more sinful (than other asuras already named). Bhāgavatam's grading: Vṛka has graduated past Rāvaṇa-class boon-seekers — he asks not for power-over but for instant-death-over.
  • bhūta-bhaya-āvaham — bringing fear to all beings
    Contiguous (bhūta + bhaya + āvaham). Āvaham = bringing along. The boon's whole content is the importation of fear into the universe. Compare Kṛṣṇa, who comes precisely to remove bhaya (abhayam, BG 16.1).
  • yasya yasya — of whomever (and whomever)
    Doubled relative — universalized. The boon excludes no one — neither devotee nor child nor lord. Vṛka has built a weapon that, by its construction, must eventually be turned on the giver.
  • karam śīrṣṇi — the hand on the head
    Contiguous (karam + śīrṣṇi). The gesture of blessing inverted into the gesture of execution. Gauḍīya pathos: the same hand-on-head that a guru uses in compassion.
  • mriyatām — let him die
    Third-person imperative of √mṛ. Death — not on the bearer's terms, but on the asura's whim. The Bhāgavatam stages the moment so the reader can see the geometry: a boon shaped like a guillotine.
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] The benediction sinful Vṛka chose from the lord would terrify all living beings. Vṛka said, “May death come to whomever I touch upon the head with my hand.”
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
[Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:] The benediction sinful Vṛka chose from the lord would terrify all living beings. Vṛka said, "May death come to whomever I touch upon the head with my hand."
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Instead of devam sometimes devāt is seen. Devam or devāt indicates a person who should give beneficial benedictions. The cause of the benediction was Vṛka who was most wicked. Yasya yasya indicates that not once only he wanted to touch the head of a person, but many times. In this way he thought of killing all the devatās.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

None Instead of devam sometimes devāt is seen. Devam or devāt indicates a person who should give beneficial benedictions. The cause of the benediction was Vṛka who was most wicked. Yasya yasya indicates that not once only he wanted to touch the head of a person, but many times. In this way he thought of killing all the devatās.

Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)
Related verses
Concepts
Papa
Vṛkāsura asks for the power to kill anyone whose head he touches. Boons asked for in demonic spirit are weapons against the giver; what we ask for reveals what we will become.
Reflection Questions
  • What recent ask reveals something dark in my motivation I have not faced?
  • Where could honest examination of my prayers reform my life?

Asked to write any wish on a blank cheque, a man writes 'death by my touch upon all heads.' The verse names what asurya actually wants when nothing constrains it: not pleasure, but the power to kill at will. Bhakti and asurya choose differently with the same pen.

📝 My note

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