Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.88.14
వృకో నామాసుర: పుత్ర: శకునే: పథి నారదమ్ ।
దృష్ట్వాశుతోషం పప్రచ్ఛ దేవేషు త్రిషు దుర్మతి: ॥ ౧౪ ॥
vṛko nāmāsuraḥ putraḥ
[vriko naamaasurah putrah]
śakuneḥ pathi nāradam
[shakuneh pathi naaradam]
dṛṣṭvāśu-toṣaṁ papraccha
[drishtvaashu-tosham paprachcha]
deveṣu triṣu durmatiḥ
[deveshu trishu durmatih]
Word-for-word
vṛkaḥ
—
Vṛka
nāma
—
by name
asuraḥ
—
a demon
putraḥ
—
a son
śakuneḥ
—
of Śakuni
pathi
—
on the road
nāradam
—
the sage Nārada
dṛṣṭvā
—
seeing
āśu
—
quickly
toṣam
—
pleased
papraccha
—
he asked about
deveṣu
—
among the lords
triṣu
—
three
durmatiḥ
—
wicked .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
vṛko nāmāsuraḥ putraḥ
vṛkaḥ
Vṛka
nāma
by name
asuraḥ
a demon
putraḥ
a son
śakuneḥ pathi nāradam
śakuneḥ
of Śakuni
pathi
on the road
nāradam
the sage Nārada
dṛṣṭvāśu-toṣaṁ papraccha
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
āśu
quickly
toṣam
pleased
papraccha
he asked about
deveṣu triṣu durmatiḥ
deveṣu
among the lords
triṣu
three
durmatiḥ
wicked .
Important Words
-
vṛkaḥ
—
Vṛka (the demon)
Wolf. Predator-name carries character; the Bhāgavatam never wastes names. He will hunt the very Lord he is about to worship.
-
putraḥ śakuneḥ
—
son of Śakuni
Contiguous (putraḥ + śakuneḥ). Asuric lineage marked. Bhāgavatam tracks asura genealogies precisely — actions follow inheritance, even as bhakti can break inheritance.
-
nāradam
—
the sage Nārada
Bhakti-mahā-muni, devarṣi — Gauḍīyas regard him as the prototypical preaching guru. He is here not to bless Vṛka but to test him: his answer (v.15) is true but cruel, exposing the asura's intent.
-
āśu toṣam
—
the one quickly pleased
Contiguous (āśu + toṣam). Repeating verse 11's diagnosis. Vṛka has internalised the marketplace logic — quick gain, quick satisfaction — without internalising the warning that came with it.
-
durmatiḥ
—
wicked, of evil intelligence
Dur- (bad) + mati (intelligence). Not stupid — strategically intelligent in service of an evil aim. Gauḍīyas distinguish: dur-buddhi is not absence of buddhi but its directional perversion.
The demon named Vṛka, a son of Śakuni’s, once met Nārada on the road. The wicked fellow asked him which of the three chief gods could be pleased most quickly.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
The demon named Vṛka, a son of Śakuni's, once met Nārada on the road. The wicked fellow asked him which of the three chief gods could be pleased most quickly.
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
Vṛka met Nārada on the road, and without intelligence inquired from him. His question revealed his evil nature on meeting the great devotee and his total ignorance of proper behavior. “Among the three who is most easily pleased?”
Related values & verses
Related values
Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomAbhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)
Related verses
Personal Guidance
Analogy
A would-be cheat at a temple does not ask 'who is the deity I love' but 'whose priest sleeps lightest at the donation box.' Vṛka asks Nārada the cheat's question — which Lord is the easiest mark. The framing of his question already declares his asurya.
My note
Source: vedabase.io