Devanagari
देवोपलब्धिमप्राप्य निर्वेदात् सप्तमेऽहनि ।
शिरोऽवृश्चत् सुधितिना तत्तीर्थक्लिन्नमूर्धजम् ॥ १८ ॥
तदा महाकारुणिको स धूर्जटि-
र्यथा वयं चाग्निरिवोत्थितोऽनलात् ।
निगृह्य दोर्भ्यां भुजयोर्न्यवारयत्
तत्स्पर्शनाद् भूय उपस्कृताकृति: ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
devopalabdhim aprāpya
nirvedāt saptame ’hani
śiro ’vṛścat sudhitinā
tat-tīrtha-klinna-mūrdhajam
tadā mahā-kāruṇiko sa dhūrjaṭir
yathā vayaṁ cāgnir ivotthito ’nalāt
nigṛhya dorbhyāṁ bhujayor nyavārayat
tat-sparśanād bhūya upaskṛtākṛtiḥ
Synonyms
deva
—
of the lord
;
upalabdhim
—
sight
;
aprāpya
—
not obtaining
;
nirvedāt
—
out of frustration
;
saptame
—
on the seventh
;
ahani
—
day
;
śiraḥ
—
his head
;
avṛścat
—
was about to cut off
;
sudhitinā
—
with a hatchet
;
tat
—
of that (Kedāranātha)
;
tīrtha
—
in (waters of) the holy place
;
klinna
—
having wetted
;
mūrdha
—
jam — the hair of his head
;
tadā
—
then
;
mahā
—
supremely
;
kāruṇikaḥ
—
merciful
;
saḥ
—
he
;
dhūrjaṭiḥ
—
Lord Śiva
;
yathā
—
just as
;
vayam
—
we
;
ca
—
also
;
agniḥ
—
the god of fire
;
iva
—
appearing like
;
utthitaḥ
—
risen
;
analāt
—
from the fire
;
nigṛhya
—
seizing
;
dorbhyām
—
with his arms
;
bhujayoḥ
—
his (Vṛka’s) arms
;
nyavārayat
—
he stopped him
;
tat
—
his (Lord Śiva’s)
;
sparśanāt
—
by the touch
;
bhūyaḥ
—
again
;
upaskṛta
—
well formed
;
ākṛtiḥ
—
his body .
Translation
Vṛkāsura became frustrated after failing to obtain a vision of the lord. Finally, on the seventh day, after dipping his hair into the holy waters at Kedāranātha and leaving it wet, he took up a hatchet and prepared to cut off his head. But at that very moment the supremely merciful Lord Śiva rose up out of the sacrificial fire, looking like the god of fire himself, and grabbed both arms of the demon to stop him from killing himself, just as we would do. By Lord Śiva’s touch, Vṛkāsura once again became whole.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Vṛkāsura became frustrated after failing to obtain a vision of the lord. Finally, on the seventh day, after dipping his hair into the holy waters at Kedāranātha and leaving it wet, he took up a hatchet and prepared to cut off his head. But at that very moment the supremely merciful Lord Śiva rose up out of the sacrificial fire, looking like the god of fire himself, and grabbed both arms of the demon to stop him from killing himself, just as we would do. By Lord Śiva's touch, Vṛkāsura once again became whole.
KB 10.88.18-19
Although Vṛkāsura continued his sacrifice for six days, he was unable to personally see Lord Śiva, which was his objective; he wanted to see him face to face and ask him for a benediction. Here is another contrast between demons and devotees. A devotee is confident that whatever he offers to the Deity in full devotional service is accepted by the Lord, but a demon wants to see his worshipable deity face to face so that he can directly take the benediction. A devotee does not worship Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa for any benediction. Therefore a devotee is called akāma, free of desire, and a nondevotee is called sarva-kāma, or desirous of everything. On the seventh day, the demon Vṛkāsura decided that he should cut off his head and offer it to satisfy Lord Śiva. Thus he took a bath in a nearby lake, and without drying his body and hair, he prepared to cut off his head. According to the Vedic system, an animal to be offered as a sacrifice has to be bathed first, and while the animal is wet it is sacrificed. When the demon was thus preparing to cut off his head, Lord Śiva became very compassionate. This compassion is a symptom of the quality of goodness. Lord Śiva is called tri-liṅga, “a mixture of the three material qualities.” Therefore his manifestation of the nature of compassion is a sign of the quality of goodness. This compassion, however, is present in every living entity. The compassion of Lord Śiva was aroused not because the demon was offering his flesh into the sacrificial fire but because he was about to commit suicide. This is natural compassion. Even if a common man sees someone preparing to commit suicide, he will try to save him. He does so automatically. There is no need to appeal to him. Therefore when Lord Śiva appeared from the fire to check the demon from suicide, it was not done as a very great favor to him.
Lord Śiva’s touch saved the demon from committing suicide; his bodily injuries immediately healed, and his body became as it was before.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
With a knife (sudhitina) he was about to cut off his own head whose hair was wet with water from that holy place.
As we prevent a man from killing himself in grief, so Siva prevented Vrkasura from killing himself. Vrkasura’s body was restored (upaskrti akrtih).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Not seeing or attaining the presence of Śiva, his object of worship, out of great suffering, using a sword or hatchet, he was about to cut off his head which had completely wet hair from the holy water, since he took bath three times a day or took a special bath in order cut off his head.
Since Śiva is endowed with all three guṇas, now sattva became prominent. Śiva was most merciful since he became compassionate even though Vṛka was most wicked. The word “we” simply indicates ordinary people. This suggests that Śiva gave up his conception of lordship because of his great mercy and acted like an ordinary person.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
nOne
Not seeing or attaining the presence of Śiva, his object of worship, out of great suffering, using a sword or hatchet, he was about to cut off his head which had completely wet hair from the holy water, since he took bath three times a day or took a special bath in order cut off his head.
Since Śiva is endowed with all three guṇas, now sattva became prominent. Śiva was most merciful since he became compassionate even though Vṛka was most wicked. The word vayam simply indicates he acted like an ordinary people. This suggests that Śiva gave up his conception of lordship because of his great mercy and acted like an ordinary person.