Divine Beings

Vikrita

विकृत

Wrath in Human Shape

Who was Vikrita?

Vikrita (विकृत): Wrath in Human Shape, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. One of two ungainly, ill-dressed men who came arm over shoulder into a king's presence, loudly disputing a debt.

Quick Facts

Key facts about Vikrita
Sanskrit nameविकृत
Title / EpithetWrath in Human Shape
FactionDivine Beings
Key traitscontentious, unyielding, disguised, probing
Notable relationshipsCompanion: Virupa, Counterpart: Kama, Fellow Examiner: Yama
Featured in1 story

About Vikrita

One of two ungainly, ill-dressed men who came arm over shoulder into a king's presence, loudly disputing a debt. Vikrita insisted that Virupa owed him nothing: he had once given away a cow and then made a free gift of that merit to his companion, and a thing given cannot be taken back. The quarrel was staged, for he and Virupa were Wrath and Desire, sent with Time and Dharma and Death to test whether a king and a Gayatri reciter would each try to keep the other's merit.

In Their Words

Solicited by him, I gave him what was my own. How shall I take it back again?

Vikrita

Traits

  • contentious
  • unyielding
  • disguised
  • probing

Story Appearances

Character Arc

  1. The Loud ArrivalTwo ragged men come before the king shouting about a debt
  2. The Gift That Cannot ReturnHe refuses to take back merit he freely gave away
  3. The Mask DroppedThe pair reveal themselves as Wrath and Desire and depart

Key Relationships

Places in Vikrita's Story

Drawn from the story Vikrita appears in.

Others counted among the Divine Beings.