The fifth among the Daśāvatāra is Śrī Vāmana-avatāra. There are innumerable līlā-avatāras. Among them are twenty-five chief līlā-avatāras of which Śrī Vāmanadeva is the eighteenth. All the līlā-avatāras have been mentioned in the previous description of Matsya-avatāra. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the original catur-vyūha, or original four expanded forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā. They are prābhava-vilāsa (four-handed forms) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The majestic expansion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, who resides in Vaikuṇṭha, also has His catur-vyūha, which is known as the second manifestation of four expanded forms. Each form of this second catur-vyūha again expands into three forms. Among the first manifestation of expanded forms, Pradyumna expands into three forms known as Trivikrama, Vāmana and Śrīdhara. Thus, each form of the second catur-vyūha expands into three forms, which totals twelve, and These are the Presiding Deities of the twelve months. The Deity of the month of Āṣāḍha is Śrī Vāmanadeva. Vaiṣṇavas wear holy marks of twelve hari-mandiras (temples of the Lord in the form of markings known as tilaka) on different parts of the upper body. Among them, the hari-mandira on the left side of the abdomen is fixed for the Presiding Deity Vāmanadeva. The catur-vyūha in the superior transcendental spiritual sky and Their twenty vilāsa forms are differentiated by the positions of holding divine weapons in four hands. Śrī Vāmanadeva holds the conch, disk, mace and lotus. It can be seen that Keśava resides in Mathurā; Jagannātha in Nīlācala; Mādhava in Prayāg; Madhusūdana in Mandāra; Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana in Ānandāraṇya; Varadarāja Viṣṇu in Viṣṇu Kānci and Hari in Māyāpura. In a similar manner, Vāmanadeva also has a dwelling place in the universe. One day of Brahmā or one kalpa consists of 14 manvantaras (each manvantara consists of 71 cycles of the four yugas). The 14 manifestations of the Supreme Lord in these 14 manvantaras are known as manvantara-avatāras. Śrī Vāmanadeva is the manvantara-avatāra in Vaivasvata—the seventh manvantara.

In the 8th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa Muni has given detailed accounts of Lord Vāmanadeva’s pastime of appearance, the capturing of the three planetary systems from Bali Mahārāja (on the pretext of asking for only three steps of land) and the eventual awarding of the Sutala planet to Bali. A short description of these topics is given here.

Describing the reigns of the fourteen Manus (Svāyambhuva, Svārociṣa, Uttama, Tāmasa, Raivata, Cākṣuṣa, Vaivasvata, Sāvarṇi, Dakṣa-sāvarṇi, Brahmā-sāvarṇi, Dharma-sāvarṇi, Rudra-sāvarṇi, Deva-sāvarṇi and Indra-sāvarṇi), Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī has mentioned the pastime of Bali and Vāmanadeva, which took place during the reign of Sāvarṇi Manu of the eighth manvantara.

Once, when Bali Mahārāja was the king of the demons, Indra, the king of the demigods, killed Bali Mahārāja and his chief generals in a fight between the demigods and the demons. When Devarāja Indra began killing the demons with the vow of annihilating the entire demon dynasty, grandfather Brahmā came to know about it and sent Nārada Ṛṣi to stop him from such a heinous act. When Nārada Ṛṣi informed Indra about the order of Brahmā to stop killing the demons, only then did he cease.

Śukrācārya, the family priest of the demons, revived Bali Mahārāja and his chief generals and demons by using the art of mṛta-saṁjīvanī. For the benefit of the demons, Śukrācārya advised Bali Mahārāja to arrange for a viśvajīt-yajña to be performed by brāhmaṇas of the Bhṛgu dynasty. Bali Mahārāja, following the order of his spiritual master, collected offerings for the sacrifice. Śukrācārya and the brāhmaṇa descendants of Bhṛgu performed the sacrifice systematically. Various kinds of weapons including an inexhaustible quiver were produced in the sacrifice. Bali Mahārāja became greatly powerful by the power of mantra and besieged heaven with his army of demons. When the demigods informed Devarāja Indra about this, he came prepared with his army to fight. However, upon seeing the splendor of Bali Mahārāja, he became bewildered. What to speak of fighting, Indra did not even have the courage to stand before Bali Mahārāja. Therefore, the worried and frightened Indra approached his spiritual master Bṛhaspati, and inquired about the amazing strength of the demons. “What is the reason behind this extraordinary power of the demons?” he asked. Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods replied, “The brāhmaṇa descendants of Bhṛgu who are dear to Śrī Hari, are backing Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja has become powerful by the yajña performed by them. If you go to fight with him at this time, you will be unable to win. You will certainly be badly defeated. Therefore my advice to all of you is that you give up your kingdom of heaven and hide in space.”

On the advice of Bṛhaspati, Indra and the other demigods left heaven and began to live clandestinely in space. Aditi¹, the mother of the demigods, was saddened to see her sons living in this condition without a kingdom. She stopped taking food and water and existed in a depressed state. Because she was constantly sorrowful and indifferent to all the housework, her home lost its beauty. Day by day she became increasingly emaciated.

Mother Aditi anxiously began to wait for her husband Kaśyapa Ṛṣi who was engaged in performing austerities. After a long period of time, Kaśyapa Ṛṣi returned home having finished his austerities. Surprised at seeing the house lusterless and his wife weak and pale, he asked Aditi why this was so. Aditi weepingly replied to her husband, “The demons have driven our sons out of the kingdom of heaven. I pray to your lotus feet that you will please take action to expel the demons and return my sons to their kingdom. Until my sons regain the kingdom of heaven, my sorrow will not be alleviated.” Hearing the inappropriate words of his wife, he tried to pacify her by speaking the essence of supreme truth. He said, “The demigods are our friends and the demons are our enemies; this vision of the duality of enemy and friend only occurs to those who are infatuated by the illusory energy (māyā) of the Supreme Lord. Due to forgetfulness of the Supreme Lord, people experience the negation of knowledge (viparīta-buddhi) of their own constitutional position, and consequently all sorts of troubles and difficulties originate. Actually, all are engaged in a mutual interrelationship of love by dint of their relationship with the Supreme Lord. A pure understanding of knowledge does not include any vision of enmity. My advice to you is that you should give up bodily misidentifications along with false relations and worship Hari with full dedication.”

Mother Aditi took to heart the teachings of her husband, which were full of knowledge. Nonetheless, she persistently requested that her sons should regain the kingdom of heaven. Mother Aditi repeatedly implored that unless her sons returned to their residence in heaven, she would be unable to find peace of mind. It would seem from these words of Mother Aditi that much like a materially entangled jīva illusioned by māyā, she was aggrieved by affection for her sons. But this was not the actual case. In reality, the Lord wanted to appear as the son of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi and Mother Aditi, to bestow His mercy upon them. He was in fact inspiring Mother Aditi and compelling her to speak like this just to fulfil His objective.

Kaśyapa Ṛṣi attentively heard the words of Aditi, and realising the actual purpose of her requests he said to his wife, “If it is your strong desire that the demigods are to return to their kingdom of heaven, then you will have to perform the Keśava-toṣaṇa vrata (a fast to please Keśava) for twelve days² by drinking only milk. Other than Lord Keśava, no one will be able to fulfil this desire of yours.” As per the instructions of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi, Mother Aditi performed the Keśava-toṣaṇa vrata, subjecting herself to severe austerity while observing proper usage and custom. At the end of the fast, the Lord appeared before Mother Aditi and assured her that He would appear as her son at the proper time under auspicious indications and would fulfil her desire.

As predicted, at an auspicious time the Lord appeared in the heart of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi. Kaśyapa then imparted divine knowledge to Aditi through initiation. The Lord first appeared in the heart of Aditi and then entered into her womb. When Brahmā and other demigods realised that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had appeared, they began to offer prayers to the womb of Aditi. On the twelfth day of the month of Śrāvaṇa, at the very auspicious moment of the Abhijit star, Lord Nārāyaṇa appeared from the womb of Aditi as Śyāmasundara (sweet and dark complexioned) Pītāmbara (dressed in yellow garments) holding a conch, disc, club, and lotus.

Kaśyapa Ṛṣi and Mother Aditi saw that as soon as the Lord had appeared before them in a four handed form, He miraculously assumed the form of a dwarf (Vāmana), although he was perfectly proportioned. Kasyapa Ṛṣi and Mother Aditi became filled with great bliss upon seeing the beautiful form of Vāmana, and were completely overwhelmed with affection for their child. All the birth saṁskāras (purificatory rituals) of the child were performed according to the directions of the scriptures. At the sacred thread ceremony of Vāmanadeva, the sun-god himself instructed Him in the Gāyatrī mantra, Bṛhaspati presented Him with the sacred thread, Kaśyapa gave Him a straw belt (a girdle), Mother Earth gave Him a deerskin to sit on and the moon-god who is the king of the forests, gave Him a brahma-daṇḍa (the rod of a brahmacārī). Mother Aditi gave Him kaupīna-basana (sacred underwear), the Presiding Deity of heaven offered Him an umbrella, Lord Brahmā gave Him a water-pot, the seven sages offered Him kuśā grass, Sarasvatī gave Him a string of rudrākṣa beads, Kuvera gave Him a pot for begging alms, and Bhagavatī, the mother of the universe, gave Him alms.

Bali Mahārāja had begun the performance of a fire-sacrifice in the field known as Bhṛgukaccha on the bank of the Narmadā River. He was a greatly charitable person. Brāhmaṇas who were desirous of his charity were going to the place where the sacrifice was being held. A new brāhmaṇa will beg alms after the sacred thread ceremony. Following this custom, Vāmanadeva set out for the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja, holding His daṇḍa, waterpot and umbrella to beg alms from him. Vāmanadeva was walking while holding His umbrella. Being small in size, He was completely covered by the umbrella. When the brāhmaṇas saw Him from a distance, they thought that the umbrella was walking by itself, so they were very astonished. Later, they understood that a brāhmaṇa boy of small stature was underneath the umbrella. The brāhmaṇas tried very hard to overtake him, but were unable to do so. Vāmanadeva bewildered all the brāhmaṇas with His māyā and became the first to arrive at the sacrificial arena. The auspicious arrival of Vāmanadeva in His brilliant effulgent form diminished the brilliance of the sacrificial fire. Understanding that a great personality had arrived, Bali Mahārāja, his priests and others present there, rose up from their seats and welcomed the Lord by offering proper respects. Considering Him to be a great brāhmaṇa, Bali Mahārāja offered his obeisances and then sprinkled on his own head the water with which he had washed the Lord’s lotus feet. After worshipping Him according to the proper customs, Bali Mahārāja spoke to Lord Vāmanadeva as follows: “You have surely come here to ask me for something. Therefore, whatever You desire, be it wealth or a kingdom, I shall give it to You. If You have the desire to marry, I shall give You a qualified girl as per Your desire.”

The dwarf Vāmanadeva replied, “I know the previous members of your very exalted dynasty. You have taken birth in the dynasty of the uncommon warriors Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. Your grandfather Prahlāda was a mahā-bhāgavata. Just by remembering him, the jīva (living entity) is purified. Your father Virocana, after promising charity to a brāhmaṇa, never failed to fulfil his promise. I know that you also will not refuse to fulfil your promise. I ask you for three steps of land.”

Upon hearing this, Bali Mahārāja smilingly said, “You have narrated those great deeds of my ancestors which even I had no knowledge of. However, You have begged for a very insignificant thing. I see that You are a little brāhmaṇa; therefore, Your intelligence is also little. What purpose could be served by obtaining three paces of land, measured by Your small steps? Do you know who I am? I am the owner of the three worlds. By my desire I can give You all of Jambudvīpa (Asia). After accepting alms from me, if You beg alms from anyone else, it will disgrace my name as a great charitable person. Therefore I request You to please reconsider this matter.”

Śrī Vāmanadeva said, “I know that you are the owner of the three worlds and that you can give Me many things. But I am a brāhmaṇa. A brāhmaṇa should be satisfied with little. If brāhmaṇas desire many objects of sense gratification, they lose their spiritual potency. One’s desire for sense gratification never ends. If you give Me Jambudvīpa, I will desire the whole earth. Next I will desire Rasātala, then heaven, and finally the position of Brahmā. There is no end to this. Material things are of no use to the soul. As charity given by you, I shall be satisfied with three paces of land as measured by My steps.”

At that time, Śukrācārya, the spiritual master of the demons, was also nearby. He understood that Lord Viṣṇu had appeared in the form of a dwarf brāhmaṇa to fulfil the motive of the demigods. On the pretext of begging for three steps of land, He would take the three worlds from his disciple Bali, leaving him bereft of his kingdom. Foolishly, Bali Mahārāja, not knowing the real identity of this little dwarf brāhmaṇa, was inclined to fulfil His request.

Śukrācārya, desiring the welfare of his disciple, spoke to Bali Mahārāja, “Bali! You do not know the real identity of this dwarf brāhmaṇa who has come to you. He is the Supreme Lord Himself. To fulfil the motive of the demigods, He has come to beg charity from you. On the pretext of asking for three steps of land, He will take away the three worlds from you. Where will you live then? What will you do? With no wealth, how will you perform your charitable and religious duties? Therefore my instruction to you is that you should not give Him the land.” Hearing these words of his guru, Bali Mahārāja said, “I have given my word to a brāhmaṇa. How can I break my promise? How can I tell a lie? If this dwarf brāhmaṇa is the Supreme Lord Himself, where can I find a better or more qualified candidate for charity? Even if I refuse to give, He will take it by force. Being my guru, why are you creating such obstacles? On the other hand if He is only a dwarf brāhmaṇa, how much land can He take by the measure of His three steps? I will not be able to abandon the decision that I have made to give in charity now.”

Śukrācārya again tried to convince Bali by saying, “Look Bali, in some special circumstances, one should even tell falsehoods for the protection of dharma and wealth; for example, how much wealth one has. By not keeping this secret, one’s wealth does not remain safe. If one’s wealth is not safe, dharma is not preserved. As soon as you pronounce the words for your promise of charity, this dwarf brāhmaṇa will assume a very large Trivikrama form. He will occupy the sky with His body, and with his two steps He will cover the three worlds. You will then not be able to keep your word. Therefore, you should never give Him the three steps of land. This, again, is my instruction.” Even after instructing him in this way, when he saw that Bali Mahārāja would not renege on his promise, Śukrācārya became filled with rage and cursed Bali to lose his opulence.

Bali Mahārāja held true to his promise even after being cursed by his guru. He began to draw water from the water-pot with the intention of offering charity, but while doing so, he saw that there was no water coming out of the pot due to the spout being blocked. The reason for this was that Śukrācārya had been unable to tolerate the foolishness of his disciple, and out of affection for him had entered into the waterpot, thereby preventing the water from flowing out. Bali Mahārāja then began to clear the blocked spout with the help of a stick from a broom. This destroyed one eye of Śukrācārya. It is said that because of his obstructing service to the Supreme Lord, Śukrācārya became known as ‘Kāṇā Śukra’ (Śukra, blind in one eye). However this incident has not been mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

As Bali Mahārāja recited the words of his promise with water from the water-pot, the dwarf brāhmaṇa assumed an immense Trivikrama form, occupying the sky with His body, and then took over the three worlds with His two steps. The inconceivably powerful Supreme Lord’s lotus feet encroached upon the three worlds and reached Satyaloka. Seeing the Lord’s lotus feet, Brahmā and other demigods became very pleased. They worshipped those lotus feet according to proper custom. Vāmanadeva then asked Bali Mahārāja for one more pace of land. Lord Vāmana warned, “Breaking your promise after giving your word will be an irreligious act.”

Bali Mahārāja replied, “I am bereft of everything but I am not upset about this. However, I am unable to fulfil my promise and, due to this fact, I am sad and in mental agony. You have acquired everything of mine with Your two steps. There is nothing else of mine remaining to give.” Upon seeing that everything had been lost to Lord Vāmanadeva, the demons became determined to recapture their kingdom. When the demons approached Vāmanadeva to kill Him, a wonderful Nārāyaṇī army emanated from the body of Viṣṇu and began to fight with the demons. Seeing the killing of the demons by the Nārāyaṇī forces, Bali Mahārāja asked them to stop the fight. He said, “Our time is now inauspicious, so the result of the fight will also be inauspicious.” The bird king Garuḍa, understanding the desire of Lord Viṣṇu, bound Bali Mahārāja with the ropes of Varuṇa. When Bali Mahārāja was bound with ropes, a universal cry of distress spread everywhere in the heavens and on earth. Then Vāmanadeva approached Bali Mahārāja and said, “In your dynasty, no one has broken his word after giving it to a brāhmaṇa. You took an oath that you would give Me three steps of land. Why are you not giving Me one more step of land? You are religious, yet you are behaving irreligiously.”

Bali Mahārāja’s wife, Vindhyāvalī, was a pious and devotionally inclined lady. She said to her husband, “You have given Vāmanadeva whatever material possessions you had, but you have not given your very self.” Bali Mahārāja was greatly delighted upon hearing the timely and wise words of his devotionally inclined wife. He directed Vāmanadeva toward his head as a place for the remaining step of land. At that time, a foot emerged from the lotus navel of Vāmanadeva and rested on the head of Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja achieved the touch of those lotus feet, which is rare even for Brahmā and other demigods. On witnessing the great fortune of Bali Mahārāja, kettledrums sounded in heaven and flowers showered down. Being greatly pleased, Lord Vāmanadeva spoke to Bali Mahārāja, “I am very pleased with you. You have not fallen from your dharma. You did not deviate from the truth in spite of being cursed by your gurudeva. Until now you were the giver and I was the receiver. Now I am the giver and you are the receiver. I shall give you whatever you want.” Having completely surrendered to the Lord, Bali Mahārāja did not ask Him for his lost wealth like a materialistic person. He prayed, “O Lord Vāmanadeva! May Your soothing lotus feet, which You have placed on my head, always remain there.”

Service of the Lord and self-surrender to His lotus feet never result in loss for anyone. Out of foolishness, the ignorant living entity prays for insignificant things from the Supreme Lord. One can achieve the completely blissful Supreme Lord by sincere surrender or devotion without ulterior motive. Bali Mahārāja achieved the Supreme Lord by the ātma-nivedana (self-surrender) process of bhakti.

Upon seeing the devotion and great fortune of his grandson, Prahlāda Mahārāja felt very happy and glorious. He had tried very hard to make his son Virocana a devotee, but Virocana had not become so and his propensity for demoniac tendencies caused Prahlāda pain in his heart. There was now no limit to his joy upon seeing his grandson as a devotee. Being pleased with Bali Mahārāja, Vāmanadeva awarded him the Sutala planet, which is supremely blissful like Vaikuṇṭha, and ordered the Sudarśana cakra to protect that abode of a bhakta in every way.

Lord Vāmanadeva, the protector of brāhmaṇa-dharma, saw Śukrācārya, the foremost of the Bhṛgu dynasty brāhmaṇas and guru of the demons, standing hesitantly nearby. He said to Śukrācārya, “Your disciple Bali Mahārāja has undergone many difficulties. Please perform the yajña again for his welfare.” Śukrācārya replied, “My disciple has seen You; he has chanted Your name and glories. Your rare lotus feet have been placed upon his head. Is my disciple still so impure that I have to perform a yajña to bless him?”

mantratas tantrataś chidraṁ
deśa-kālārha-vastutaḥ
sarvam karoti nischidram
anusaṅkīrtanaṁ tava
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.23.16)

“There may be discrepancies in pronouncing mantras, observing the regulative principles in serial order and moreover, there may be discrepancies in regard to time, place, person, articles and paraphernalia. But when Your Lordship’s holy name is chanted, everything becomes faultless.”

In the Vāmana Purāṇa written by Śrī Vedavyāsa Muni, the pastimes of Vāmanadeva have been described in the context of a discussion between Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta and other sages. Even after the death of Hiraṇyakaśipu, the demons were in constant control. The demigods were driven from everywhere and the demon kingdom spread all over the three worlds. The demons began performing many rituals and sacrifices. Two demons named Maya and Śambara became very famous. Everywhere, religious duties were performed without difficulty. Four-legged dharma was presiding; however, one leg of adharma had entered nominally. At that time, Bali was enthroned as the king of the demons and everyone was satisfied because of this. Due to Bali Mahārāja’s defeating Devarāja Indra, Lakṣmī Devī became pleased and entered into his body. On Lakṣmī’s entering into Bali, all the goddesses became pleased with Bali Mahārāja and he became full of all qualities and achieved immense wealth. Having no place for the demigods, Devarāja Indra went to Mother Aditi on top of Mount Sumeru and informed her of his defeat at the hands of the demons. Understanding that only the thousand-headed (sahasra-śīrsa) Nārāyaṇa could rescue the demigods from this difficulty, Mother Aditi sent Devarāja Indra along with the demigods to her husband Kaśyapa Ṛṣi. As per their mother’s instruction, all the demigods went to the third prajāpati (progenitor), Kaśyapa Ṛṣi, and offered him their obeisances. Kaśyapa Ṛṣi listened to their problems and then sent them to Brahmā in Brahmaloka. Understanding their desire, Brahmā asked them to pray to the creator of the universe, the Supreme Lord, on the northern bank of the Ocean of Milk. He told them, “During your worship of the Supreme Lord, you will hear His infallible words saying that He will accept the prayers of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi and Mother Aditi, and fulfil their desire by appearing as their son.”

Being ordered by Lord Brahmā and after crossing oceans, mountains, forests and rivers with great hardship, the demigods reached Kaśyapa Ṛṣi. Along with him they reached the place known as Amṛta (ambrosia or nectar³). Kaśyapa Ṛṣi then engaged in a vow, which lasted for thousands of years. The demigods also followed this severe penance (tapoyoga). The great soul Kaśyapa recited the Vedic paramastava (supreme prayer) for the pleasure of Nārāyaṇa and to fulfil Mother Aditi’s desire for a son. Thereafter, Kaśyapa Ṛṣi, along with his wife, went to their āśrama in the forest of Kurukṣetra. Mother Aditi performed severe penances at that place for ten thousand years. Being satisfied by the prayers of Aditi, Supreme Lord Vāsudeva appeared before her. When Lord Vāsudeva told Mother Aditi to ask for a boon, Aditi prayed that her son Indra could regain the kingdom of heaven. The Supreme Lord said, “So be it!” and assured her that He would fulfil her desire by appearing as her son. Thereafter, upon Aditi’s becoming pregnant, Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in her womb. Due to the entrance of Madhusūdana into the womb of Aditi, the strength of the demons became diminished. Bali Mahārāja became powerless as if burnt by fire or cursed by a brāhmaṇa. He inquired about the reason for this from his grandfather, Prahlāda. Prahlāda Mahārāja, after thinking for a while, said to Bali Mahārāja, “Do not consider this sort of incident to be ordinary. It is now necessary to think about counteracting it.” After meditating for some time, Prahlāda Mahārāja realised that the Lord had appeared in the womb of Aditi in the form of Vāmana. It was He who had abducted the splendor of the demons. Bali Mahārāja, now knowing the reason for the loss of his splendor, further inquired from his grandfather, “Who is this Śrī Hari who you say is the cause of our fear? We have hundreds of mighty and powerful daityas (demons). Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa does not have enough power to compare with even one of these.” Prahlāda Mahārāja, the best of the daityas, became angry upon hearing such blasphemous words against Viṣṇu from his grandson, and cursed him that the demons would soon be destroyed. “I do not consider anyone other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be the protector of this material world. May I see you in the position of losing your kingdom within a short time.”

Bali Mahārāja, upon hearing these unpleasant words from his grandfather, became filled with remorse and repeatedly and pitiably begged forgiveness for his thoughtless words. Satisfied on seeing his grandson fallen at his lotus feet, Prahlāda Mahārāja said, “Son! I cursed you in anger. My curse will not go in vain. However, you should not be sad about that. Become devoted to Acyuta—He will be your rescuer.”

Ten months later, Lord Govinda was born in the form of a vāmana (dwarf). Everywhere auspiciousness and happiness awakened in the hearts of all living beings. With the advent of Vāmanadeva, Lord Brahmā completed His jāta-karma (birth rituals) and other saṁskāras and offered many beautiful prayers to the Lord. Satisfied by these prayers, Vāmanadeva said that He was now repeating to Lord Brahmā the promise that He had first made to Indra and then to Aditi: He would see to it that Indra would be reinstated as the ruling power of the universe.

At the sacred thread ceremony of Vāmanadeva, Brahmā gave Him a kṛṣṇājin (the skin of a black antelope), Bṛhaspati gave Him the sacred thread, Marīci gave Him a palāśa daṇḍa (the rod of a brahmacārī), Vaśiṣṭha gave Him a water-pot, Aṅgirā gave him a kuśācīra (a piece of cloth made of kuśa grass), Pulaha gave Him a mat to sit on, and Pulastya gave Him two cloths of yellow colour. After being worshipped by the demigods, Vāmanadeva, in matted locks and holding a rod, waterpot and umbrella, set off for the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja. As Vāmanadeva was walking, the earth became free of miseries and became restless. The great serpent Ananta came from Rasātala and began to help Vāmanadeva. By seeing Lord Vāmanadeva, one’s fear of snakes dissipates. Upon seeing the earth in this over-excited state, Bali Mahārāja inquired as to the reason from Śukrācārya. Śukrācārya replied, “The cause of the universe, the eternal Śrī Hari has appeared in the home of Kaśyapa in the form of Vāmana. He will come to your yajña. The earth is becoming restless by the deflection of His feet.” Hearing this from Śukrācārya, Bali Mahārāja considered himself to be very fortunate as he would be able to have a glimpse of the Supreme Lord, Vāmanadeva. “The Supreme Lord is making His auspicious arrival. What should my duty be now?” Bali Mahārāja asked Śukrācārya. Śukrācārya replied, “O king of the demons! According to Vedic directions, the demigods are enjoyers of the offerings of yajña, but you have made only the demons enjoyers of those offerings. Lord Śrī Hari, although satisfied as the maintainer, is coming for the fulfilment of the desire of the demigods. Therefore, whatever He desires from you for the welfare of the demigods, you should clearly tell Him that you will not be able to give to Him.”

In reply Bali Mahārāja said, “O brāhmaṇa, how will I be able to say this? Even if an ordinary person asks me for something, I am unable to say no to him. If in place of that, Govinda Himself comes to me as a beggar, how will I be able to refuse Him? I can give up my life but I cannot refuse Him. I have heard about the glories of charity from you. You are now expressing a different opinion. You should not obstruct me in the matter of giving in charity.” At that time, Vāmanadeva appeared in the sacrificial arena of Bali Mahārāja along with Bṛhaspati and other demigods. Then Bali spoke to his priest Śukracarya, “Lord Śrī Hari Himself has come to our home, so He should ask for whatever He wishes.”

When Vāmanadeva entered the sacrificial arena, all the demons became lusterless due to His splendor. However, Vaśiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Garga Ṛṣi and other top-most sages became greatly blessed upon seeing Vāmanadeva. Vāmanadeva praised the yajña of Bali Mahārāja, as well as its organisers and priests. They in turn also expressed their gratitude to Vāmanadeva.

With great devotion, Bali Mahārāja worshipped Lord Govinda by washing His feet with water and offering oblations, saying, “O best of men, please ask for whatever You wish, be it gold, jewels, elephants, buffaloes, cloth, ornaments, wives, cows, copper, silver and all other metals or even the whole earth.”

Although smiling, Vāmanadeva spoke with a serious expression, “O King, to satisfy the terrible fire of my hunger, all I ask from you is three steps of land. Please give gold or villages to whoever asks for them.”

Bali Mahārāja said, “Your purpose will not be served by three steps of land. Please ask for land measured by thousands of steps.” Even then, Vāmanadeva asked only for three steps of land. Bali Mahārāja then took water in his hand and made a promise to give Vāmanadeva land measured by only three steps. Immediately, Vāmanadeva assumed a gigantic form that was greatly splendid and all-encompassing. All the mighty demons, upon seeing this dazzling form of Viṣṇu, achieved the state which insects assume upon seeing fire. All-powerful Viṣṇu then covered the sky and three worlds in a very short time. Defeating the demons, He awarded rulership of the three worlds to Indra. Thereafter, Lord Viṣṇu gave the Pātāla region below the earth planet, to Bali Mahārāja. Sarveśvara Viṣṇu also told Bali, “After the passing of the Vaivasvata-manvantara and upon the arrival of the Sāvarṇi-manvantara, you will become Indra. Now I have given the region controlled by you to Indra. Whatever happens, as per My order, you should stay in the Sutalapuri region of Pātāla, which is charming, full of many qualities and beauties, and enjoy the sraka-garland, sandalwood and many other types of earthly pleasures.”

Bali Mahārāja replied, “O Lord, by receiving these items of enjoyment from You, may I not forget You. Please bless me that I may remember You.” In this way, Śrī Hari gave the kingdom of the three worlds to Indra and blessings to Bali Mahārāja and then disappeared.

By hearing this pastime of Bali and Vāmanadeva, those who have lost a kingdom will retrieve it and those who have become separated from their objective will also achieve it. Brāhmaṇas will acquire knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Kṣatriyas will become expert in conquering the earth and vaiśyas will achieve an increase in wealth. Śūdras will attain happiness and good fortune, and anyone who hears this will be delivered from all sins.

Near the end of Vāmana Purāṇa, there is a short description of the binding of Bali along with a description of Bali Mahārāja’s wife, Vindhyāvalī, and their son Bāṇāsura.

chalayasi vikramaṇe balim adbhuta-vāmana
pada-nakha-nīra-janita-jana-pāvana
keśava dhṛta-vāmana-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
(Śrī Jayadeva’s Daśāvatāra-stotra, 5th Verse)

“O Keśava! You assumed the form of Vāmana to trick the great demon Bali Mahārāja by Your steps, and to purify all living entities by the water that emanated from the nails of Your lotus feet. All glories unto You, Lord of the universe.”

¹ - Two of Kaśyapa Ṛṣi’s wives—Diti and Aditi are mentioned here in connection with this topic. The sons of Diti are demons and the sons of Aditi are demigods. The demons and the demigods are stepbrothers.

² - One celestial day is equal to one year of the human beings, i.e., 365 days.

³ - This material brahmāṇḍa of fourteen worlds, including heaven, is non-eternal. From the churning of the milk ocean, amṛta (nectar of immortality) emerges. By drinking this amṛta, the demigods become immortal in the sense that they gain extraordinary longevity, but they do not become literally immortal. At the time of universal dissolution, all the brahmāṇḍas or material universes are destroyed, along with the demigods.