 After Prahlad, Virechana became the King of demons and Virechana was followed
by Bali who aspired to be Indra, the king of heaven. Guided
by his preceptor , Shukracharya, he performed the Vishwajit Sacrifice (a yagna performed
to become the king of the three worlds) at Brugukatch (Bharuch) on the bank of river
Narmada to please Agni (the fire god).
Agni gave Bali a divine golden chariot, Celestial weapons and a coat of mail. After
obtaining blessings of his Guru Shukracharya, Bali took his divine chariot and set out to
conquer Indra.
Indra was frightened and he rushed to Brihaspati,his preceptor to seek help and said,
" What should I do now? Bali has come with some strange power and we may fail in
beating him back." Brihaspati advised him, "You are unable to face Bali at
present. You'll have to abandon the heaven and wait until his Guru curses him for ignoring
his counsel and your enemy falls on bad days!"
Bali ascended the throne of heaven and became the lord of the three worlds. Meanwhile in a
hermitage, Mother Aditi, the mother of Devtas, could not bear the defeat of Indra and was
very sad. Her husband Sage Kashyap was meditating in the forest and was unaware of the
Devtas defeat. Just then Kashyap entered the hermitage and found his wife in distress. He
asked her, " What is the matter ? Is all well with you and your sons?" "
No, my lord. The asuras have usurped our kingdom, our splendor & our Glory. You must
go and help my sons to retrieve their lost kingdom.", replied Mother Aditi.
Hearing everything Sage Kashyap said, " It is not me that you should appeal to, but
pray to Lord Vishnu. He and only he can help you so Propitiate him." She asked the
ways of pleasing Vishnu. Kashyap said, " In the month of Phalgun, observe the
Payovrata vow ( it is the vow of milk, in this only milk should be drunk by those who are
observing this vow). This is the vow which pleases him a lot and he will grant you your
desired wish.
At the advice of her husband Kashypa she took a vow of Lord Vishnu for twelve long days
and on the thirteenth day Lord Vishnu appeared before Mother Aditi and said, "O
Divine lady, invincible though the Asuras are your worship shall not prove
fruitless. I shall be born as a son to you and protect your progeny."
Months later, on the twelfth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada (the sixth month of the
Hindu calendar), Lord Vishnu took his descent from aditi and thus was born the sixth
incarnation of Vishnu. Now as the couple stood amazed, Vishnu changed his
form to that of a short - stautured Brahman - The Vamana.Clad in a loin cloth, he carried
a staff and a gourd in the hand. He had the matted hair on his head.
Aditi said to her son Vamana, "Now you should curb Bali for the welfare of gods and
the human beings." Following the advice of his mother, Vamana went to meet Bali.
 Though Bali had the kingdom of heaven under his control his desires
grew limitless. One day when he was performing a sacrifice of a series of Horses ( also
known as Ashwamedha Yagna ) with the help of sage Shukracharya, a blinding light filled
the sacrificial grounds.
Everyone was shocked, one of the sages said that," It
could be Lord Surya ( The Sun God) himself who has come down to witness our
sacrifice?"
As their eyes got used to the brilliance, they saw that a dwarf Brahman had entered the
sacrificial enclosure. King Bali had taken a vow that he would certainly give anything to
a Brahmin if he bagged, even how much difficult it might be for him to give.
 Bali rose from his seat to welcome him. Bali's wife then came with a
Golden pitcher full of water to wash Vamana's feet.Then he gave the Brahman( Vamana) the
special seat and washed his feet. After that he asked, " O holy one, what can I do
for you? Take from me whatever you desire."
But Vamana kept quiet. Seeing this Bali again said, " Do not hesitate, ask for what
ever you want - Cows, Elephants, horses, Chariots, Villages.. anything?" This time
Vamana shooked his head and said, " All I need is a strip of land, Three paces long
as measured by my stride."
Bali was very disappointed with Vamana's humble demand and said, " When I am ready to
grant you a whole continent, what all you want is only three paces of land ?
Vamana replied, " He who is not satisfied with three paces of land will not be
satisfied with the whole continent. I have asked for three paces of land and that is all I
need. " Bali laughed and said, " Then you shall have as much you want."
At that moment Guru Shukracharya, realized the truth that the Brahman was non other than
Lord Vishnu.As Bali took the consecrating water in his palm, Shukracharya, stopped him by
saying that, " Wait, this midget is Lord
Vishnu. He is here to help our enemies, the devtas." " Nothing can be done now ,
Guru Shukracharya, I have given my words." replied Bali. Shukracharya tried to stop
him in many ways but Bali said, " I have promised once that I shall give this Brahman
whatever he had asked for, how can I , Bali, the grandson of Prahlad, refuse like a common
cheat? I will give this Brahman the land he seeks."
Guru Shukracharya became very furious that his disciple had
dared to disregard his advice he cursed him, " You have ignored my command and you
will soon fall from your high position."
 And to everybody's surprise Vamana began to grow
and grow. Bali and all others present there were astounded to see the whole creation of
the Vamana's body.
Now Vamana began to measure the three paces, with his first
stride he covered the earth, and with his second stride he covered the Heavens.
Bali soon realized that he has been cursed by his Guru and
that his fall is inevitable."
Vishnu now asked Bali that, " You had promised me three
paces of land and I have covered all that was yours in two.where should I place my third
stride? You have failed to keep your words and for that you shall suffer."
Bali said, " O lord, I am not afraid of punishment,
place your third step on my head, which is more valuable to me than all my possessions put
together."
At that moment Prahlad appeared on the scene and bowed to
Lord Vishnu, " Salutations to you , O lord, You have conferred a great favor on my
grandson by depriving him of all his wealth.Pls. forgive him."
Lord Vishnu then said, " Your grandson stood firm by his
promise even at the cost of disobeying his guru and inviting his curse.He is serene and
has earned entry into my own realms which even the devtas find difficult to access. Bust
first he will enjoy for a while the position of Indra as he desired it." |