When the mother of the gods, Aditi, learned that the gods had left the celestial realm she began to weep. She approached her husband Kasyapa and said, O beloved husband, our enemies have taken over the celestial realms. The gods have been exiled and deprived of their wealth, their power and even their residence. Kindly think of a way to help my sons recover what they have lost.
Kasyapa smiled and said to Aditi, The illusory energy of Lord Vishnu is powerfully strong. It captures everyone with love for this world. What is the meaning of this physical body when the soul transcends it? It is illusion which is the cause of attachment to bodily relationships of husband or son. You should worship the Supreme Lord who resides in the heart of all creatures. He is magnanimous toward those who are distressed and can grant all your desires. It is my conviction that devotion to the Supreme Lord never fails.
Aditi said, Please tell me what rules I should follow so the Lord will fulfil my desires. What is the best method for worshipping the Supreme Lord so that he will be quickly satisfied and rescue me and my sons from our suffering. Kasyapa said, For the first 12 days of the bright moon in the month of February/March you should drink only milk.
You should worship the Supreme Lord with devotion. On the day of the dark moon you should smear your body with dirt that was dug up by a wild boar. Then you should bathe in the river while chanting this mantra: O goddess, you were lifted from the lower regions of the universe by the Supreme Lord in the form of a boar. I respectfully bow before you. Please wash away my sins.
After completing your daily rituals, with a controlled mind you should worship the Supreme Lord. You may worship him on an altar, or in the form of the sun, water, fire and the spiritual teacher. You should chant the following prayers: I offer my respects to the Supreme Lord who is residing in everyone’s heart and he is the witness of all.
He is very subtle and not manifest. I offer my respects again and again to the Supreme Lord. His body is dark like an emerald and he wears yellow garments. He is the one who confers blessings and is worshipped by all the gods and the goddess of good fortune. He can fulfil everyone’s desire. Therefore, those who are thoughtful worship the dust of his feet as the source of all good fortune. O Supreme Lord, please show me your benedictions.
You should worship the Supreme Lord by chanting these mantras and offering him water, flowers, incense and other items with faith and devotion. You should chant ‘Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya’ and offer him the finest rice cooked in milk with ghee and raw sugar. You should silently chant the mantra 108 times and offer praise to the Lord.
You should observe strict celibacy for the length of the vow. You should bathe every morning and then perform all these activities each day. For twelve days, you should drink only milk and worship Lord Vishnu by performing all these duties. During the length of the vow you should not talk unnecessarily, you should show non-violence to all living beings and depend on the Lord.
You should distribute food offered to the Lord to everyone including the poor. From the first day to the last day, you should continue worship of the Lord by singing prayers and chanting mantras and reading the scriptures. In this way you should worship the Lord. You should follow this vow and strictly observe these principles. By doing this you will please the Supreme Lord and all your desires will be fulfilled.
After being instructed by her husband, Aditi faithfully observed the vow for 12 days. Aditi focused her attention on the Supreme Lord and controlled her mind and senses. When she had completed the vow, the Supreme Lord appeared before her. He was dressed in yellow garments and holding a conch-shell, disc and club. When she saw the Lord, Aditi was overwhelmed with joy and she lay prostrate before him on the ground. She stood up and with folded palms and a faltering voice she began to offer prayers to the Lord.
Aditi said, O Lord of sacrifices, hearing your name bestows blessings on everyone. O supreme controller, you are the shelter of the afflicted and distressed. Please give us your benedictions. My Lord I bow down before you, the creator, preserver and destroyer of this universe. If you are satisfied, all things become possible. If you are pleased, one can easily achieve unequalled prosperity, spiritual knowledge or a lifetime in the celestial realm. To grant benedictions like vanquishing one’s enemies is insignificant in comparison.
The Supreme Lord said, O mother of the gods, I understand your desire, you want to restore the wealth and position of your sons who have been expelled from their home in the celestial realm. But right now your rivals are protected by brahmins and so they are invincible. To use power against them now will be unfavourable.
But despite this, I have been very pleased by your observance of this vow, so I must think of some way to help you, for worship of me should not be futile. So I will agree to become your son and in this way protect your sons. But you must keep this secret and not tell anyone.
After saying this, the Lord disappeared. Aditi considered herself very successful and she approached her husband. Kasyapa’s insight was infallible and in his yogic trance could understand that the Lord had entered within him and so he transferred that energy into the womb of Aditi.
In due course of time, the Supreme Lord appeared from the womb of Aditi. He was wearing yellow garments and he held the conch-shell, club, disc and lotus in his four hands. His complexion was dark and he wore bracelets, a helmet, a belt and ankle bells. He was decorated with a garland of flowers and the Kaustubha jewel hung around his neck. His radiance dispelled the darkness in Kasyapa’s home.
Happiness pervaded everywhere. Joy reigned among the gods, brahmins, cows, hills and mountains. The gods showered flowers on Aditi’s home while dancing and singing their praises of the Lord. That original body of the Lord complete with ornaments and weapons then disappeared, and while everyone looked on, he transformed himself into a dwarf brahmin boy, Vamana.
Seeing the transformation of the Lord the sages were delighted and they performed all the relevant rituals. The sun-god chanted the gayatri mantra, Brhaspati gave him a sacred thread and Kasyapa offered him a cord of straw for his belt. The earth goddess gave him a deerskin, the moon god offered him a brahmins staff, Aditi gave him a cloth for a garment and the king of heaven gave him an umbrella. Brahma offered him a waterpot, the seven sages donated kusa grass and goddess Sarasvati offered him a string of meditation beads.
Vamana learnt that King Bali was conducting a sacrificial ceremony, he went to see him. He looked just like a brahmin boy with a straw belt, a sacred thread, a deerskin garment and matted hair. King Bali was delighted to see Vamana and he welcomed him by offering him a seat and washing his feet.
King Bali said, Welcome to you brahmin. I offer you my respects. What can we do for you? Because of your presence our family has been purified. By the touch of your feet the earth is blessed. It seems that you have come to ask me for something. Allow me to give you whatever you desire.
Vamana was satisfied with the pleasing words of King Bali and he said, You are a glorious king because you are guided by the brahmins and your exalted grandfather Prahlada. The words you speak are true and they bring honour to your family and ancestors. Indeed, all the members of your family have been generous. They have always given charity to brahmins, and kept the promises they made to a brahmin.
The reputation of your noble family lineage is untarnished. I seek a gift of three paces of land, measured by my footsteps. Although you are a generous ruler and can give me anything I want, I do not want to ask for more. A brahmin should only accept charity according to his needs otherwise he will become contaminated.
King Bali said, Your words are commendable, but you are only a boy. I can give you an entire continent but you have only asked for three steps of land, this is not very intelligent. You have approached me for charity and you should not have to return to ask for more. So you should ask me for as much land as you will need to maintain your livelihood.
Vamana said, It is not possible for a person who lacks self control to find satisfaction. If I am not satisfied with three steps of land, then I would not be satisfied with an entire continent. It is best to be satisfied with whatever one receives by destiny. Dissatisfaction about wealth and pleasure is the cause of bondage in this world.
Anyone who is content with what they acquire by destiny is eligible for liberation. A brahmin who is satisfied with whatever is easily obtainable increases their spiritual enlightenment, but the spiritual illumination of a dissatisfied brahmin decreases like a fire that has water poured on it. So I will only request three steps of land because I will achieve my goal with that amount and I will be satisfied to receive only what I need.
King Bali laughed and said, Very well, you can take as much as you desire. But Sukra, King Bali’s adviser knew the Lord’s plan and he said to Bali, This brahmin in the form of a dwarf is Lord Vishnu himself impersonating a human child. He was born to Kasyapa and Aditi with the goal of securing the interests of the gods.
You should not promise him land, he will take your land, wealth, power and fame from you and give it to your enemy Lord Indra. You have foolishly promised to give him three paces of land, but he will assume his cosmic form and with these steps he will occupy the entire universe and you will be left with no means of maintaining yourself. With his first step he will take the earth, with his second step he will expand to take the celestial realm. There will be nowhere left for him to place his third step.
There is no way you can keep your promise to him, so you will be forced to reside in hell. You should not give charity if it endangers your ability to maintain yourself. Without a livelihood one cannot give any charity or perform sacrifices and religious practices.
Your wealth should be divided to achieve the five goals of religion, success, upkeep, pleasure and providing for family members. Then you will live happily in this world. You must say no to this request for charity. Although it is not honest, lying is justified to save one’s own life, when one is joking, in earning one’s livelihood, protecting cows or brahmins or when protecting someone from their enemies.
After King Bali listened to the advice of his spiritual teacher he was silent while he considered the situation and then he said, What you have said is true, one should not give charity that endangers their livelihood. But Prahlada is my grandfather. How can I break my promise to give this land out of greed for money? I must fulfil my promise. I cannot cheat a brahmin. There is nothing more irreligious than dishonesty. The earth has said, I can bear many heavy burdens, with the exception of liars.
I am not afraid of hell, poverty, suffering, loss of my status or even death, but I am very much afraid of cheating a brahmin. If one must leave everything behind when they die, then why not please the brahmin by giving him the riches while one is alive? There have been many great personalities throughout history who have been willing to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the people. So why not give up other less important things like land?
It is common for men to give up their lives on the battlefield, but it is rare that one gets the opportunity to give his wealth in charity to a sage. Therefore I must give this brahmin whatever he wants. All the saintly people worship Lord Vishnu under all circumstances. If as you say this is Lord Vishnu, whether he has come here to bless me or punish me, I must give him what he asks for.
Then Sukracarya cursed his disciple King Bali and said, You think you are wise but you have become so impertinent that you are disregarding my advice. Very soon you will be deprived of your wealth and prosperity!
Although he was cursed in this way by his own spiritual teacher, King Bali did not waver and he gave Vamana the land he had promised. All the gods showered flowers on Bali and praised him singing, What a difficult thing he has done. He knew Lord Vishnu was on the side of his enemy but still he gave away the entire universe in charity.
Then Vamana began to expand himself until he covered the earth and all the heavens. With his first step he covered the entire surface of the earth and the sky. With his second step, Vamana, he covered the celestial realm. There was nothing left that remained where he could place his third step.
When the followers of King Bali saw that he had lost everything to Vamana they were angry and said, This Vamana is not a brahmin but the master of illusion, Lord Vishnu. He has taken the body of a brahmin to deceive us and achieve the goals of gods. King Bali is always honest and generous toward the brahmins. As our duty to our master King Bali, we must kill Vamana.
After speaking in this way the followers of King Bali took up their weapons. Aggravated by anger they moved toward Vamana brandishing their weapons. The followers of Lord Vishnu saw them violently advancing and they laughed and attacked them with their own weapons. When King Bali saw that his soldiers were being killed he said, Listen to me! Put down your weapons and stop fighting. The Lord was previously on our side but no longer. None of our efforts can conquer the Supreme Lord.
Time was on our side but now it is against us. No one can defeat time, which is the power of the Supreme Lord. When we were favoured by destiny we defeated Lord Vishnu’s followers. But now those same followers are defeating us. We must wait until the time is again favourable for us. Following the orders of King Bali, all his followers stopped fighting. Then King Bali was arrested by Garuda and tied with ropes.
Vamana said to King Bali, You have promised me three steps of land, but in two steps I have occupied the entire universe. Where shall I place my third step? You have been unable to fulfil your promise, so you must reside in the hellish regions. Anyone who does not give a beggar what he has promised must endure a hellish condition of life. You were proud of your wealth and position and you promised me land, but you failed to keep your promise. So your promise was a lie and now you must reside in a hellish situation.
Despite his awkward position King Bali was unperturbed and he said, If you think that my promise is false, I will remedy this. You may place your third step on my head. I consider punishment by you to be glorious. You are in the guise of our enemy but are in fact our greatest friend. We were blinded by our opulence and you gave us the correct vision.
My position as the king of the celestial realm has caused my ignorance. You have given me a great benediction by taking away my wealth. Wealth and position deludes even a wise and self controlled person and causes them to forget the nature of the soul.
Then Brahma spoke to Lord Vamana and said, O benefactor and master of all living beings, god of the gods, please release Bali because he does not deserve any further punishment. He gave you everything he owned, all his land and wealth. He has even offered his body to you. If someone sincerely offers you even a little water he gains liberation. Without duplicity Bali has given you everything in the universe, so how can you deserve punishment?
Vamana said, I take away the wealth of a person I am especially kind to because wealth causes a person to become foolish and proud. Although he was deprived of his wealth and kingdom, arrested by his enemies and cursed by his spiritual teacher, he did not abandon honesty and he kept his promise. I will award him the position of king of the celestial realm during the reign of Savarni Manu. Until then, Bali will reside with his friends and relatives on Sutala, a place where there is no physical or mental weariness.
Hearing this, Bali’s eyes filled with tears and in a faltering voice he said, How wonderful it is that by attempting to offer respect to you, I have achieved something that has never been achieved even by the gods. Then King Bali offered his respects to the Lord and left for Sutala. Vamana then returned all the land to Indra and reinstated him in his position and Indra regained his rule of the celestial realm.
Whoever hears this story of Lord Vamana wipes away all their karmic reactions.
