Verse 1.3.82-83

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 1.3.82-83:

मर्यादा-लङ्घकस्यापि गुर्व्-आदेश-कृतो मुने ।
असम्पन्न-स्व-वाग्-जाल-सत्यतान्तस्य यद् बलेः ॥ ८२ ॥
द्वारे तादृग् अवस्थानं तुच्छ-दान-फलं किम् उ ।
रक्षणं दुष्ट-बाणस्य किं नु मत्-स्तव-कारितम् ॥ ८३ ॥

maryādā-laṅghakasyāpi gurv-ādeśa-kṛto mune |
asampanna-sva-vāg-jāla-satyatāntasya yad baleḥ || 82 ||
dvāre tādṛg avasthānaṃ tuccha-dāna-phalaṃ kim u |
rakṣaṇaṃ duṣṭa-bāṇasya kiṃ nu mat-stava-kāritam || 83 ||

“O Nārada Muni, Śrī Bhagavān stands now as a doorkeeper to Bali Mahārāja, who trangressed the path of social propriety set by Brahmā, neglecting the order of guru to save the veracity of his vows. Is this the result of the petty charity of the three worlds? Or the protection of vicious Banāsura, is that a result of my recitation of prayers?”

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Is it not a show of greater mercy to Prahlāda by stationing Bhagavān as the doorkeeper of Bali Mahārāja? One should never think like this. Due to the relationship with Prahlāda alone there is such mercy of Bhagavān unto Bali. This he explains in this verse beginning with maryādā (social propriety).

That Bali Mahārāja 'transgressed the social propriety of Brahmā' and misappropriated the celestial plane, suggests that he occupied a sovereign position surpassing the usual conditions of dominion over svarga by the demigods and over pātāla by the demons. He cheated the demigods from taking their share of sacrificial offerings. He cheated the demigods such as the sun-god and the moon-god of their authority, and in their place he appointed demoniac rascals.

That Bali Mahārāja disobeyed Śukrācārya’s order implies, “You promised Śrī Vāmana three steps of land, giving only a portion of it, not everything.”

He did not follow his guru's order, therefore his guru cursed him. In this connection, in the Eighth Canto (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.20.14) it says:

एवम् अश्रद्धितं शिष्यम् अनादेश-करं गुरुः
शशाप दैव-प्रहितः सत्य-सन्धं मनस्विनम्

evam aśraddhitaṃ śiṣyam anādeśa-karaṃ guruḥ
śaśāpa daiva-prahitaḥ satya-sandhaṃ manasvinam

Thus, due to his disciple’s faithlessness in the order of guru, inspired by Bhagavān, Śukrācārya cursed that sovereign, Bali Mahārāja.

Specifically, Bali was not able to maintain the essential truth of his vow, that is, by the offering of his body he was not able to donate even three steps of land to Śrī Bhagavān. In this connection, Bali himself said (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.18.32):

यद् यद् वतो वाञ्छसि तत् प्रतीच्छ मे
त्वाम् अर्थिनं विप्र-सुतानुतर्कये

yad yad vato vāñchasi tat pratīccha me
tvām arthinaṃ vipra-sutānutarkaye

O brāhmana boy, tell me whatever you want, I shall grant that surely. O son of a learned brāhmaṇa, I assume you have come here in need of something.

Afterwards, Bhagavān Vāmanadeva begged for three steps of land, but Bali Mahārāja said (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.19.18):

अहो ब्राह्मण-दायाद वाचस् ते वृद्ध-सम्मताः
त्वम् बालो बालिश-मतिः स्वार्थं प्रत्य् अबुधो यथा

aho brāhmaṇa-dāyāda vācas te vṛddha-sammatāḥ
tvam bālo bāliśa-matiḥ svārthaṃ praty abudho yathā

O son of a brāhmaṇa, your words are like an elderly person’s, but your dealings are like a child’s. Because your intelligence is immature, you certainly do not know what your own interests are.

Bhagavān Vāmanadeva replied to this. Hearing the words of Bhagavān Vāmanadeva (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.19.28), ity uktaḥ sa hasan prāha, vāñchātaḥ pratigṛhyatām: Bali Mahārāja smiled and replied, “You may take whatever you want.”

By becoming stationed as a doorkeeper of Bali, is this the result of the insignificant charity that Bhagavān graced on him? Is this the result of offering his body? Or rather, padaṃ tṛtīyaṃ kuru śīrṣṇi me nijam Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.22.2): “You should please place Your third step upon my head.”

Is all this the result of the charity based on Bali Mahārāja’s reply to Śrī Bhagavān? Never—this is due only to the love of Śrī Bhagavān for Prahlāda Mahārāja! This should be unmistakably understood. The glories of Prahlāda Mahārāja are beyond words, therefore yad yad vato vañchasi tat praticcha me or "whatever You desire You may take that from me" is used in the verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.18.32). Furthermore, beginning with the three adjectives in maryādā-laṅghakasyāpi he shows the transgressions of Bali that make it unlikely for Bhagavān to become the doorkeeper to Bali. By the word tuccha (petty) he also shows the unlikelihood to achieve the mercy of Bhagavān by a result of the petty charity of the three worlds or his own body. Thus this doubt is removed.

The import is: How is it possible to achieve one’s true object by ephemeral things in this world, or by sacrificing those ephemeral things to achieve Bhagavān, the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss, in the form of a doorkeeper in particular? Therefore, the cause of love by Bhagavān towards Bali Mahārāja was namely Prahlāda Mahārāja. By his sac-cidananda-maya prema-bhakti only was it possible to achieve such mercy, or else, “I belong to Prahlāda.” By self-surrender in this way Bali Mahārāja achieved bhagavad-bhakti, and due to the potency of that bhakti he achieved Śrī Bhagavān.

Furthermore, Bhagavān’s wonderful mercy came to that vicious Bānāsura only due to Prahlāda Mahārāja. In other words, other than love in relation to Prahlāda Mahārāja, we see no other reason for Bhagavān’s mercy. Śrī Bhagavān protected Bānāsura, and in place of fatality gave him the position of a four-armed associate of Śivajī—the root cause of all this is Prahlāda Mahārāja only. Again, what can I say about the destruction of the world by Bānāsura? Regarding his extreme viciousness, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.62.6) says, tri-lokyāṃ pratiyoddhāraṃ na labhe tvad ṛte samam: “Other than you, I do not see any other suitable antagonist for me in all the three worlds.” Bānāsura spoke these boastful words to his lord and master, Śrī Śiva, having given up the devotional service of Śrī Viṣṇu, the worshipful deity of his family lineage.

After capturing Aniruddha, Śrī Śiva fought with Śrī Kṛṣṇa (this narrative is found in the Purāṇas). Was the protection of this vicious Bānāsura due to his glorification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa only? Never, rather it is due to the love of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dearmost Prahlāda Mahārāja. Grave, dread ful offenses to Vaiṣṇavas are nullifiable by the mercy of Vaiṣṇavas only. According to this inference, the offenses to Vaiṣṇavas committed by Bali Mahārāja and Bānāsura disappeared only due to their relationship as son and grandson. In other words, due to special affection for Prahlāda Mahārāja, Śrī Bhagavān forgave all their offenses and showed mercy to these two.