Chapter 42 - History of Ganga (continued, 6): History of Vamana (continued, 2)

Although Vamana was the Lord Vishnu himself, and, therefore, omniscient, he, in order to keep up his character as a human being, spoke to the Brahmanas as follows:—

“I am desirous of securing a small piece of land on which I can sit down and perform austerity. Could you tell me whom I should beg it from.”

The Brahmanas answered that all the land belonged to Virochana’s son, Bali, who was very fond of sacrifices, very charitable and a great respector of Brahmanas. He was at that particular moment performing a sacrifice on the northern banks of the Narmada river, and should be applied to for as much land as Vamana wanted.

Vamana thanked the Brahmanas for the information, and proceeded at once to the place indicated by them. The earth began to quake at each step he took onward.

Raja Bali who was seated on the sacrificial platform, surrounded by Rishis, saw the dwarf from a distance and began to wonder,

“Is this the Sun coming towards me in human form? Is he the Moon—but, no, how can the Moon appear in the day time? Is it the god Fire himself or is it Sanat Kumara? He cannot be Rudra on account of the predominance of the Satvic^[1] quality in him.”

While he was thus thinking within himself, Vamanadeva approached him with the earth trembling under his feet, and Bali rose from his sacrificial seat on the impulse of the moment, inspite of remonstrances from his companions, and offered his guest a golden seat which the latter occupied.

The Raja washed his feet with his own hands and, worshipping him, said,

“O Mighty-armed one I hope all is well with you. It is my great good fortune which has brought you here to-day. I wish to make you some present, because it is not every day that one gets an opportunity to make offerings to great men like you.”

Vamana said,

“Virtuous grandson of Prahlada, such words beseem you well. Hearing that you were performing a sacrifice I have come to you as a mendicant, with the full conviction that my application will meet with success. We Brahmanas are not very greedy, as a rule, and my want specially is quite moderate.”

Bali said,

“You look like Brahmanya Deva himself, and I myself am very rich, so there is no reason why your demand should be small. I am quite capable of satisfying all your wants and saving you the trouble of making further applications from time to time in other quarters. Ask for villages, towns, islands, seas, mountains, forests, horses, elephants, loads of jewels, pearls, silver and gold, and you shall have them all. Make your demand in keeping with your greatness and my wealth.”

Vamana said,

“My greed is not in proportion to your wealth. I belong to a family of Tapasvis^[2], whose wants are naturally very few. Moreover, greatness and smallness are only comparative terms, and it is possible that what I term small may prove to be great after all. The kingdom of the whole world is a great thing certainly, but compare it with the kingdom of ten worlds, and it will look small. Give up the idea of great and small, therefore} and give me what I ask for.”

Bali said,

“Then let me know what you want, and let us give up this idle talk,”

Vamana said,

“I am a Brahmana lad. I wish to perform penance and have, therefore, come to ask you for three paces of land to sit upon. By giving me what I want you will be giving me all you want to give.”

Bali was taken by surprise at this novel request, and asked those present at the place what should be done.

They all advised him to comply with the lad’s request, and he, addressing the dwarf, said, “Have your wish then, and take what you want.”

With these words he made the preliminary preparations for making the gift by taking a copper vessel in his hands with sesamum, water and kusa^[3] grass in it, and was about to say “Om^[4] Tat sat,” when his priest, Sukracharya, exclaimed,

“Stay, O King, and listen to me first. Before making a gift the giver should consider what he is going to give and to whom he is going to give it. Do you know who this applicant is, and what shape your gift is likely to take? You are a Raja, and, as such, should not enter into an engagement without mature consideration.”

Bali said,

“I bow down to your advice, worthy priest, and admit the soundness thereof. I was so much attracted by the spritual [spiritual?] lustre of this applicant that I was going to comply with his request without making the necessary enquiries. I thought it was sufficient for my purposes to know that he was a Brahmana. Do you happen to know anything about him?”

Sukracharya said,

“Know, mighty king, that he is the eternal Vishnu Himself. He has descended by force of His Maya^[5] on the earth, and has taken birth as the son of Kasyapa and Aditi in the shape of a dwarf, to help the gods and injure you.”

Bali said,

“Is he the Almighty Vishnu, Hari, Narayana? If he has become incarnate for the sake of the gods, in what way can he injure me.”

Sukracharya answered,

“You have deprived Indra of his entire kingdom, and are now ruling over it. This dwarf has come to beg it back from you. His first pace will cover the whole earth, and his second the whole heaven, while the entire space called the sky will be filled by his body. What are you going to give him to place his third foot upon, because you will have nothing more left with you?”

Bali said,

“His two feet only are visible. Where is his third foot, and why has he asked for three paces of land? The natural number of feet being two only where did he get a third foot from?”

Sukracharya said,

“You having wrested Indra’s kingdom from him, Vishnu came in the shape of a dwarf to chastize you, with two feet only which are composed of Rajasic^[6] and Tamasic^[6] qualities. Since his advent here he has developed a third small foot of Satvic^[6] quality in consequence of the noble and Satvic conversation with which you have addressed him. Believe me, O king, that after you grant his prayer, there will be no place left to which you can retire.”

Bali answered,

“If, by asking for three paces of land, he means to punish me, let him do so by all means. I do not, however, believe that he is the almighty Vishnu. Had he been so why should he come to beg of me? But, if he is really so, who can be more fortunate than I to whom he has come a-begging? He has made a very trifling request. I am willing to give him whatever he wants. Moreover, this request proves his great kindness to me. He has come to me because he is confident of my generosity and of my devotion to Brahmanas. I have already promised that I would make the gift, and I shall do so. Had you warned me beforehand I might have thought over the matter, but it appears that you kept quiet knowingly at the first, with a view to help Vishnu’s plans. I shall give everything to Vishnu. Call my wife, Vindhya. She and I will worship him together because he is our family god, and once incarnated himself as Nrisimha to save my ancestor, Prahlada.”

Vindhya came to the scene at once, and bus-band and wife sat together to make the gift. They took a copper vessel containing Kusa^[7], grass, sesamum and water, and after pronouncing the words, “Om Tat Sat,”^[8] made the gift in the prescribed manner, quite unconcerned as to the result thereof.

No sooner was the gift complete than the dwarf form disappeared, and Lord Vishnu’s Satvika' leg flew up to Heaven rending the universe. Brahma at once poured the water of Ganga, which was stored in his water-jar, on the foot which thereupon became stationary there. Vishnu’s Rajasika leg covered the earth, and his body filled Space. He then asked Bali to give Him resting place for his third or the Tamasika foot, and, because of his inability to comply with the request, Bali was bound down as a captive.

Thereupon Vindhya exclaimed,

“Why have you bound down Bali, my husband, who, although an Asura^[9], is entirely devoted to you at heart? He always worships you and sings your praise. He has given you all he had which you have entirely covered with your two feet. Let your third foot be placed on his head, O Lord, so that he may be entitled to salvation, and be ever afterwards known as your servant.”

Vishnu was well pleased with this request, and complied with it, when all the worlds rang with his praise and Bali was saved.

Then the Lord, Vishnu, spoke in sweet accents and said,

“I now make over all this kingdom to Indra. Bali, come with me to Patala, and live there with your grandfather, Prahlada, till the advent of the eighth Manvantra^[10] when you shall rule the three Lokas^[11] as Indra. In Patala I shall serve you as your doorkeeper with mace in hand. This is the reward you shall reap for your unprecedented generosity, and your praise shall be sung for ever, because, knowing me as your adversary, you made a gift of all you had to me. Finish the sacrifice you were performing and then enter Patala.”

With these words Vishnu disappeard, and Bali, after finishing the sacrifice, went down to Patala where Vishnu fulfilled his promise by converting a portion of himself into a doorkeeper.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Which is peaceful and benignant, while Rudra’s or Siva’s attitude is generally fear-inspiring.

[2]:

Ascetics.

[3]:

A long grass used in all sorts of Hindu religious ceremonies.

[4]:

Literally “One That is real,” meaning—God is real and existent while other things are unreal and transitory.

[5]:

Illusive appearance evolved from the active will of the creator of the universe.

[6]:

Satva, Raja and Tama are the three qualities inherent in the universe and in all created beings. The English equivalents of these ter ms are Harmony, Mobility and Inertia respectively.

[7]:

See foot-note (1) at page 148.

[8]:

See foot-note (2) at page 148.

[9]:

Demon.

[10]:

Beginning of new creation after destruction of the old.

[11]:

The different worlds.