Vamana Jayanti
The purpose of Vamana Avatara is to regain Devaloka (Heaven) to Indra from Asura king Maha Bali.
Vamana Jayanti on 15.09.2024
The Vamana Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas written by Maharshi Veda Vyas. Sri Vamana is the fifth Avatara (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. According to legends, Lord Vamana is the twelfth of Adityas and the fifth Avatara of Lord Vishnu.
The Bhagavata Purana describes that Lord Vishnu descended as Vamana as an ‘avatar’ to restore the authority of Lord Indra over Devaloka as it had been forcibly encroached upon by King Bali. As said by Lord Krishna, “to protect the virtuous, to destroy evil and to establish ‘dharma’, I recreate myself as an ‘avatar’ in every ‘Yuga’.”
Trivikrama Avatara
The Vamana Avatara is also known as ‘Trivikrama Avatara’. The main intention of this avatara is to defeat the demon king Maha Bali who has ruled that Gods no longer own the heavens and the earth. Hence, Lord Vishnu took the form of Vamana to defeat the king and restore balance in the universe. Though Bali was an Asura, he was good by nature but his ego was boundless.
King Bali was the great-grandson of Hiranyakashipu, the grandson of Prahlada, and the son of Virochana. Once, the Asura king performed Mahabhishek Viswajeet yagna after consulting his Guru Shukracharya on how to defeat Indra, the king of gods. Bali received several gifts after performing Viswajeet yagna.
Some of them were: A golden chariot pulled by four horses, a quiver with several arrows, a flag post with a lion’s head and celestial armour. Shukracharya presented Bali with a garland of ever-blooming flowers and a conch shell that had a thunderous battle cry.
After the yagna, Bali fought back against Indra and defeated him and thereby the reign of the entire universe fell into Bali’s hands. Later, Gods were threatened by Bali’s rule and then Indra pleaded with Lord Vishnu to help him find a way out to regain his powers. Vishnu decided to reincarnate as Vamana. Lord Brahma suggested Devatas to proceed towards Kasyapa’s hermitage.
When they reached his hermitage, they requested Aditi (wife of Kasyap) to go for penance to please Lord Vishnu. After Aditi’s severe ‘tapas’, Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased and appeared before the couple and gave them the privilege of becoming their son.
Backdrop Of Mahabali
Mahabali defeated the deities and drove Indra and other gods from Devaloka. Very soon, all the three worlds came under his control. During his rule, every corner of his kingdom would be full of religious activities. As a result, the whole world became righteous and Bali’s subjects engaged themselves in pious activities like tapas and yagnas and people followed non-violence and truth in their daily course of life.
Even Goddess Lakshmi had come to Bali to bless him as he was an admirable king.
Nobody experienced the pangs of hunger and everybody’s desire was fulfilled. The king Bali’s rule was incomparable and prosperity prevailed throughout his kingdom. It is said that the bond between Bali and Goddess Lakshmi is said to be one of the reasons for celebrating Raksha Bandhan, where sisters pray for the welfare of their brothers and brothers protect the sisters by all means.
The festivals like Onam and Diwali are related to the return of kings Bali from the nether world.
Birth of Vamana
According to Bhagavata Purana, Vamana was born to Aditi wife of Kashyapa at their request. Incidentally, Aditi and Kashyapa were the parents of Indra. Vamana was named Upendra and was a dwarf by nature. Surprisingly, the demons became devoid of their radiance and power.
King Bali asked Prahlad for the sudden development and Prahlad told Bali that demons lost their radiance due to Lord Vishnu who was about to take incarnation at the request of deities. The arrogant and foolish Bali made fun of Vishnu egoistically. Then, Prahlad became furious at Bali’s arrogant utterances and cursed him that very soon he would meet his downfall and lose his kingdom.
After being cursed, King Bali realized his mistake and begged for forgiveness. Then, Prahlad suggested him to take refuge in Lord Vishnu, the supreme protector. He said that Lord Vishnu would be pleased if Bilva patra and Champa flowers were offered to Him. A person who constructs the temple of Lord Vishnu would be liberated from his sins.
Prahlad asked Bali to construct the temple of Lord Vishnu and worship Him with utmost devotion. Then, King Bali followed his instructions meticulously and faithfully and engaged himself in the worship of Lord Vishnu. He instructed Viswakarma to construct a magnificent temple of Lord Vishnu.
Vindhyavali, the wife of Bali fully supported his pursuit in the worship of the Lord. He used to clean the premises of the temple and worship the Lord with utmost devotion.
The Arrival of Vamana
King Bali was surprised by the sudden shaking and trembling of the earth and he asked his guru Shukracharya on the sudden development and even the Agni deity was not accepting the offerings in the Yagna Gundam. Shukracharya after contemplating for a while, came to know about Vamana’s incarnation and informed Bali that Vamana was on his way to Yagasala and His each step was causing turbulence on the earth.
Bali was pleased that he would get an opportunity to see Lord Vishnu. The king felt proud of his good fortune that the Lord was visiting him. Knowing fully the reason for the arrival of the Lord, Shukracharya warned King Bali against making any promise to Him.
King Bali said that he could not refuse if the Lord demanded anything from him and he was willing to face any hardship to protect his charitable image. He did not mind though, the deities would get benefit by his actions and also said that even if the Lord came intending to kill him, he was not to be scared.
Upanayanam
The Maharshis organized the process of ‘Upanayanam’ of Lord Vamana and all gods and deities presented several things to Vamana. The boy was shining like the radiance of Lord Brahma. Lord Vamana appeared in the guise of a short Brahmin boy carrying an umbrella made of wood and Palmyra leaves. Though he was diminutive in size, each of his step was enough to shake the earth and Vamana arrived at Bali’s Yagnasala.
Vamana’s radiance subdued the power of all demons who were present there. Impressed by the grandeur of King Bali’s yagna, Lord Vamana complimented him for organizing such a magnificent yagna on a large scale. King Bali welcomed and worshipped Lord Vamana and requested the Lord what He would like to receive as a gift from Bali and promised that His desire would be fulfilled.
Lord Vamana smiled and told him that he needed a small piece of land measured by three steps for the performance of a yagna. Bali laughed at the small request and agreed readily. To stop Bali’s charity, Shukracharya took the form of a bee and stuck between the holes so that water does not come out to complete the donation.
Then, Lord Vamana pricked the hole with Dharba grass which made Shukracharya’s blind by one eye. The flow of water was uninterrupted and the donation process was complete.
The young Brahmin boy revealed His identity and started growing in size and enlarged to gigantic and cosmic proportions to stride over the three worlds. He took his first step in which He captured the entire earth and claimed the earth as His. His second step fell midway between earth and heaven which he claimed as His. Now, there was no place to claim for the third step.
Granting Kingdom of Patala Loka
So, Vamana asked Bali where to keep His third step. Since Bali promised three steps of land, he lowered his head and offered it for the third step of Lord Vamana. Then, the Lord pushed Bali with the pressure of His feet and granted the kingdom of Patala loka and gave Bali immortality for his absolute humility.
Bali was also allowed to return every year to see the citizens of his country. Thus, Mahabali’s pride was suppressed and the Lord blessed Bali that he would enjoy a long life till the end of the present kalpa. Ultimately, Lord Indra regained the kingdom of heaven or Devaloka.
King Bali symbolizes prosperity associated with arrogance and pride. The three feet of Lord Vamana represent the three planes of existence i.e.; Jagruth, Swapna, and Sushupti and third step placed on the head of Bali elevated him from all three states and thereby Bali attained salvation and eternal bliss.
Final Word
A person who reads Vamana Purana helps him get free from all kinds of worldly attachments, miseries and also enhances his devotion and love towards Lord Vishnu for a blissful life.
