Vamana Avatar / Vamana Swaroopa
The Puranas offer splendid glimpses of Hindu tradition and culture. They protect ‘Sanatana dharma’ and religious righteousness. The Vamana Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas written by Maharshi Veda Vyasa. It contains tales about Lord Vishnu in His ‘Vamana Swaroopa’ i.e., dwarf incarnation. While giving answers to sage Narada’s queries, the sage Pulastya narrates the tale of the Vamana Purana.
According to legends, Lord Vamana is the twelfth of the Adityas and the fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Bhagavatha Purana describes that Lord Vishnu descended as Vamana as an avatar to restore the authority of Indra over the heavens, as it had been taken by King Bali.
Lord Krishna made it clear in the Gita:
Paritranaaya saadhoonaam vinaasaaya chadushkritaam /
dharma samsthapanaarthaayaya sambhavami yuge yuge//
To protect the virtuous, to destroy evil and to establish “dharma’, I recreate myself in every Yuga”.
The Manifestation of Lord Vamana
The ‘maharshis’ organized the process of the ‘Upanayanam’of Lord Vamana. Bruhaspati offered him ‘Brahmasutra’. Kashyapa gave him ‘molanulu’. The Earth granted him ‘krishnajinam’. Lord Chandra offered him ‘danda’. Lord Vamana’s mother gave her son ‘koupeenam’. The Sky delivered him ‘chatram’. Lord Brahma offered him ‘kamandalam’.
Sapta Rishis presented him ‘dharbhalu’. Goddess Saraswathi offered him ‘aksharamala.’ Lord Surya preached the boy ‘Gayatri Mantra’. Lord Kubera gave him a begging bowl. Goddess Parvati put ‘bhiksha’ into the begging bowl. It is said that “Sa brahma varchasenaivam sabham sambhavito vatuhu.”
The boy was scintillating like the radiance of Lord Brahma. Lord Vamana, in the guise of a short Brahmin carrying an umbrella made of wood and palmyra leaves, proceeded towards the place where King Bali was performing his oblation to request three paces of land. He was in the appearance of a hermit.
Though he was diminutive in size, yet each of his steps was enough to shake the earth.
Lord Vishnu blesses Kashyap
As per the suggestion of Lord Brahma, the deities proceeded towards Kashyap’s hermitage. When they reached his hermitage, they inspired Aditi to commence penance to please Lord Vishnu. After Aditi’s severe penance, Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased.
Thoroughly gratified by Kashyap’s eulogies, He appeared before the deities. Kashyap requested Him to give Aditi, the privilege of becoming His mother. Lord Vishnu agreed to take birth as her son.
The Legend of King Bali
King Bali was the great-grandson of Hiranyakshipu, the grandson of Prahlada and the son of Virochana. After his father’s death, he defeated the deities and drove them out of their abodes. Very soon, all the three worlds were under his control. Despite these features, he was a virtuous king and so were his subjects.
During his reign, every corner of his kingdom would be abuzz with religious activities. As a result, the whole world became devoid of sin. The sage Pulastya said that the just rule of Bali had transformed Kaliyuga into Satayuga. Even his subjects engaged themselves in virtuous activities like penance and yagnas. They followed nonviolence and truth.
One day, Goddess Lakshmi went to Bali and said that She had come to bless him because he was a victorious king. He had even defeated Indra and had control over all three worlds. During the reign of King Bali, his subjects were happy and prosperous. Nobody experienced the pangs of hunger and everybody’s desire was fulfilled. The prominence of virtuosity and religious rituals during King Bali’s rule was incomparable and prosperity prevailed throughout his kingdom.
The bond between Bali and Lakshmi is said to be one of the reasons for celebrating Raksha Bandhan, where the sisters pray for the welfare of the brothers and the brothers protect the sisters from harm. The festivals like Onam and Diwali are related to the return of King Bali from the nether world. After Lord Vishnu had established himself inside Aditi’s womb, the demons became devoid of their radiance and power.
King Bali was surprised by the sudden development and asked Prahlad about it. Prahlad who was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu went into deep meditation and saw Lord Vishnu manifesting in Aditi’s womb as a dwarf. After coming out from his meditative trance, he told Bali that the demons had lost their radiance due to Lord Vishnu who was about to take incarnation at the request of the deities.
The arrogant and foolish king Bali made fun of Lord Vishnu egoistically. Prahlad became furious at Bali’s arrogant and foolish utterances and cursed him by saying that very soon he would meet his downfall and lose his kingdom. After being cursed, King Bali realized his mistake and begged for forgiveness.
Prahlad said to him to take refuge in Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Protector. He said that Lord Vishnu would be extremely pleased if Bilva patra, Malati and Champa flowers were offered to Him. A person who constructs the temple of Lord Vishnu liberates his ancestors from their sins. Prahlad asked King Bali to construct the temple of Lord Vishnu and worship Him with utmost devotion.
After the departure of Prahlad, King Bali followed his instructions faithfully and engaged himself in the worship of Lord Vishnu. He instructed Vishwakarma to construct a magnificent temple of Lord Vishnu and started worshipping Lord Vishnu accompanied by his wife Vindhyavali. He used to clean the premises of the temple and worship Lord Vishnu with utmost piety.
The Demands of Lord Vamana
The shaking and trembling of the earth surprised King Bali and he asked his ‘guru’ Shukracharya about the strange event. He was also surprised by the fact that Agni was not accepting the offerings. Shukracharya, after contemplating for a while came to know about Vamana’s incarnation. He informed King Bali that Vamana was on his way to the site of oblation and that each step was causing turbulence on the earth.
King Bali was pleased that he would get an opportunity to see Lord Vishnu whom the sages contemplate upon Him incessantly. He was proud of his good fortune that the Lord was visiting him. Knowing the reason for the arrival of Lord Vamana, 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.
He was willing to face any hardship to safeguard his charitable image. He did not mind even though the deities would benefit from his actions. Even if the Lord came intending to kill him, he was not scared.
Lord Vamana arrived at the site. 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’. King Bali eulogized and worshipped his esteemed guest. He requested Vamana to reveal the reason for his arrival and promised that his wishes 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 yagna.
King Bali was surprised and requested him to ask for more land but Lord Vamana told him that he needed only that much land. King Bali consented. Lord Vamana revealed His identity and enlarged to gigantic and cosmic proportions to stride over the three worlds.
He stepped from heaven to earth with the first step, and from earth to the netherworld with the second. King Bali who was unable to fulfil his promise offered his head for the third. Vamana placed his foot and gave the king immortality for his humility. He was also allowed to return every year to see the citizens of his country.
King Bali in the Underworld
Lord Vishnu blessed King Bali by saying that he would enjoy a long life till the end of the present Kalpa and sent him to the nether world. After reaching the nether world, King Bali constructed a beautiful city made of diamonds and other precious stones. Vishwakarma constructed an enormous altar in the central part of the city. King Bali lived there in luxury.
One day, while the demons were engaged in their sensual pleasures, suddenly the awesome Sudarshan chakra entered King Bali’s palace and after making the demons bereft of their radiance went back to Lord Vishnu. King Bali thought that only his grandfather Prahlad could help him out of the situation.
On being remembered by King Bali, Prahlad appeared before him. King Bali requested him to describe the means which would be benedictory to him. Prahlad was pleasantly surprised by his change of heart and said that a man who takes refuge in Lord Vishnu and surrenders himself to His will becomes liberated from all the miseries of life.
All things which are visible in the universe are the manifold manifestations of Lord Vishnu himself. The bond between Bali and Lakshmi is said to be one of the reasons for celebrating Raksha Bandhan, where the sisters pray for the welfare of the brothers and the brothers protect the sisters from any harm. The festival of Onam for some and the first day of Diwali for some are related to the return of Bali. King Bali symbolizes prosperity associated with arrogance.
The three feet of Lord Vamana symbolize the three planes of existence i.e., “Jagruth’, ‘swapna’, and ‘sushupti’ and the final step placed on the head elevated King Bali from all three states. Thereby, he attained salvation and eternal bliss. The reading of the Vamana Purana helps man enhance his knowledge and makes him free from all kinds of worldly attachments. It also increases his love and devotion towards the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu.
A devotee who chants any one of the names of Lord Vishnu mentioned in the Vamana Purana namely Karan Vaman, Narayan, Amitvikram, Shargang Chakra and Purushottam and makes salutation either by thought, speech or action attains ‘Vaikunta’, the abode of Lord Vishnu.
