Bali and the Deva-Daitya Wars
This narrative from the Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa tells how Bali rose to power after Bhagavān Narasiṃha withdrew his fierce form. Bali was crowned king of the daityas and led a great army against the devas. Prahlāda, Śambara, Anuhlāda and Vipracitti fought in the daitya forces, and the wars lasted a long time. Bhagavān Agni led the devas to a great victory. Prahlāda then advised Bali about dharma, but Bali did not fully listen. He defeated Indra and the devas and was crowned ruler of all three worlds. This prepared the way for the Vāmana avatāra.
Bali crowned king of the daityas
Bhagavān Narasiṃha had slain Hiraṇyakaśipu and then withdrawn his fierce form. For a while the daityas had no leader. Bali stepped into this place. He was Prahlāda’s grandson and the son of Virocana. He was young, very strong, and had a royal authority that won the loyalty of all the daitya forces.
Bali was crowned king of the daityas in a great ceremony. He had large forces and great strength of his own, and he at once set his mind on Svarga and on driving Indra from his throne. War preparations began.
Prahlāda, Śambara and the march on Svarga
Some of the strongest commanders in the three worlds led the daitya march towards Svarga. Prahlāda himself, honoured even by the devas for his unshakeable bhakti (devotion), marched at the head of a great division. With him was Śambara, who knew a hundred māyās (illusions) and whose tricks had confused the devas many times before. The daitya army moved towards Svarga in a long column. The sky was filled with the sound of war-drums, conches and the roaring of divine beasts.
The champion battles
When the armies met, champions on both sides fought one another in fierce single combat. Sāvitrī and Dhruva fought a duel of heroes. Virocana fought Kujambha. Such battles of champions are a regular part of the great wars between devas and daityas. They showed the quality of the warriors on both sides while the larger armies surged around them.
Vṛtrasura and Sūdhumrāksha
Among the daitya commanders in these wars were Vṛtrasura, a being of great power, and Sūdhumrāksha. Both fought the deva forces in fierce battle. The wars went on for many days and many engagements, and the advantage passed back and forth between the two sides.
Anuhlāda fights Kubera
Prahlāda’s son Anuhlāda was a mighty warrior, though less famous than his father. He was given the command against Kubera, king of the yakshas and keeper of the north. Anuhlāda led his division against Kubera’s forces and fought the army of the yakshas with great fierceness.
Varuṇa and Vipracitti
One of the most important single fights of the war was between Varuṇa, the deva of the cosmic waters and of cosmic order (ṛta), and the daitya commander Vipracitti, a strong and cunning warrior. Their battle was fierce. Each used divine weapons and the special powers of his own line.
Agni defeats the daityas
At a turning point in the great war, Bhagavān Agni, the deva of the sacred fire, led the devas to a clear victory over the daitya army. The daityas had thought themselves unbeatable, but the blazing power of Agni routed them. After this victory the Brahmarshis, the great ṛshis who had watched the battle, recited a Sanskrit stotra (hymn of praise) to Agni. They praised him as the cosmic fire that lies beneath all creation, the carrier of offerings between the worlds, and the great purifier.
Prahlāda’s counsel to Bali
In spite of Bali’s victories, the war was not yet decided. Prahlāda, honoured as the greatest of the daityas in wisdom and bhakti, asked to meet Bali and gave him advice. Prahlāda spoke as one who had seen with his own eyes what happens when the will of Bhagavān Vishṇu is opposed: his own father had been destroyed by Narasiṃha. He warned Bali that the road of conquest led straight to a clash with Bhagavān Vishṇu, and that such a clash could end only one way. He urged Bali to think about dharma and the true purpose of daitya power. But Bali was drunk with the pace of his victories and did not fully heed this advice.
Bali conquers the three worlds
Bali’s forces gathered again with new strength and went on with the campaign. In the decisive fights that followed, Bali himself faced Indra. After a long and mighty battle, Indra was defeated. The devas, with their king overthrown, fled from Svarga. Some went to Brahmaloka, some to far forests, and some to the depths of the ocean.
With Indra defeated, nothing in the three worlds remained to stand against Bali. The daitya king was crowned ruler of all three worlds. He took Indra’s throne in Svarga, ruled the earth, and held power over every realm. For a time the whole universe was under Bali’s rule.
Sources
- Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva, Chapters 48–65 (Chapter 48: Bali’s crowning; Chapters 49–50: the march on Svarga; Chapters 51–52: the champion battles; Chapters 53–54: Vṛtrasura and Sūdhumrāksha; Chapter 57: Anuhlāda and Kubera; Chapters 58–59: Varuṇa and Vipracitti; Chapters 60–61: Agni’s victory and the Agni stotra; Chapters 62–63: Prahlāda’s counsel; Chapters 64–65: Bali’s conquest of the three worlds)