Trivikrama Carita
This is the account of Trivikrama (Vāmana) in the Kūrma Purāṇa. Bhagavān Vishṇu takes birth as Vāmana, the son of Kaśyapa and Aditi, to win back the three worlds for the devas from the daitya king Bali. He asks Bali for three paces of earth, and with his three paces he measures the worlds. The Kūrma Purāṇa also tells how Gaṅgā came to flow from the place where his foot pierced the brahmāṇḍa (the cosmic egg). The account is in Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Poorvardha, Chapter 17.
The line of Bali
After Andhakāsura was killed, Prahlāda’s son Virocana became king of the dānavas. He ruled the three worlds with dharma for many years and defeated even Indra. One day the great muni Sanatkumāra, sent by Vishṇu, came to Virocana’s capital. Virocana received him with deep respect. Virocana asked what the highest dharma was, and Sanatkumāra taught the supreme dharma of knowledge of the ātmā (self). Virocana took in this great knowledge, gave the muni his guru-dakshiṇā (gift to a teacher), handed his kingdom to his son, and gave himself wholly to the practice of yoga.
Virocana’s son was the wise and righteous Bali, who had knowledge of Brahman. He defeated Indra and the devas and ruled the three worlds. Indra, defeated, took refuge with Vishṇu, the one who does not perish.
Aditi’s tapas and Vishṇu’s coming
Aditi, mother of the devas, was full of grief at the defeat of her sons. She began a terrible and severe tapas (austerity). She prayed: “May I have as my son one who can destroy the rākshasas.” She gave herself to Vishṇu, who is not seen (avyakta), in the lotus of her heart. He is the Paramātman without guṇas, whose nature is bliss, the light in the sky. She worshipped him.
Bhagavān Vishṇu, with the śaṅkha (conch) and cakra (discus), was pleased and appeared before Aditi. She praised him with a beautiful stotra (hymn of praise):
“O remover of all sorrows, O one of limitless glory, O one whose nature is pure knowledge, without beginning, middle or end, O pure bliss of the sky, victory to you. O Vishṇu whose form is Time, O Śesha-ātmaka, O Narasiṃha, O Vāsudeva, I bow to you. O Varāha, O Śambhu-form rooted in truth, O one established in dharma and knowledge, I bow to you again and again.”
Vishṇu smiled and asked her to ask for a vara (a boon). Aditi said: “Be born as my son, for the good of the devas.” Bhagavān Vishṇu said “So be it” and vanished.
Signs of Vishṇu’s coming
Bhagavān Hṛshīkeśa Vishṇu entered Aditi’s womb by his own will. Terrible omens then appeared in Bali’s capital. Bali was troubled and went to his grandfather Prahlāda for advice.
Prahlāda bowed in his mind to Vishṇu and told Bali the truth. Aditi had conceived Bhagavān Vishṇu in her womb, for the destruction of the daityas. He is Vāsudeva himself, from whom all beings arise and into whom they dissolve. He was taking birth as an aṃśāvatāra (a partial avatāra).
Prahlāda told Bali to take refuge in Govinda Nārāyaṇa. He said: “That very Parameśvara whose dark form is Śaṅkara, whose active form is Brahmā, and who himself becomes Vishṇu, bearing the sattva-guṇa, take refuge in that Govinda. You will reach lasting bliss and moksha.” Bali followed Prahlāda’s words. He gave himself over to Vishṇu and went on ruling with dharma.
Vāmana is born
At the right time Devamātā Aditi gave birth to Mahāvishṇu as her son, through Kaśyapa Prajāpati. The child had four arms and wide eyes, with the Śrīvatsa mark on his chest. He was dark as a rain cloud and shone with radiance. All the devas, siddhas, sādhyas, chāraṇas, Upendra (Indra) and hosts of ṛshis came to attend him.
Vāmana received the upanayana (the sacred thread rite) and studied the Vedas under Bharadvāja Muni, showing the conduct of the three worlds. Then he went to Bali’s yajña (fire ritual) hall in the form of a young brāhmaṇa, a vaṭu. He wore deer-skin and the sacred thread, held a staff of palāśa wood, wore matted hair, and shone with knowledge of the Vedas.
Vāmana comes to Bali
At Bali’s yajña, Vāmana, who was Vishṇu in disguise, came as a brāhmaṇa asking for alms. He asked for three paces of earth. Bali washed Vāmana’s feet with faith. He poured the water of the vow from a golden pot and said: “I shall give you three paces of earth as you have asked. May Vishṇu, who does not change, be pleased.” At this moment he poured cool water on Vāmana’s hands to complete the gift (dāna).
The three paces
Ādideva Hari measured.
- The first pace covered the whole bhūmi (earth).
- The second pace covered the antariksha (the space between earth and sky) and svarga (heaven).
Then Vishṇu’s foot grew still further and reached Brahmaloka. The devas, siddhas and Ādityas who lived in those worlds bowed to the divine foot.
The brahmāṇḍa is pierced and Gaṅgā is born
Bhagavān Brahmā came to the place and praised Nārāyaṇa. Vishṇu’s foot then pierced the wall of the brahmāṇḍa and reached higher still. At that moment, from the place where the brahmāṇḍa was pierced, pure, cool and holy water began to flow. It came down as a great river and stood in the sky. Brahmā named this river Gaṅgā. This is how the Kūrma Purāṇa tells the origin of the divine Gaṅgā: she was born from the place where Trivikrama’s divine foot pierced the cosmic egg.
Vishṇu’s foot then reached further, filling the vast prakṛti (nature) itself. It reached the world of the one Purusha who has the form of Brahman, the root seed of creation, and stayed there. The devas in the different worlds sang praises of this divine foot.
Bali gives himself
Bali saw the Mahāpurusha Vishṇu, whose body is the whole world. The noble Bali bowed in bhakti-yoga (the yoga of devotion). He bowed deeply to Nārāyaṇa, who has no second and cannot be destroyed, and to whom even the Vedas bow. He offered his heart wholly.
Vāmana took his own form again and said to Bali: “O king of the rākshasas, these three worlds have now been given to me as dāna by your own vow. They are mine now.”
Bali bowed his head to Nārāyaṇa once more and poured water again from his hands. He said: “O Trivikrama of endless radiance and great strength, I give myself to you.” This complete gift of himself (ātma-nivedana) by Bali is held up as a great example of surrender in bhakti-yoga.
Bali is given Pātāla
Vishṇu, who holds the śaṅkha, accepted Bali’s gift and told him: “Go to the root of Pātāla-loka. There you will enjoy bhogas (pleasures) that even the devas cannot reach, and you will live in lasting happiness. Always honour me through bhakti-yoga and meditation. At the end of the kalpa (the age of the world) you will merge into me again.”
Bali, fixed in devotion to Vishṇu by Prahlāda’s teaching, went to Pātāla. Vishṇu then gave the rule of the three worlds back to Indra.
The devas, ṛshis, kinnaras, Brahmā, Indra, Rudra, the Ādityas and the Marudgaṇas all sang praises of Vāmana-Vishṇu. Then he vanished from that place.
Sources
- Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Poorvardha, Chapter 17