Bali

Bali was the great asura king, the grandson of Prahlāda and the son of Virocana. The Purāṇas praise him for giving without ever refusing, for his dharma, and for his calm in the face of a divine test. He won all three worlds through tapas (austerity) and just rule. He gave three steps of earth to Vāmana, and the cosmic form of Bhagavān Vishṇu then bound him. Bhagavān Vishṇu placed him in the beautiful realm of Sutala and became his doorkeeper for ever.

Identity and lineage

Bali belonged to the daitya line, the asuras descended from Kaśyapa and Diti. His grandfather was Prahlāda, the well-known devotee of Vishṇu, whose bhakti (devotion) changed the asura line. His father was Virocana. Although he was an asura, the Kedāra Khaṇḍa and the Purāṇas throughout present Bali as dharmic and generous. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9)

The Vāyu Purāṇa on his lineage

The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa places Bali in the line from Hiraṇyakaśipu: Hiraṇyakaśipu, then Prahlāda, then Vairocana, then Bali. Bali had a hundred sons, and all of them were kings. Four of them stood out for their vikrama (courage) and bala (strength):

1. Bāṇa, the eldest, the thousand-armed mahārāja, known as Dravīṇa-sammata
2. Kumbhanābha
3. Gargabhāksha
4. Kuśi

Bali also had two daughters. One was Pūtanā, a daughter of great power known from the account of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. The text also says that the Bali-gaṇa, the group called by Bali’s name, was famous for its vikrama and paurusha (manly strength). (Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6)

His guru was Śukrācārya, the great guru of the asuras. Śukrācārya had the Mṛtasañjīvanī vidyā (the knowledge that can bring the dead back to life). He gave Bali wise counsel throughout his career.

The conquest of svarga

Bali came to power after Indra insulted Bṛhaspati. The devas then lost their divine protection and order. When the devas were scattered and in disorder, Bali led the asura forces from Pātāla to Amarāvatī and took svarga (heaven). His conquest was complete. He took Indra’s elephant Airāvata, the divine horse Uccaiḥśravas and the celestial ratnas (jewels). He ruled over all three worlds.

What sets Bali’s conquest apart from those of other asura kings is the way he ruled. He governed with justice. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa says that Indra himself came to Bali seeking peace and was received with generosity, not revenge. Through Nārada’s mediation, Bali and Indra agreed to live side by side. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9)

The grand yajña and Śukrācārya’s warning

After making his rule firm, Bali began a grand yajña (fire ritual) of giving to all. He declared in public that any being who came to his yajña and asked for any vara (boon) would receive it. No one who asked would be turned away. This was not a political act. It came from dāna-dharma (the dharma of giving), which Bali held to be the highest virtue of a king.

Śukrācārya saw through his vidyā that a divine being was coming. He warned Bali: “A young brāhmaṇa child of great radiance is coming. He is not what he seems. Do not grant whatever he asks. It will be the ruin of your rule.” Bali listened and understood. Then he gave the answer that shows his character. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 18)

He said that if Bhagavān Vishṇu himself came to his yajña as a brāhmaṇa asking for a gift, no greater fortune could be his. He asked whether he, the ruler of the three worlds, should turn Vishṇu away from his own gate. He said: “Let the results be what they will. I will not break my vow of giving.”

The three steps

Vāmana arrived, tiny, radiant and calm in himself. Bali received him with all the honours due to a brāhmaṇa guest: āsana (a seat), pādya (water for the feet) and arghya (water of welcome). Bali asked what gift he wished for. Vāmana asked for only three steps of earth.

Śukrācārya spoke again at the moment of the formal pledge. He begged Bali not to pour the ritual water. Bali smiled and poured it. The moment the saṅkalpa (the ritual vow) was made, Vāmana became Trivikrama, the cosmic form that spans all of space. One step covered the whole earth. One step covered all of svarga. There was no space for the third. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 19)

The offering of his head

Bali understood at once what had happened. He also understood that he could not become a person who broke his word. He looked at the cosmic Trivikrama and saw no space left. He bowed in complete calm and offered his own head for the third step. He said: “I have pledged to give you what you asked. I have no more earth and no more svarga. The only space that still belongs to me is my head. Place your foot there. I will not become one who breaks his vow.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu placed his foot on Bali’s head. It was not to crush him. It was both the keeping of the vara and a supreme blessing. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa says that the foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu on the head is the highest śaraṇāgati (taking refuge), and also the highest grace, the foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu on the head of his devotee. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 19)

Life in Sutala

Bhagavān Vishṇu did not destroy Bali. A devotee of such great generosity, dharma and nobility could not simply be sent to naraka (hell). Bhagavān Vishṇu sent Bali to Sutala, one of the seven Pātālas. Sutala is described as more beautiful and blessed than svarga itself, with no disease, no old age and no suffering, and with constant divine awareness. Bali rules Sutala as its king for ever.

Bhagavān Vishṇu himself became Bali’s dvārapāla (doorkeeper). He stands at the entrance to Sutala as its guardian. The supreme Bhagavān Vishṇu serves as the eternal attendant of the asura king he had just bound. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa presents this as Vishṇu’s way of keeping his own dharma fully. Bali had given everything without holding back, and Bhagavān Vishṇu answers by giving himself. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 19)

Character and teaching

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa celebrates Bali as the model of dāna-dharma. His words to Śukrācārya at the moment of the vow show this. Even knowing that the gift would lead to his ruin, he gives, because the giving itself is the highest value, whatever follows. The account also shows that real dharma kept by an asura is seen and rewarded by the divine order.

Bali and Indra in the Mokshadharma Parva

The Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in the Mokshadharma Parva, holds a long meeting between Bali and Indra, also called Vāsava, in two dialogues. In the account, Bali has been born again as a donkey (or a jackal in some recensions) through the working of kāla (time). Indra meets him in this lowly form and taunts him: “You who once ruled the three worlds, Indra’s throne and all of svarga, how do you now live in this form? Does your heart not break?”

The first dialogue (Chapters 223–224)

Bali’s answer is one of the highest teachings in the Mokshadharma Parva, on kāla and non-kartṛtva (not being the doer).

• Kāla as the great ocean. Kāla is the great ocean, and all beings, kingdoms and glories are its waves. Every rise is followed by a fall. No wave thinks it can escape the ocean. Indra’s throne and Bali’s throne are both waves in the ocean of kāla. The wise person swims in the ocean without clinging to the wave he rides.
• Not being the doer. Neither Bali’s conquest of svarga nor his fall from it was his own doing. Kāla produced both. The one who thinks himself the doer of his victories carries the added burden of thinking himself the victim of his defeats. Bali carries neither burden.
• All greatness passes. Bali names great emperors and world-conquerors, such as Māndhātā and Nabhāga and others, who ruled everything and are now dust. Their rule, their virtue and their tapas were all consumed by kāla.

The departure of Śrī (Chapter 225)

As the talk goes on, Śrī (Lakshmī) is shown leaving Bali’s body. Bali sees her go without grief and asks her: “Why do you leave?” Śrī answers that she lives only where she finds dharma, freedom from ahaṃkāra (ego) and certain other virtues. She always leaves a king who is taken over by pride, who stops listening to counsel, and who credits his successes to his own power. Bali accepts this in perfect calm. He understands that Śrī’s leaving is the work of the same kāla that brought her.

The song of no ego

Bali then sings a teaching of his own to Indra: “I am not the doer. I am not the enjoyer. I am not the protector. Whatever has been done through this body, kāla did it. Whatever was enjoyed through these senses, kāla enjoyed. I lent my form, and kāla used it. This is the truth. The rest is ahaṃkāra.”

The second dialogue (Chapter 227)

A later dialogue returns to these themes. Bali names particular fallen emperors whose lives show that all greatness is impermanent. It serves as the practical example of the teaching of the first dialogue.

Bali’s teaching to Indra is one of three in which Indra is taught by dānavas. The others are Prahlāda’s teaching (Chapter 222) and Namuci’s teaching (Chapter 226). Each time, a dānava who has been beaten or shamed by Indra shows deep wisdom. (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapters 223–225, 227)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9, 18–19
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 6
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapters 223–225, 227