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    Once upon a time, there lived a daitya king named Bali, also known as Mahabali, Indrasenan, or Maveli. He was the noble grandson of Maharaja Prahlad. Though born of a demon lineage, King Bali aspired to rule over the devatas (celestial beings). To fulfil his ambition, he performed a fire-sacrifice (Yajna) and received a boon of powerful weapons from the Fire-God.

    Armed with these divine weapons, King Bali marched toward the Indraloka. Upon hearing of Bali’s intent, Indra—the king of Indraloka—sought advice from his guru, Brihaspati. On his guru’s counsel, Indra fled and went into hiding. Bali seized control of Indra’s kingdom and performed a grand sacrifice to gain even greater power than the devatas.

    Aditi, the mother of the devatas, was distressed by the demon king’s rule. She turned to her husband, the great sage Kashyapa, for help. He advised her to observe payovrata—a vow of subsisting only on milk for a set period—to please Lord Vishnu. “Only Lord Vishnu can help us,” he said.

    Pleased with Aditi’s devotion, Lord Vishnu appeared before her and promised, “I will take birth as your son and protect the devatas.” Aditi was overjoyed. In time, Lord Vishnu incarnated as her son, Vamana, a dwarf brahman. All the devatas and sages came to greet the divine child.

Sage Brihaspati conducted Vamana’s upanayanam (sacred thread ceremony), while Yamaraja chanted the Gayatri Mantra. Indra gifted Vamana an umbrella; Brahma gave a Kamandalu (water pot). Chandra offered a shaft, and the seven sages presented Kusha grass.

Meanwhile, King Bali was performing the Ashvamedha Yajna to increase his dominion. Vamana, now a radiant young brahman, entered Bali’s palace. His brilliance astonished the king and the assembled sages.

King Bali welcomed Vamana with great respect and asked, “Lord, what can I do for you?”

Pleased with the king’s hospitality, Vamana praised his lineage and humbly requested, “Grant me just three steps of land, measured by my feet.”

Amused by such a modest request, Bali replied, “I am a king! You may ask for villages, gold, cows—anything you desire.” But Vamana smiled and insisted on only three steps of land.

Maharaj Bali agreed to the request, but his guru, Shukracharya, warned him, “This is no ordinary brahman. He is Lord Vishnu in disguise, come to destroy you and restore the devatas.”

Even after realising Vamana’s true identity, Bali stood firm in his promise. He chose to honour his word over his guru’s warning. He performed the ritual and granted Vamana the three steps of land.

At once, Lord Vamana began to grow—taller and taller—until his form encompassed the entire earth with his first step. The galaxies became his crown. As he grew further, they became his necklace, waistband, and anklets. With his second step, he covered all the worlds.

Then Vamana turned to Bali and asked, “Where is the land for my third step?”

In a gesture of absolute surrender, King Bali offered his head for the final step. Touched by Bali’s devotion and integrity, Lord Vamana blessed him and granted him rule over the lower realms, promising, “I will be your gatekeeper, so you may always have my darshan.”

The devatas showered flowers from the heavens and praised both Lord Vamana and King Bali for their selfless devotion.

King Mahabali is revered in early Hindu texts as a noble and generous ruler. His reign was marked by fairness, prosperity, and happiness for his people. It is believed that in the next Yuga, Mahabali will become the king of heaven.

In Kerala, Mahabali is remembered as the greatest ruler of all time. His legend forms the heart of the annual Onam festival. His story is also celebrated across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh as Balipratipada, Balipadyami, or simply Bali.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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