BALI - THE DEMON KING
Lomaharshan
told the sages- "Bali was the descendant of Virochan and the son of
Hiranyakashipu. After his father's death, he defeated the deities and drove
them out from their abodes. Very soon, all the three worlds were under his
control. He was a virtuous king and so were his subjects. During his reign,
every corner in his kingdom would be abuzz with religious activities. As a
result, the whole world became devoid of sin."
One
day, Goddess Lakshmi arrived and said- "O brave king of the demons! I am
pleased by your valiance with which you fought and vanquished the deities. This
is the reason why I have come on my own will to bless you." After saying
this, Goddess Lakshmi merged with his body. This way, Bali acquired all the
splendours of the world.
DEITIES GO TO BRAHMA LOKA
The
sages asked- "How were the deities able to defeat Bali and why did Lord
Vishnu take the incarnation of Vaaman?" Lomaharshan replied- "After
being defeated by Bali, Indra went to Meru Mountain where his mother Aditi
lived and narrated the woeful tale of the deities' defeat. Aditi took her
husband's (Kashyap's) advice in this regard. Kashyap thought that only Lord
Brahma could solve their problem. So, he went to Brahma loka accompanied by the
deities.
When
they reached there, they found numerous Brahmins engaged in religious activities.
Lord Brahma too was sitting among them. Sage Kashyap and all the deities made
salutations to Lord Brahma and stood silently.
THE DEITIES DO PENANCE
Lord
Brahma told the deities that he was aware of their plight. He was of the
opinion that the mighty Bali could be defeated only by the Almighty himself and
nobody else. Lord Brahma said- "You must go to a place called Amrit, which
is situated towards the north of Ksheersagar. The Almighty God is engaged in an
austere penance at that place. All of you must go there and try to please him
by doing penance and after he is pleased, just request him to take his next
incarnation as Aditi's son."
Sage
Kashyap and all the deities agreed to follow Brahma's advice. All of them
proceeded towards Shwetdweep. When they reached there, they were amazed to find
the place devoid of any creature. Its boundary seemed limitless and even the
Sun's rays could not reach it. Sage Kashyap initiated all the deities into the
austerity named Kaamad- fulfiller of all the desires. After that, all of them
commenced their severe penance.
LORD NARAYAN BLESSES KASHYAPA
Lord
Narayan became pleased by Kashyap's eulogies and austere penance. He appeared
before the deities and asked them to demand anything they wished for. Kashyap
requested him to give Aditi, the privilege of becoming his mother. Lord Vishnu
agreed to take birth as Aditi's son.
The
deities became pleased and all of them proceeded back towards Kashyap's
hermitage. When they reached Kurukshetra, the place where Kashyap had his
hermitage, they inspired Aditi to commence her penance to please Lord Vishnu.
Aditi did a severe penance for 10,000 years. The place where she did her
penance later on became famous as Aditivan. Lord Vishnu was extremely pleased
by her devotion.
LORD VISHNU APPEARS
Lomaharshan
says- Lord Vishnu appeared and told her that he was most willing to fulfil her
wish. Aditi requested him to make her son- Indra, the lord of all the three
worlds once again. Lord Vishnu assured her that he would take birth as her son
and kill all the demons.
Aditi
had apprehensions as to how she could bear the weight of Almighty God in her
womb. But Lord Vishnu assured her by saying- "Don't worry. I will give you
the strength to do that. In course of time, Aditi became pregnant. But soon
after her pregnancy, the earth shook violently because of the unbearable weight
of the foetus. Wherever she went, that particular portion of earth tilted down
because of the enormous weight. Her pregnancy had significantly eroded the
radiance of the demons.
BALI'S QUERIES TO PRAHLAD
Lomaharshan
says- "When Bali saw the demons becoming devoid of radiance and power, he
enquired about the reasons from his grandfather, Prahlad. He wondered whether
it was a bad omen. Prahlad went into a deep trance and saw the whole earth
shaking violently. He also saw high tides rising in the ocean. He was convinced
that these signs went to prove the inevitable emergence of the deities' power.
Prahlad then meditated upon Lord Vishnu and found him manifesting in Aditi's
womb as a Vaaman (dwarf). He also saw the whole universe existing in his body.
Prahlad was surprised but the next moment he controlled himself and told Bali-
"Now I know the reason why the demons have become devoid of their radiance
and power. Lord Hari is about to take incarnation as the son of Aditi and this
is the reason why all the demons have become powerless."
Bali
curiously asked Prahlad- "Who is this Hari, the tormentor of the demons?
Why should we be scared of him as we have many valiant demons who could defeat
him easily." Prahlad became furious at Bali's utterances and cursed him by
saying- "How dare you say like this! I am ashamed that you have taken
birth as my grandson. I curse you to lose your kingdom and fall from grace because
you have criticised Lord Vishnu- the supreme saviour."
MANIFESTATION OF LORD VAAMANA
Bali
felt sorry for hurting Prahlad's feelings. He said- "Dear grandfather! My
intelligence has been overshadowed by my arrogant attitude. You have done the
right thing by cursing me. I am not scared of losing all my prosperity and
splendour but your anger is unbearable for me."
Now
even Prahlad realised that he had committed a mistake by cursing his own son.
He said- "Unable to control my anger, I cursed you but now nothing can be
done and my words will definitely come true. But don't worry as my blessings
would help you to become a supreme devotee of Hari and you would be protected
by him."
Lomaharshan
says- "In course of time, Lord Vishnu took birth as Vaaman. This incident
of Vishnu's birth had liberated Aditi and all the deities from their sorrow.
Lord Brahma appeared and performed Vaaman's Jaatkarm. He also eulogised Vaaman
and worshipped him. Lord Vishnu was pleased by his eulogy and revealed to him
that he took the incarnation of Vaaman to make Indra, the lord of all the three
worlds."
Lord
Brahma was pleased and presented a black coloured deer skin to him. Similarly,
sages like Marichi, Vashishth, Brihaspati, Angira etc. presented Palaash Danda,
kamandalu, sacred thread and silken clothes respectively. Lord Vaaman then
proceeded towards the place where King Bali was performing his oblation. Lord
Vaaman was in the appearance of a hermit. Though he was of diminutive size, yet
each of his steps were enough to shake the earth.
LORD VAAMANA'S DEMANDS
Lomaharshan
says- "The shaking and trembling of earth surprised Bali and he enquired
about this strange happening to Shukracharya. He was also surprised by the fact
that Agni was not accepting the offerings. Shukracharya, after contemplating
for a while on this matter, came to know about Vaaman's incarnation. He
informed Bali that Vaaman was on his way to the oblation site and his each step
was causing turbulence on the earth.
Bali
was pleased that he would get an opportunity to see the Almighty God whom the
sages contemplate upon. He was proud of his good fortune that the lord was
paying him a visit. Shukracharya aware of the reason for Vaaman's arrival
warned Bali against making any promise to him. Bali replied- "How can I
refuse if the Almighty God demands anything from me? I am willing to face any
hardship to safeguard my benevolent image. I don't mind if the deities get
benefited by my actions. Even if the lord is coming with the intention of
killing me, I am not scared as that is how I would attain salvation. Come what
may, I am not going to abandon my charitable nature."
As
the conversation between Shukracharya and Bali continued, suddenly, Lord Vaaman
arrived at the site. Vaaman's radiance subdued the power of all demons present
there. Lord Vaaman being impressed by the grandeur of Vaaman's Yagya
complimented him for organising such a magnificent Yagya. Bali eulogised and
worshipped his esteemed guest. He requested Vaaman to reveal the reason of his
arrival and promised that his wishes would be fulfilled. Lord Vaaman smiled and
told him that he needed a small piece of land measured by three steps for the
performance of Yagya. Bali was surprised by this demand and requested him to
ask for more land but Lord Vaaman told him that he needed only that much land.
Bali
agreed and took a vow to donate a piece of land measured by three steps. Hardly
had Bali taken his vow, when suddenly Lord Vaaman expanded his size. His first
step covered the whole earth. By his two successive steps, he covered the two
worlds. This way, Bali was forced to donate all the three worlds according to
his vow. Lord Vishnu then made Indra, the king of all the three worlds and sent
Bali to the nether world named Sutal. He blessed Bali by saying- "You would
enjoy a long life till the end of this present Kalpa. You would hold the post
of Indra till the arrival of Saavarni Manavantar. As long as you remain
supportive of the Brahmins and the deities, you would enjoy all the pleasures
of life. But if you go against their wishes then you would be fastened by
Varun's noose."
RIVER SARASWATI
The
sages requested Lomaharshan to reveal about river Saraswati's origin, which
flowed in Kurukshetra. Lomaharshan said- "Saraswati originates from Paakad
tree (Indian fig tree). She enters Dwaitvan after passing through numerous
mountains. While describing about her majesty, sage Markandeya felt that
Saraswati was the source from, which everything originated- all the three
worlds, three Vedas, Vidya (learning), heavenly bodies like Sun, Moon etc.
Once, sage Markandeya eulogised Saraswati by saying- "O Saraswati! You
manifest in the form of cryptic mantra- "OMKAR". You are the eternal
form through which the Almighty God (Brahma) manifests himself in different
appearances."
Saraswati
was pleased by his devotion and said- "O Brahmin! I am willing to go
wherever you want to take me." According to Markandeya, river Saraswati
was initially known as Brahmasar. Later on, she became famous as Ramhalad. Sage
Markandeya requested Saraswati to flow in the territory of Kurukshetra where
sage Kuru was doing his penance. This way, Saraswati diverted her course
towards Kurukshetra.
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