Haraye namah

Maharishi Śuka continued,

“In the nāḍis of the Universal Lord, Bali saw the rivers. In His nails were the rocks. In His intellect was the self-originating Lord Brahma. In His sense organs were all the troops of Devatas and Maharishis. In the body of the Universal Lord he saw all the hordes of living entities.

Seeing the entire creation within the Universal form of the Lord who Himself manifests in every form, the demons were petrified. In the hands of this Universal Lord, Bali saw the discus whose radiance is unbearable, a Śaranga bow which makes deafening sounds and the Pāncajanya conch which makes thunderous sounds. The mace called Koumodaki which moves at lightning speeds, the sword that has a hundred sharp edges, a superb quiver which contained never-ending stock of high quality arrows were on His body.

Sunanda, Nanda and other personal attendants of Vishnu accompanied by the Guardian-deities of all worlds had positioned themselves ready for offering service when needed. O Emperor! The crown worn by the Lord, His glittering fish-shaped earrings, His armlets, His birthmark called Srivatsa, the Kausthuba gem, waist band and His golden yellow silken clothing were all gleaming brightly. Bees that were buzzing melodiously were encircling the Vanamala garland that adorned His neck.

With His first step, Lord Srihari, who possesses infinite might and whose footsteps are gigantic, covered the entire earth that was controlled by King Bali. In addition, He covered the entire outer space and with His gigantic arms He covered all the directions. With His second step, He took control of all heavens.

With this, there was not an iota of space which Bali could offer to the Lord as the third step. The Lord’s foot had covered the higher realms known as Maharloka, Jana-loka, Tapo loka and reached Satya-loka”.

With this the twentieth chapter of the eighth canto comes to an end.

Eighth Canto Chapter Twenty-one

In this chapter, Lord Vāmana arrests King Bali.

Maharishi Śuka said, “O Emperor Parikshit! The toenails of Lord Trivikrama were glittering like the traditional crescent-shaped jewels worn on the hair. Such was their radiance that even Satya-loka, the highest realm, and even the self-originating Lord Brahma appeared lustreless.

Lord Brahma, who was enveloped completely by this effulgence, approached those lotus feet accompanied by Maharishis such as Marici, eternal celibates such as Narada and Yogis such as Sananda.

Vedas together with their limbs and branches; Yama, Niyama and other disciplines; sacred texts such as Nyaya-shastra, Itihasas, Puranas (epics), music and other arts take on a form and reside in Satya-loka. Moreover, highly enlightened Jnanis, who have burnt all their fruitive activities in the burning fire that has been kindled due to the wind called Yoga, reside in this Satya-loka. All of them offered obeisance to the lotus feet of the Lord.

Satya-loka, the residence of the self-born Lord Brahma, cannot be obtained by performance of fruitive activities (activities performed with expectations). These Mahatmas could reach this supreme abode purely due to the merit of constantly remembering His lotus feet.

Thereafter, the lotus-born Lord Brahma personally offered water oblations to the lotus feet of the Lord who was growing unimaginably. He offered him worship and glorified Him profusely.

O Emperor! The water in the water-pot of Lord Brahma was greatly sanctified due to washing the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Trivikrama. This water began to flow as River Ganga. After flowing in heaven, this water descended and, similar to the pure glory of Lord Srihari, it purifies all the three worlds.

Lord Srihari, who had shown His Universal form, now reduced himself to his little form as Vāmana. At this point Lord Brahma, and the Guardian-deities together with their attendants, reverentially worshipped Him. They offered him fragrant water to wash His hands and feet (arghya-pādya); water to bathe and ācamana water to sip. They worshipped Him with fragrant flowers and other materials. They offered lamps and incense sticks. They worshipped Him with parched grain, coloured rice (akshata) and other materials and offered him fruits. Shouting victory slogans and with hymns that brought to light His infinite prowess, they prayed to Him. With dance, music and drums they worshipped Him. They beat kettle drums, conches and other musical instruments.

Then Jambhavanta, the king of bears, travelled through all directions at the speed of mind and blowing the bugle, enthusiastically proclaimed the victory to Lord Srihari. The demons however were infuriated that their King had been cheated in the pretext of seeking three feet of land. In great fury they screamed,

“This Vāmana is no ordinary Brahmin boy. He is none other than Vishnu, the greatest conjurer. In order to fulfill the task of the Devatas, he, who is our enemy, has pretentiously assumed the form of a Brahmin boy. Our King Bali has given up the power to punish as he is engaged in completing this sacrifice. Taking advantage of this opportune moment this Vamana arrived here. In the pretext of begging, he has taken away from our king all his prosperity. Is it justified?

Our King Bali strictly abides by the vow of truthfulness under any circumstances. He is extremely compassionate and devoted towards Brahmins. It is impossible for such king to speak untruth more so when he has taken up the vow to diligently complete the Yagna. Hence it is our righteous duty to kill Vāmana. By killing him we will be serving our king Bali”. Saying this, the infuriated demons took up weapons. They did not listen to Bali who forbade them from attacking Vāmana. Holding swords and spears they rushed forth to kill Vāmana.

Seeing this demons rush towards them, the attendants of Vishnu smiled. They then took up weapons and blocked the path of the demons.

Nanda, Sunanda, Jaya, Vijaya, Bala, Prabala, Kumuda, Kumudākṣa, Viśwaksena, Garuda the king of birds, Jayanta, Śrutadeva, Pushpadanta and Sātvata possessed the might of ten thousand elephants each”.

Narayana