Maharishi Śuka continued,
“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 were the attendants of Vishnu, each of whom possessed the might of ten thousand elephants. They tore through the army of the demon-king Bali and began slaughtering them mercilessly.
At this juncture, King Bali recollected his Guru’s curse. He addressed his army and said, “O Vipracitti, O Rāhu, O Nemi! Please listen to my advice and stop this war. The present time is not favourable to us. Time alone that brings happiness and sorrows to living entities. The human being is not capable of crossing it.
yo no bhavāya prāg āsīd abhavāya divaukasām sa eva bhagavān adya vartate tad-viparyayam
The ever-competent time which previously granted us victory and comforts while bringing grief to the Devatas, does not favour us now. Currently it is bringing prosperity to Devatas while showering grief upon us. The human being cannot cross this supreme time either on the strength of his army, his ministers, his intelligence, his strong forts, his knowledge of mantras, herbs, through mystical symbols or yantras nor by any other methods. This is the truth. Hence please retract.
When time once again favours us you can easily conquer these attendants of Srihari as you have done many times in the past. As time is in their favour they have conquered us and are loudly blowing victory conches.
Unless destiny favours us, we cannot obtain victory. It is evident that destiny is not in our favour presently. Hence it is best to patiently wait for that period which will favour us”. All the commanders-in-chief of Bali’s army, who belonged to the Diti-Danu clans, heard the advice given to them by their King Bali. All these chieftains who were defeated in the hands of Srihari’s attendants ran to the lower planetary region known as Rasatala.
Thereafter Garuda, the son of Maharishi Kaśyapa, understood the feelings of his master Lord Srihari. On the day of obtaining the drink Soma-rasa in the Yagna, he bound Bali tightly with Varuna’s noose. When the ever-competent Srihari was arresting King Bali, loud shouts of jubilation could be heard across earth, heavens and all directions.
King Bali was famous for his firm determination and wisdom. Bound by these nāga-pāśa ropes he became lustreless. Addressing him, Lord Vāmana said,
“O demon, you had earlier promised to give me three feet of land. With two steps I have covered the entire creation. Now give me the third feet of land as promised. That entire area up to which the Sun’s rays travel, that entire area which is illumined by the Moon and stars, that entire area which obtains rains due to the rain-bearing clouds is in your custody.
I pervade everything. With one step I covered the entire earth. With my vast body I covered the entire outer space and all directions. With my second step I covered the heavens in totality. Even as you were watching I usurped all your prosperity.
It has been authentically stated in the scriptures that the person who fails to give charity as promised will surely reach hell. Therefore inevitably you will have to live in hell. Your Guru Śukracharya also advised the same to you earlier. For this reason you now go to hell.
The desire to enjoy heavenly comforts remains unfulfilled in a person who promises to donate to the person begging alms but later backtracks. Instead of travelling upwards to heavenly planets, he lands in hell.
Due to pride in your material prosperity, you promised to give me land but then cheated me. As a result of this sin, you will have to experience punishment in hell for a few years”- said Lord Vāmana.
With this the twenty-first chapter of the eighth canto comes to an end.
Eighth Canto Chapter Twenty-two
In this chapter, pleased with Bali, Lord Srihari blesses him.
Maharishi Śuka said, “O Emperor! Even though Śukracharya tried his best to divert Bali from the path of truth, he failed in his attempts. Bali remained undeterred. Now Bali addressed Lord Vāmana and said,
“O supreme amongst Gods! You are of unblemished renown. Do you think that I have falsely given you my word? If so, I will now ensure that my words become truthful. My word should not become false. Please keep your third feet on my head.
I do not fear living in hell, losing my emperorship, being arrested, being thrown into insurmountable sorrows, experiencing abject penury or facing Your punishment as much as I fear ill-fame.
Puṁsāṁ ślāghyatamaṁ manye daṇḍam arhattamārpitam Yaṁ na mātā pitā bhrātā suhṛdaś cādiśanti hi
You are supremely worthy. The punishment meted by You is, in my opinion, truly revered by human beings. This is because neither mother, father, brother nor friends can ever inflict such punishment which causes well-being of the person.
You are the indirect Supreme Guru who seeks the well-being of us, the demons. You have dethroned us, who are blinded due to different types of arrogance and false pride, and have thereby caused realization in us. It is truly astonishing. Many demons, out of deep feelings of aversion towards You, eternally think of You. Thereby they stabilize totally in the path of devotion from which there is no return. Due to this they reach the ultimate states of liberation.
O Lord, Your glories are infinite. Today You have tied me down with the noose called Varuna pāśa. Even then I do not grieve nor am I ashamed. My grandfather Prahlāda, had obtained great renown throughout the world. You were his sole goal in life. He was the best among all your devotees. Hiranyakaśipu, who was inimical towards You, troubled Prahlada in unimaginable ways.
O Lord, of what use is the body to the living entities who are subject to death? Anyway in the end the person has to leave the body and go away. Of what use are the relatives and family members who are nothing but looters? Of what use is the wife, who is a partner in furthering material bondages? Of what use is the house and other assets? All these are useful only for wasting the lifespan. All our worldly activities are only to deplete our lifespan”.
Krishnaya namah