Canto
8
Chapter 21: Bali Mahârâja Arrested by the Lord
(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'He who appeared on the lotus [Brahmâ] saw from the place of truth [from Satyaloka] how by the effulgence of the Lord His toenails, the light of his own abode had been covered and had waned and thus, o god of man, approached he Him with vowed brahmacârîs like the sages headed by Marîci and Sanandana and the other Kumâras. (2-3) Fully expert in the Vedas and their supplements, the regulations and the abstinence; well versed in logic, history, didactics, the classical stories, the vedic corollaries and more were the sages joined by others of whom, ignited by the winds of yoga and the fire of spiritual knowledge, all karmic impurity had ended when they, by simply meditating and offering their prayers, had attained the abode of the self-born one. The one who originated from the lotus then paid homage worshiping Lord Vishnu His lotus feet with oblations of water and thus was He pleased, very pleased by the reverent devotion He received from the most celebrated vedic authority, from him who as a person had appeared on the lotus that had sprouted from His navel [see also 3.8]. (4) That water from Lord Brahmâ's kamandalu, pure from washing the feet of Lord Urukrama, o king of the humans, so became the [celestial] Svardhunî of which the water flowing down from outer space purifies the three worlds as the fame of the Supreme Lord. (5) Lord Brahmâ and the others, they who were the predominating deities of the different worlds, were of the greatest respect for their master and collected with all their followers the necessities for worshiping the All-powerful Soul who had returned to His original size. (6-7) With water for the feet and for the guests, flowergarlands, all sorts of pulp to smear, incense and lamps all fragrant, fried rice, whole grains, fruits, roots and sprouts, offered they their respects exclaiming 'Jaya, jaya' to the glory of His actions, thereby dancing, singing and playing instruments with the vibrations of conchshells and kettledrums beaten. (8) Jâmbavân, the king of the apes [also: bears], enraptured sounding the bugle heralded everywhere in each direction the great festival. (9) The Asuras who saw that all the land of their master, so determined in the sacrifice, was lost on the simple plea of three steps of land were very angry: (10) 'Isn't this brahmin friend actually Vishnu Himself, who as the greatest of all cheaters assuming the form of a twice-born one willfully is trying to deceive us in the interest of the godly? (11) By Him, the enemy, in the form of a brahmacârî mendicant, has all that our master possesses been taken away because he, vowed to the ritual, gave up the clout. (12) Ever sworn to the truth is he, consacrated for the yajña and always sympathetic with the brahminical, personally incapable of telling a lie.(13) It is therefore our duty to our master to kill this one here!', and so took all the asura followers of Bali up a wide range of weapons. (14) Aggravated by their angry nature having taken up tridents and lances rushed they all together forward against the will of Bali, o King. (15) Seeing the daitya soldiers coming forward, o ruler, made the associates of Vishnu smile as they stopped them taking up their arms. (16-17) Nanda and Sunanda waged as well as did Jaya, Vijaya, Prabala, Bala, Kumuda, Kumudâksha, Vishvaksena, Patattrirâth [Garuda], Jayanta, S'rutadeva, Pushpadanta and Sâtvata; all together they as strong as a thousand elephants killed the asura soldiers.
(18) After Bali saw his men being killed by the Original Personality His associates, remembered he the curse of S'ukrâcârya [8.20: 15] and commanded he their retreat despite of their anger: (19) 'O Vipracitti, o Râhu, o Nemi, please listen, don't fight, stop with this, now is not the time to settle this. (20) That Master of All Living Beings, that Person of Control deciding about happiness and distress, can by human effort not be superseded, o Daityas. (21) Previously time worked in our favor and brought us the victory over the godly, but today does the time, which indeed is the Supreme Lord in existence, work against us. (22) Not by any power, counsel, cleverness, fortifications, spells or herbs, diplomacy or other means or likewise schemes is but a single person able to surpass the time factor. (23) All these followers of Vishnu who enjoyed the wealth by providence were by you in great numbers defeated and today indeed are they cheering in defeating us in battle [see B.G. 18: 13-15]. (24) We shall gain victory over them all to the favor of providence and therefore must we now await the time that is to our advantage.'
(25) S'rî S'uka said: 'After the daitya and dânava leaders heard what their master told them entered they the lower regions, o King, driven there by the associates of Vishnu. (26) Thereafter, on the day when to the sacrifice the soma is taken [soma-pâna], was Bali, to the desire of the master [Lord Vishnu], by the son of Târkshya, the king of the birds [Garuda] arrested who bound him with the ropes of Varuna. (27) From all directions rose everywhere in the upper and lower worlds a great roar of disappointment because of the apprehension of the asura leader by Vishnu, the mightiest around. (28) Bereft of his luster remained he, so magnanimous and celebrated o King, determined as ever. Unto him bound thus by Varuna's ropes then spoke the Supreme Lord Vâmana: (29) 'Three steps of land have you given Me, o Asura; with two I occupied the complete of all the earth's surface and now you owe me for the third one. (30) As far as the sun, the moon and the stars can shed their light and as far as the clouds are pouring rain, do you own all the land covered. (31) With one step only I covered the entire sphere of the earth [Bhûrloka], with My body occupying the sky in all directions and with the second step I took before your eyes for Myself the higher worlds that were in your possession. (32) Unable to give what you promised is it the rule that you yourself now stay out of it; and getting out it is as your guru would like [see also 6.17: 28]. (33) Anyone cheating a mendicant in falling short to give what was promised, falls down the more, and must, far removed from the higher life, ruminate fruitlessly. (34) Now that I've been fooled by you saying 'this I promise and that I'm so proud of' will you therefore as a consequence of this offensive result have to live out of it all for some years.'
Second edition, loaded October 31, 2007.
Source texts:
Bali Mahârâja Arrested by the Lord
S'rî S'uka said: 'He who appeared on the lotus [Brahmâ] saw from the place of truth [from Satyaloka] how by the effulgence of the Lord His toenails, the light of his own abode had been covered and had waned and thus, o god of man, approached he Him with vowed brahmacârîs like the sages headed by Marîci and Sanandana and the other Kumâras.
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: When Lord Brahmâ, who was born of a lotus flower, saw that the effulgence of his residence, Brahmaloka, had been reduced by the glaring effulgence from the toenails of Lord Vâmanadeva, he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahmâ was accompanied by all the great sages, headed by Marîci, and by yogîs like Sanandana, but in the presence of that glaring effulgence, O King, even Lord Brahmâ and his associates seemed insignificant. (Vedabase)
Fully expert in the Vedas and their supplements, the regulations and the abstinence; well versed in logic, history, didactics, the classical stories, the vedic corollaries and more were the sages joined by others of whom, ignited by the winds of yoga and the fire of spiritual knowledge, all karmic impurity had ended when they, by simply meditating and offering their prayers, had attained the abode of the self-born one. The one who originated from the lotus then paid homage worshiping Lord Vishnu His lotus feet with oblations of water and thus was He pleased, very pleased by the reverent devotion He received from the most celebrated vedic authority, from him who as a person had appeared on the lotus that had sprouted from His navel [see also 3.8].
Among the great personalities who came to worship the lotus feet of the Lord were those who had attained perfection in self-control and regulative principles, as well as experts in logic, history, general education and the Vedic literature known as kalpe [dealing with old historical incidents]. Others were experts in the Vedic corollaries like Brahma-samhitâ, all the other knowledge of the Vedas [Sâma, Yajur, Rig and Atharva], and also the supplementary Vedic knowledge [Âyur-veda, Dhanur-veda, etc.]. Others were those who had been freed of the reactions to fruitive activities by transcendental knowledge awakened by practice of yoga. And still others were those who had attained residence in Brahmaloka not by ordinary karma but by advanced Vedic knowledge. After devotedly worshiping the upraised lotus feet of the Supreme Lord with oblations of water, Lord Brahmâ, who was born of the lotus emanating from Lord Vishnu's navel, offered prayers to the Lord. (Vedabase)
That water from Lord Brahmâ's kamandalu, pure from washing the feet of Lord Urukrama, o king of the humans, so became the [celestial] Svardhunî of which the water flowing down from outer space purifies the three worlds as the fame of the Supreme Lord.
O King, the water from Lord Brahmâ's kamandalu washed the lotus feet of Lord Vâmanadeva, who is known as Urukrama, the wonderful actor. Thus that water became so pure that it was transformed into the water of the Ganges, which went flowing down from the sky, purifying the three worlds like the pure fame of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Vedabase)
Lord Brahmâ and the others, they who were the predominating deities of the different worlds, were of the greatest respect for their master and collected with all their followers the necessities for worshiping the All-powerful Soul who had returned to His original size.
Lord Brahmâ and all the predominating deities of the various planetary systems began to worship Lord Vâmanadeva, their supreme master, who had reduced Himself from His all-pervading form to His original form. They collected all the ingredients and paraphernalia for this worship. (Vedabase)
With water for the feet and for the guests, flowergarlands, all sorts of pulp to smear, incense and lamps all fragrant, fried rice, whole grains, fruits, roots and sprouts, offered they their respects exclamaing 'Jaya, jaya' to the glory of His actions, thereby dancing, singing and playing instruments with the vibrations of conchshells and kettledrums beaten.
They worshiped the Lord by offering fragrant flowers, water, pâdya and arghya, sandalwood pulp and aguru pulp, incense, lamps, fused rice, unbroken grains, fruits, roots and sprouts. While so doing, they offered prayers indicating the glorious activities of the Lord and shouted "Jaya! Jaya!" They also danced, played instruments, sang, sounded conchshells and beat kettledrums, in this way worshiping the Lord. (Vedabase)
Jâmbavân, the king of the apes [also: bears], enraptured sounding the bugle heralded everywhere in each direction the great festival.
Jâmbavân, king of the bears, also joined in the ceremony. Sounding his bugle in all directions, he declared a great festival for Lord Vâmanadeva's victory. (Vedabase)
The Asuras who saw that all the land of their master, so determined in the sacrifice, was lost on the simple plea of three steps of land were very angry:
When the demoniac followers of Mahârâja Bali saw that their master, who had been determined in performing sacrifice, had lost all his possessions to Vâmanadeva, who had taken them away on the plea of begging three paces of land, they were very angry and spoke as follows. (Vedabase)
'Isn't this brahmin friend actually Vishnu Himself, who as the greatest of all cheaters assuming the form of a twice-born one willfully is trying to deceive us in the interest of the godly?
"This Vâmana is certainly not a brâhmana but the best of cheaters, Lord Vishnu. Assuming the form of a brâhmana, He has covered His own form, and thus He is working for the interests of the demigods. (Vedabase)
By Him, the enemy, in the form of a brahmacârî mendicant, has all that our master possesses been taken away because he, vowed to the ritual, gave up the clout.
"Our lord, Bali Mahârâja, because of his position in performing the yajña, has given up the power to punish. Taking advantage of this, our eternal enemy, Vishnu, dressed in the form of a brahmacârî beggar, has taken away all his possessions. (Vedabase)
Ever sworn to the truth is he, consacrated for the yajña and always sympathetic with the brahminical, personally incapable of telling a lie.
"Our lord, Bali Mahârâja, is always fixed in truthfulness, and this is especially so at present, since he has been initiated into performing a sacrifice. He is always kind and merciful toward the brâhmanas, and he cannot at any time speak lies. (Vedabase)
It is therefore our duty to our master to kill this one here!', and so took all the asura followers of Bali up a wide range of weapons.
"Therefore it is our duty to kill this Vâmanadeva, Lord Vishnu. It is our religious principle and the way to serve our master." After making this decision, the demoniac followers of Mahârâja Bali took up their various weapons with a view to killing Vâmanadeva. (Vedabase)
Aggravated by their angry nature having taken up tridents and lances rushed they all together forward against the will of Bali, o King.
O King, the demons, aggravated by their usual anger, took their lances and tridents in hand, and against the will of Bali Mahârâja they pushed forward to kill Lord Vâmanadeva. (Vedabase)
Seeing the daitya soldiers coming forward, o ruler, made the associates of Vishnu smile as they stopped them taking up their arms.
O King, when the associates of Lord Vishnu saw the soldiers of the demons coming forward in violence, they smiled. Taking up their weapons, they forbade the demons to continue their attempt. (Vedabase)
Nanda and Sunanda waged as well as did Jaya, Vijaya, Prabala, Bala, Kumuda, Kumudâksha, Vishvaksena, Patattrirâth [Garuda], Jayanta, S'rutadeva, Pushpadanta and Sâtvata; all together they as strong as a thousand elephants killed the asura soldiers.
Nanda, Sunanda, Jaya, Vijaya, Prabala, Bala, Kumuda, Kumudâksha, Vishvaksena, Patattrirâth [Garuda], Jayanta, S'rutadeva, Pushpadanta and Sâtvata were all associates of Lord Vishnu. They were as powerful as ten thousand elephants, and now they began killing the soldiers of the demons. (Vedabase)
After Bali saw his men being killed by the Original Personality His associates, remembered he the curse of S'ukrâcârya [8.20: 15] and commanded he their retreat despite of their anger:
When Bali Mahârâja saw that his own soldiers were being killed by the associates of Lord Vishnu, he remembered the curse of S'ukrâcârya and forbade his soldiers to continue fighting. (Vedabase)
'O Vipracitti, o Râhu, o Nemi, please listen, don't fight, stop with this, now is not the time to settle this.
O Vipracitti, O Râhu, O Nemi, please hear my words! Don't fight. Stop immediately, for the present time is not in our favor. (Vedabase)
That Master of All Living Beings, that Person of Control deciding about happiness and distress, can by human effort not be superseded, o Daityas.
O Daityas, by human efforts no one can supersede the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can bring happiness and distress to all living entities. (Vedabase)
Previously time worked in our favor and brought us the victory over the godly, but today does the time, which indeed is the Supreme Lord in existence, work against us.
The supreme time factor, which represents the Supreme Person, was previously in our favor and not in favor of the demigods, but now that same time factor is against us. (Vedabase)
Not by any power, counsel, cleverness, fortifications, spells or herbs, diplomacy or other means or likewise schemes is but a single person able to surpass the time factor.
No one can surpass the time representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by material power, by the counsel of ministers, by intelligence, by diplomacy, by fortresses, by mystic mantras, by drugs, by herbs or by any other means. (Vedabase)
All these followers of Vishnu who enjoyed the wealth by providence were by you in great numbers defeated and today indeed are they cheering in defeating us in battle [see B.G. 18: 13-15].
Previously, being empowered by providence, you defeated a great number of such followers of Lord Vishnu. But today those same followers, having defeated us, are roaring in jubilation like lions. (Vedabase)
We shall gain victory over them all to the favor of providence and therefore must we now await the time that is to our advantage.'
Unless providence is in our favor, we shall not be able to gain victory. Therefore we must wait for that favorable time when our defeating them will be possible. (Vedabase)
S'rî S'uka said: 'After the daitya and dânava leaders heard what their master told them entered they the lower regions, o King, driven there by the associates of Vishnu.
S'ukadeva Gosvâmî continued: O King, in accordance with the order of their master, Bali Mahârâja, all the chiefs of the demons and the Daityas entered the lower regions of the universe, to which they were driven by the soldiers of Vishnu. (Vedabase)
Thereafter, on the day when to the sacrifice the soma is taken [soma-pâna], was Bali, to the desire of the master [Lord Vishnu], by the son of Târkshya, the king of the birds [Garuda] arrested who bound him with the ropes of Varuna.
Thereafter, on the day of soma-pâna, after the sacrifice was finished, Garuda, king of the birds, understanding the desire of his master, arrested Bali Mahârâja with the ropes of Varuna. (Vedabase)
From all directions rose everywhere in the upper and lower worlds a great roar of disappointment because of the apprehension of the asura leader by Vishnu, the mightiest around.
When Bali Mahârâja was thus arrested by Lord Vishnu, who is the most powerful, there was a great roar of lamentation in all directions throughout the upper and lower planetary systems of the universe. (Vedabase)
Bereft of his luster remained he, so magnanimous and celebrated o King, determined as ever. Unto him bound thus by Varuna's ropes then spoke the Supreme Lord Vâmana:
O King, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vâmanadeva, then spoke to Bali Mahârâja, the most liberal and celebrated personality whom He had arrested with the ropes of Varuna. Bali Mahârâja had lost all bodily luster, but he was nonetheless fixed in his determination. (Vedabase)
'Three steps of land have you given Me, o Asura; with two I occupied the complete of all the earth's surface and now you owe me for the third one.
O King of the demons, you have promised to give Me three steps of land, but I have occupied the entire universe with two steps. Now think about where I should put My third. (Vedabase)
As far as the sun, the moon and the stars can shed their light and as far as the clouds are pouring rain, do you own all the land covered.
As far as the sun and moon shine with the stars and as far as the clouds pour rain, all the land throughout the universe is in your possession. (Vedabase)
With one step only I covered the entire sphere of the earth [Bhûrloka], with My body occupying the sky in all directions and with the second step I took before your eyes for Myself the higher worlds that were in your possession
Of these possessions, with one step I have occupied Bhûrloka, and with My body I have occupied the entire sky and all directions. And in your presence, with My second step, I have occupied the upper planetary system. (Vedabase)
Unable to give what you promised is it the rule that you yourself now stay out of it; and getting out it is as your guru would like [see also 6.17: 28].
Because you have been unable to give charity according to your promise, the rule is that you should go down to live in the hellish planets. Therefore, in accordance with the order of S'ukrâcârya, your spiritual master, now go down and live there. (Vedabase)
Anyone cheating a mendicant in falling short to give what was promised, falls down the more, and must, far removed from the higher life, ruminate fruitlessly.
Far from being elevated to the heavenly planets or fulfilling one's desire, one who does not properly give a beggar what he has promised falls down to a hellish condition of life. (Vedabase)
Now that I've been fooled by you saying 'this I promise and that I'm so proud of' will you therefore as a consequence of this offensive result have to live out of it all for some years.
Being falsely proud of your possessions, you promised to give Me land, but you could not fulfill your promise. Therefore, because your promise was false, you must live for a few years in hellish life. (Vedabase)
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ISBN: o-91277-27-7
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