Bali- Hindu DemonDemon"King of the Three Worlds"

The Asura King

Bali was the grandson of Prahlada, the devotee of Vishnu who had survived his own father's attempts to kill him. His father Virochana was killed by the devas, and the young Bali assumed leadership of the asura hosts. Under his preceptor Shukracharya, he performed intense austerities, launched a campaign against heaven, defeated Indra, and seized dominion over all three worlds. Yet Bali ruled justly. His subjects flourished, and even the devas conceded his reign was righteous.

The Dwarf at the Sacrifice

The dispossessed gods appealed to Vishnu, who incarnated as Vamana, a dwarf brahmin boy born to Aditi and the sage Kashyapa. Vamana appeared at Bali's great ashvamedha sacrifice on the banks of the Narmada, carrying an umbrella and a water pot. Bali welcomed him and offered to grant whatever he desired. Vamana asked for three paces of land.

Shukracharya recognized the dwarf as Vishnu in disguise and warned Bali not to grant the boon. A promise made under deception carried no binding force, he argued, and Bali's obligation to his people outweighed ritual generosity to a trickster god. Bali refused to withdraw his word. To be called a liar, he said, was a greater loss than to lose the three worlds. He poured the ceremonial water over Vamana's hands, sealing the gift.

The Three Strides

The dwarf began to grow. He swelled into the cosmic form of Trivikrama, his body spanning the universe. With his first stride he covered the earth. With his second he covered the heavens, his foot piercing the celestial sphere so that the water of the cosmic ocean flowed in and became the Ganga. Nothing remained for the third step.

Vamana turned to Bali and asked where he should place his final pace. Bali bowed his head and offered it. Vamana pressed the asura king down into Patala, the netherworld. But rather than destroying him, Vishnu granted Bali sovereignty over Patala as its eternal ruler and stationed himself as doorkeeper at Bali's palace in Sutala. The captor became the servant.