Kashyapa and his two
wives, Diti and Aditi, were the
parents of Asuras (demons) and Devas (gods). Indra, the king of Devas went to war with the king of the Asuras,
as it was common practice in those days for one king to invade the kingdom of
another to acquire additional territory. Mahabali
vanquished Indra in the war and proceeded to annexe the territory of Indra and
occupied his capital Amaravati. Kashyapa had gone to the Himalayas to do
penance. Lamenting over the defeat of her son, Indra, Aditi was in great grief.
When she was wailing, Kashyapa came to her. Instantly; he was able to recognise
the cause of her grief by Divine insight, which he had acquired as a result of
his penance. He consoled his wife Aditi saying that nothing happens in the
world without God’s will and people should go on doing their duties. He asked
her to pray to Lord Narayana and
taught her a Vrata to be followed strictly, known as Payovrata. It has to be
observed from the twelfth day of the bright half of Karteeka. She observed the
Vrata as prescribed. A devotee’s sincere prayer will never go waste. Since she
performed the Vrata with a pious heart, Narayana appeared before her and
blessed her that He would Himself take birth in her womb and help Indra. Aditi
was very happy and true to the word of the Lord, she gave birth to a son of
uncommon effulgence on the twelfth day of the bright half of the month of
Bhadrapada. That child was Vamana
Murthi. Even as a child He demonstrated His Divine power by doing
marvellous deeds.
Mahabali
was performing an Ashwamedha Yajna.
He had previously performed a hundred such Yajnas. He declared that he would
give anything that anyone sought from him during this Yajna. Vamana came to the
Yagashala. As He was approaching them, the sages assembled there perceived the
extraordinary effulgent form of the young lad. Mahabali went forth to receive
the Brahmana boy with all
traditional honours and gave him and eminent seat befitting the status of a
holy person. Bali told him: “Master, it is my good fortune that you have chosen
to honour me with your presence. Whatever you desire, I am here ready to fulfil
the same”. Vamana smiled and said: “You need not give me anything very great.
It is enough if you give me that extent of land covered by three foot-steps of mine”.
On
hearing him, Bali’s preceptor, Shukracharya,
who could have vision of the future, told Bali that the one who had come to
seek a gift from Bali was not an ordinary Brahmana boy but Lord Narayana
Himself who had assumed this form. He advised Bali not to promise the lad
anything. But Bali was a king who would never go back on his word and told his
Guru that he would never break his promise. He was determined to give Vamana
whatever he wanted since breaking one’s word was a sin and he had to keep his
pledge. Shukracharya insisted that he should not fulfil the demand of Vamana as
He had come to deprive Bali of all his possessions. He said Vamana was not
really in need of anything as everything was in His hands.
Bali,
however, determined to honour the word given to Vamana, begged pardon of his
Guru for disregarding his advice. Earlier, while Bali was embarking on the war
with Indra, he had prostrated at the feet of his preceptor, Shukracharya, and
on his advice he performed the Vishvajit
Yajna from which he secured very powerful weapons. It was only because of
Shukracharya’s help that he was able to conquer Indra. On this occasion, Bali
was not prepared to heed the advice of the same preceptor. Shukracharya cursed
Bali, saying: “As you have not heeded your Guru’s words you will be reduced to
ashes”. Bali was firm and replied, “I am prepared to face any consequence, but
will not go back on my word”.
So
saying, he told Vamana to measure the three feet of land as desired by Him. All
attempts of Shukracharya to dissuade Bali from offering the land desired by
Vamana proved futile. Bali told his Guru: “Prana
and Mana are the two eyes of a person. Even if life goes, honour should be
protected. Granting that the person that has come now is the Lord Himself, I
should be the most fortunate one as the Lord who gives everything to mankind,
is seeking something from me”.
Bali
wanted to perform a great Yaga called Vishwajit Vishwam (means the totality of
Pancha Bhootas (five elements), Pancha Indriyas (five senses) and Pancha Koshas
(five regions or sheaths) of the human body). It is the victory over such a
Vishwam which the word Vishwajit symbolizes.
Indra
is so called because he is ruler of the Indriyas (senses), and the ruler of the
Indriyas in man is the Manas. The nature of the interplay of Indriyas is such
that it is possible to gain as well as to lose through it. Indra wanted to rule
heaven, but Bali wanted nothing of the sort. Indra used to propitiate and beg
Vishnu in order to achieve what he desired, but Vishnu Himself descended in the
form of Vamana to beg from Bali. Thus Bali proved himself to be far superior to
Indra.
Vamana
belonged to the famous Siddhashram which was founded by Kashyapa (representing
Purusha) and Aditi (representing the feminine Nature). It is through the union
of this Purusha and Prakriti that the progeny known as Siddhi (in the form of
Vatu), the embodiment of Vishnu Tatwa, was born. The Siddhashram was located on
the banks of a sacred river called Pavitra, which represents life. Siddhi will
always be found on the banks of flowing life whenever the Bhava Shuddhi (purity
of mind) and Chitta Shuddhi (purity of heart) predominate in man. It is due to
the fact that all Sankalpas could be realised at this sacred Ashram that it has
come to be known as Siddhashram. Vishwamitra, after the successful completion
of his Yaga with the help of Rama and Lakshmana, brought them to reside at this
Ashram for some time. It was at this Ashram, too, that Bali attained Moksha
(liberation).
The
spreading of Vishnu Tatwam is known as Trivikrama Tatwam. The aspect of
Trivikrama Tatwam is represented by the Gayatri Mantra: ‘Bhur Bhuvaha Suvaha’.
The Bhu Loka, Bhuvar Loka and Suvar Loka constitute the Trivikrama Tatwam. It
is wrong to conceive of these three Lokas as existing one on top of the other
and thus capable of being reached by climbing a ladder, as it were! In fact the
three Lokas are intertwined with each other and one exists within the other.
The
real meaning of this kind of geometrical configuration of the three Lokas is
that the Pancha Indriya, Pancha Bhootas and Pancha Koshas aspects of man’s Deha,
is Bhu Loka; the aspect of Prana Shakti or Manas Tatwam is Bhuvar Loka; and the
microscopic state of Aanandam represents Suvar Loka. So it can be said that the
three worlds, Bhu Loka, Bhuvar Loka and Suvar Loka, are nothing but the Deha
Tatwa, Manas Tatwa and Ananda Tatwa respectively and the totality of these
three represents the Trivikrama Tatwa.
Again,
these three aspects of Trivikrama Tatwa can be understood in terms of the three
states of an individual, viz., the one you think you are, the one others think
you are and the one you really are. Hence only by proper Sadhana can one
transcend from Bhu Loka through Bhuvar Loka to Suvar Loka. The attainment of
Suvar Loka is known as Moksha, and it represents the stage of complete mergence
with the Lord. Since it is a state where the aspect of Moha is made to disintegrate,
it is known as Moksha.
 and Devas (gods). Indra, the king of Devas went to...){kind=link}
0 comments