Stories From The Bhagawatham - Vamana Avatar Part 4

 


Before his very eyes, Bali saw Vamana grow and keep on growing to immense proportions. Tears of wonder and awe fell from his eyes as Bali got the Vishwarupa Darshan of Lord Narayana.

He saw the Virat Purusha. Rasatala was at His feet, the earth His sole, His knees the mountains, His thighs, the kingdom of the winds, His navel the sky, the seven seas within Him. On His chest, stars cluttered and formed a beautiful garland. In His heart, Bali found Dharma and Sathya, in His mind, Chandra, Lakshmi on His chest, the Sama vedas on His throat. His shoulders carried the Devas, His ears the directions and His head, the heavens. His eyes reflected the sun and His mouth held fire. On His face, Bali saw day and night. His shadow was Death. The rivers were His veins and the hairs on His body, the trees, shrubs and creepers one could find on earth. His body was home to everything movable and immovable.

The immense form of Vamana as Lord Narayana towered towards the heavens. With one foot, He claimed all the land on earth. He raised His other foot towards the heaven. His foot crossed all the lokas until it reached Sathyla loka where Brahma resided. Lord Brahma was exhilarated at his proximity to the Lord’s foot. He and other celestial beings worshipped the holy foot of the Lord. They poured water from a kamandalu over the foot. The water that touched His foot came to be called as Mandakini and when the water fell down on earth, it became the river called Ganga.

Having measured and claimed the entire earth and heavens, Lord Narayana resumed His form as Vamana and stood smiling before Bali.

Two paces had been measured and there remained one more pace to claim!

Read The Next Part Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stories From The Bhagavatham - Narasimha Avatar (Part 1)

Image
In the previous chapters of Bhagavatham, we read about how the doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, the abode of Maha Vishnu, had been cursed to take three births as the enemies of the lord. One of their births was as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, two Asuras who wreaked untold damage upon the earth and made life miserable for all the devotees of the Lord. Hiranyaksha was killed by Maha Vishnu in His form as Varaha. Angered by the killing of his brother, Hiranyakashipu issued a command to his followers. “My brother has been killed by Narayana. I must destroy him. Go to the earth and wherever you see people performing Tapas, Yajna and other spiritual activities, kill them. Narayana is said to be present at the places where people worship him. I do not want him to be worshipped! Destroy anyone who utters his name!” Eagerly following his orders, the asuras went on a rampage, destroying places of worship, obstructing spiritual activities and harming every one who proclaimed themselves to be a de...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Prelude To An Avatar (Part 1)

Image
  While the Devas and Asuras were always rivals, once it so happened that the Devas lost all their strength and the Asuras began to conquer them. Worried about the future of the universe, the Devas approached Lord Brahma, the Creator to seek His help. Lord Brahma advised the Devas to seek Lord Narayana. The Devas, along with Lord Brahma approached Maha Vishnu and asked for His guidance. “I know what you need to win over the Asuras.” Maha Vishnu said. “First and foremost, you need to make peace with them. You need time to recover your strength and should avoid any fights. You need to obtain Amritha, the nectar of life which will grant immortality to you. To get this nectar, you need to churn the ocean using Mount Mandara as the churning staff and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. This churning will require powerful hands and you will need the assistance of the Asuras for the same.” Maha Vishnu also gave some advice to the Devas. “Whatever happens, agree with the Asuras for every...
Read more

Stories From The Bhagawatham - Gajendra Moksham

Image
  In a hill named Trikuta, there was a garden named Rituman which was a paradise in itself. One could find every kind of tree, flower, fruit and animal there. In this hill, lived an elephant with his herd. The elephant was the leader of the herd and is referred to by devotees as Gajendra, and this leela of Maha Vishnu is named as Gajendra Moksham. This story is very special. I grew up listening to this story and simply love it because for me, it stands as a validation that no cry or prayer goes unheard in the Universe. Once, feeling thirsty, Gajendra entered a lake with his herd. After drinking water, the herd bathed in the lake. Unaware to the elephants, a crocodile stealthily swam up to the herd and clutched the leg of Gajendra. The elephant trumpeted loudly in pain. But try as he might, he could not lift his leg from the jaws of the crocodile. Seeing their leader in trouble, the other elephants tried to help him, but all their efforts went in vain. The crocodile kept tryin...
Read more