Vamana
BALI, the grandson of Prahlada was a very valorous and mighty asura. By his penance and might, he conquered the whole world. Indra and other gods fearing that he and the asuras would conquer all the three worlds, went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu was then born as a dwarf Vamana in the household of a brahman priest. He went to Bali on growing up and asked for alms. Bali was delighted to offer him anything he requested even though his royal guru warned him that it was Lord Vishnu.
Vamana then requested for the amount of land that could come under his three feet. Bali gracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in size and covered the earth and heaven in two stride. And due to lack of space, he put his third leg on Bali himself and crushed Bali to the nether or the Patala loka (underground world), thus helping the Gods out.
Vamana (Sanskrit: वामन, IAST: Vāmana, lit. dwarf), is the 17 avatar of Hindu god Vishnu. He incarnates in a time of crisis to restore cosmic balance by creatively defeating the Asura king Mahabali, who had acquired disproportionate power over the universe. According to Hindu mythology, the noble demon king sponsors a sacrifice and gift giving ceremony to consolidate his power, and Vishnu appears at this ceremony as a dwarf mendicant Brahmin called Vamana. When Vamana's turn comes to receive a gift, Mahabali offers him whatever riches and material wealth he would like, but Vamana refuses everything and states he would just like three paces of land. Mahabali finds the dwarf's request amusingly small and irrevocably grants it. Vamana then grows into a giant of cosmic proportions. In one step he covers the earth, in another the heavens, and for the third, Mahabali offers his head on which Vamana steps, sending the demon king to the Patala (netherworld).
The Vamana avatar has roots in Vedic texts of Hinduism. The hymns of the Rigveda describes Vishnu as that benevolent god who in three steps defined all there is in the universe. The giant form of Vamana is also known as Trivikrama (literally, "three steps"). The Vamana legend has been a popular one, inspiring icons found in Hindu temples and sections in Hindu texts such as the Puranas and the epics. About thirty different versions of his mythology are found in these texts.
Vamana 17th Vishnu Avatar
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