Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.4.20
దేవాసురే యుధి చ దైత్యపతీన్ సురార్థే
హత్వాన్తరేషు భువనాన్యదధాత్ కలాభి: ।
భూత్వాథ వామన ఇమామహరద్ బలే: క్ష్మాం
యాచ్ఞాచ్ఛలేన సమదాదదితే: సుతేభ్య: ॥ ౨౦ ॥
devāsure yudhi ca daitya-patīn surārthe
[devaasure yudhi cha daitya-pateen suraarthe]
hatvāntareṣu bhuvanāny adadhāt kalābhiḥ
[hatvaantareshu bhuvanaany adadhaat kalaabhih]
bhūtvātha vāmana imām aharad baleḥ kṣmāṁ
[bhootvaatha vaamana imaam aharad baleh kshmaam]
yācṣā-cchalena samadād aditeḥ sutebhyaḥ
[yaachshaa-chchalena samadaad aditeh sutebhyah]
Word-for-word
deva-asure
—
of the demigods and demons
yudhi
—
in the battle
ca
—
and
daitya-patīn
—
the leaders of the demons
sura-arthe
—
for the sake of the demigods
hatvā
—
by killing
antareṣu
—
during the reign of each Manu
bhuvanāni
—
all the worlds
adadhāt
—
protected
kalābhiḥ
—
by His various appearances
bhūtvā
—
becoming
atha
—
moreover
vāmanaḥ
—
the incarnation as a dwarf brāhmaṇa boy
imām
—
this
aharat
—
took away
baleḥ
—
from Bali Mahārāja
kṣmām
—
earth
yācṣā-chalena
—
on the excuse of begging for charity
samadāt
—
gave
aditeḥ
—
of Aditi
sutebhyaḥ
—
to the sons (the demigods).
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
devāsure yudhi ca daitya-patīn surārthe
deva-asure
of the demigods and demons
yudhi
in the battle
ca
and
daitya-patīn
the leaders of the demons
sura-arthe
for the sake of the demigods
hatvāntareṣu bhuvanāny adadhāt kalābhiḥ
hatvā
by killing
antareṣu
during the reign of each Manu
bhuvanāni
all the worlds
adadhāt
protected
kalābhiḥ
by His various appearances
bhūtvātha vāmana imām aharad baleḥ kṣmāṁ
bhūtvā
becoming
atha
moreover
vāmanaḥ
the incarnation as a dwarf brāhmaṇa boy
imām
this
aharat
took away
baleḥ
from Bali Mahārāja
kṣmām
earth
yācṣā-cchalena samadād aditeḥ sutebhyaḥ
yācṣā-chalena
on the excuse of begging for charity
samadāt
gave
aditeḥ
of Aditi
sutebhyaḥ
to the sons (the demigods).
The Supreme Lord regularly takes advantage of the wars between the demons and demigods to kill the leaders of the demons. The Lord thus encourages the demigods by protecting the universe through His various incarnations during the reigns of each Manu. The Lord also appeared as Vāmana and took the earth away from Bali Mahārāja on the plea of begging three steps of land. The Lord then returned the entire world to the sons of Aditi.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
The Supreme Lord, in the wars between the demons and devatās, killed the leaders of the demons to favor the devatās. He protected the universe through his Manvantara avatāra forms during the reigns of each Manu. The Lord appeared as Vāmana and took the earth away from Bali Mahārāja on the plea of begging three steps of land. The Lord then returned the entire world to the sons of Aditi.
The Lord protected the worlds during all the Manvantaras by his Manvantara avatāra forms.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Across every age, Kṛṣṇa Himself descends to dismantle adharma and restore what belongs to His devotees — never doubt that He personally intervenes.
Practical Applications
- Today, name one situation where you are waiting for impersonal fate to resolve things, and instead pray to Kṛṣṇa by name to act.
- When you see injustice favoring the powerful, refuse cynicism — remember that the Lord uses even the cleverness of the strong to undo them.
- Offer one small act of service explicitly to Kṛṣṇa as the protector who has already arranged your welfare across many lifetimes.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I quietly resenting Kṛṣṇa for not intervening on my timeline, when He is in fact moving across ages?
- What 'three steps of land' is the Lord asking of me — a small yielding that would return everything to its rightful place?
For Each Age Group
youth
- When a classmate or rival seems to be 'winning' unfairly, refuse the impulse to despair — quietly ask Kṛṣṇa to act, and keep doing your own work.
- Notice the next time you feel cheated out of something small (a grade, a spot, recognition) and ask whether the Lord is asking for those 'three steps' so He can give you more.
- Before scrolling or arguing online about who is right in some public conflict, pause and remember: the Lord personally manages the rise and fall of powers across ages.
householder
- When a financial or career setback takes something you built, treat it as Vāmana asking for three steps — respond by deepening service rather than scrambling to recover.
- Tell your children one concrete story of how Kṛṣṇa personally protected your family, so they grow up knowing the Lord as a Person, not a concept.
- In family disputes over property, inheritance, or status, refuse to play the demon-king role — yield the contested 'land' and let the Lord arrange the real outcome.
senior
- As the body and possessions are increasingly 'taken away,' practice seeing each loss as the Lord's three steps, claiming what was always His.
- Mentor a younger devotee by telling them, in plain language, how Kṛṣṇa intervened across the decades of your life — make Him personal for them.
- Loosen your grip on legacy and reputation: like Bali, the highest honor is not the kingdom you leave behind but the Lord's foot placed on your head.
Common Pitfalls
- Reducing the Vāmana episode to mythology or moral allegory, missing that the Personality of Godhead Himself descended.
- Admiring Bali's generosity in a humanistic way while ignoring that his real gain was being claimed by Kṛṣṇa.
- Treating the Lord's protection of the demigods as cosmic favoritism, instead of the lawful protection of dharma through sva-dharma.
Discussion Prompts
- Share a time you felt the Lord 'took something away' from you under a small pretext — and what He gave in its place.
- Bali was a demon-king who became a great devotee through being dispossessed. Where in your own life is dispossession quietly working as grace?
- If Kṛṣṇa personally arranges these cosmic reversals, what does that mean for our usual categories of 'winners' and 'losers' in current events?
Role Play
Two students pair up: one plays Bali Mahārāja just after Vāmana has placed the third step on his head; the other plays a modern friend who insists Bali was cheated and should fight back. Bali must defend, in plain language, why being claimed by the Lord is the real gain, not the loss of the kingdom.
Objections & Responses
- Isn't it deceptive for God to come as a small boy, beg three steps, and then dispossess a generous king? This looks like trickery, not dharma.
From the personalist view, Kṛṣṇa is not bound by our procedural fairness — He is the proprietor of everything Bali was 'giving away.' The 'trick' is the Lord's mercy: it converts Bali's pride of ownership into the highest gain, being personally touched and claimed by the Supreme. Bali himself later praises this as the Lord's greatest favor. - Why would the Supreme need to incarnate at all? An all-powerful God could just will the demons defeated without descending.
Because Kṛṣṇa is a Person, not an abstract force, He chooses to act through relationship — protecting His devotees face-to-face, giving the demons a personal encounter that liberates even them. The descent is not a workaround for limitation; it is the form love takes when the Supreme deals with His own.
My note
Source: vedabase.io