O son of a brāhmaṇa! O brahmacārī! It appears that you have come here to ask me for something. Take from me whatever you want. O best of those who are worshipable! Take from me a cow, gold, a furnished house, palatable food and drink, the daughter of a brāhmaṇa for your wife, prosperous villages, horses, elephants, or chariots. Thus ends the commentary on the Eighteenth Chapter of the Eighth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas. Chapter Nineteen Vāmana Begs For Land 8.19: Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja 19. Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja 8.19 Summary This Nineteenth Chapter describes how Lord Vāmanadeva asked for three paces of land in charity, how Bali Mahārāja agreed to His proposal, and how Śukrācārya forbade Bali Mahārāja to fulfill Lord Vāmanadeva's request. When Bali Mahārāja, thinking Vāmanadeva to be the son of a brāhmaṇa, told Him to ask for anything He liked, Lord Vāmanadeva praised Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa for their heroic activities, and after thus praising the family in which Bali Mahārāja had been born, He begged the King for three paces of land. Bali Mahārāja agreed to give this land in charity, since this was very insignificant, but Śukrācārya, who could understand that Vāmanadeva was Viṣṇu, the friend of the demigods, forbade Bali Mahārāja to give this land. Śukrācārya advised Bali Mahārāja to withdraw his promise. He explained that in subduing others, in joking, in responding to danger, in acting for the welfare of others, and so on, one could refuse to fulfill one's promise, and there would be no fault. By this philosophy, Śukrācārya tried to dissuade Bali Mahārāja from giving land to Lord Vāmanadeva.