Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Twenty-one
Bali Maharaja Arrested by the Lord
SB8.21Summary
This chapter describes how Lord Visnu, desiring to advertise the glories of Bali Maharaja, arrested him for not fulfilling his promise in regard to the Lord’s third step.
With the second step the Supreme Personality of Godhead reached the topmost planet of the universe, Brahmaloka, which He diminished in beauty by the effulgence of His toenails. Thus Lord Brahma, accompanied by great sages like Marici and the predominating deities of all the higher planets, offered humble prayers and worship to the Lord. They washed the Lord’s feet and worshiped Him with all paraphernalia. Rksaraja, Jambavan, played his bugle to vibrate the glories of the Lord. When Bali Maharaja was deprived of all his possessions, the demons were very angry. Although Bali Maharaja warned them not to do so, they took up weapons against Lord Visnu. All of them were defeated, however, by Lord Visnu’s eternal associates, and, in accordance with Bali Maharaja’s order, they all entered the lower planets of the universe. Understanding Lord Visnu’s purpose, Garuda, the carrier of Lord Visnu, immediately arrested Bali Maharaja with the ropes of Varuna. When Bali Maharaja was thus reduced to a helpless position, Lord Visnu asked him for the third step of land. Because Lord Visnu appreciated Bali Maharaja’s determination and integrity, when Bali Maharaja was unable to fulfill his promise, Lord Visnu ascertained that the place for him would be the planet Sutala, which is better than the planets of heaven. SB8.21.1 TEXT 1 sri-suka uvaca satyam samiksyabja-bhavo nakhendubhir hata-svadhama-dyutir avrto ’bhyagat marici-misra rsayo brhad-vratah sanandanadya nara-deva yoginah SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; satyam—the planet Satyaloka; samiksya—by observing; abja-bhavah—Lord Brahma, who appeared on the lotus flower; nakha-indubhih—by the effulgence of the nails; hata—having been reduced; sva-dhama-dyutih—the illumination of his own residence; avrtah—being covered; abhyagat—came; marici-misrah—with sages like Marici; rsayah—great saintly persons; brhat-vratah—all of them absolutely brahmacari; sanandana-adyah—like Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumara; nara-deva—O King; yoginah—greatly powerful mystics. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami continued: When Lord Brahma, who was born of a lotus flower, saw that the effulgence of his residence, Brahmaloka, had been reduced by the glaring effulgence from the toenails of Lord Vamanadeva, he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Brahma was accompanied by all the great sages, headed by Marici, and by yogis like Sanandana, but in the presence of that glaring effulgence, O King, even Lord Brahma and his associates seemed insignificant. SB8.21.2-3 TEXTS 2–3 vedopaveda niyama yamanvitas tarketihasanga-purana-samhitah ye capare yoga-samira-dipita- jnanagnina randhita-karma-kalmasah vavandire yat-smarananubhavatah svayambhuvam dhama gata akarmakam athanghraye pronnamitaya visnor upaharat padma-bhavo ’rhanodakam samarcya bhaktyabhyagrnac chuci-srava yan-nabhi-pankeruha-sambhavah svayam SYNONYMS veda—the four Vedas (Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva), the original knowledge given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; upavedah—the complementary and supplementary Vedic knowledge, like Ayur-veda and Dhanur-veda; niyamah—regulative principles; yama—controlling processes; anvitah—fully expert in such matters; tarka—logic; itihasa—history; anga—Vedic education; purana—old history recorded in the stories of the puranas; samhitah—Vedic complementary studies like the Brahma-samhita; ye—others; ca—also; apare—other than Lord Brahma and his associates; yoga-samira-dipita—ignited by the air of mystic yoga practice; jnana-agnina—by the fire of knowledge; randhita-karma-kalmasah—those for whom all pollution of fruitive activities has been stopped; vavandire—offered their prayers; yat-smarana-anubhavatah—simply by meditating on whom; svayambhuvam—of Lord Brahma; dhama—the residence; gatah—had achieved; akarmakam—which cannot be achieved by fruitive activities; atha—thereupon; anghraye—unto the lotus feet; pronnamitaya—offered obeisances; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; upaharat—offered worship; padma-bhavah—Lord Brahma, who appeared from the lotus flower; arhana-udakam—oblation by water; samarcya—worshiping; bhaktya—in devotional service; abhyagrnat—pleased him; suci-sravah—the most celebrated Vedic authority; yat-nabhi-pankeruha-sambhavah svayam—Lord Brahma, who personally appeared from the lotus in the navel of whom (the Personality of Godhead). TRANSLATION Among the great personalities who came to worship the lotus feet of the Lord were those who had attained perfection in self-control and regulative principles, as well as experts in logic, history, general education and the Vedic literature known as kalpe [dealing with old historical incidents]. Others were experts in the Vedic corollaries like Brahma-samhita, all the other knowledge of the Vedas [Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva], and also the supplementary Vedic knowledge [Ayur-veda, Dhanur-veda, etc.]. Others were those who had been freed of the reactions to fruitive activities by transcendental knowledge awakened by practice of yoga. And still others were those who had attained residence in Brahmaloka not by ordinary karma but by advanced Vedic knowledge. After devotedly worshiping the upraised lotus feet of the Supreme Lord with oblations of water, Lord Brahma, who was born of the lotus emanating from Lord Visnu’s navel, offered prayers to the Lord. SB8.21.4 TEXT 4 dhatuh kamandalu-jalam tad urukramasya padavanejana-pavitrataya narendra svardhuny abhun nabhasi sa patati nimarsti loka-trayam bhagavato visadeva kirtih SYNONYMS dhatuh—of Lord Brahma; kamandalu-jalam—water from the kamandalu; tat—that; urukramasya—of Lord Visnu; pada-avanejana-pavitrataya—because of washing the lotus feet of Lord Visnu and thus being transcendentally pure; nara-indra—O King; svardhuni—the river named Svardhuni of the celestial world; abhut—so became; nabhasi—in outer space; sa—that water; patati—flowing down; nimarsti—purifying; loka-trayam—the three worlds; bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; visada—so purified; iva—just like; kirtih—the fame or the glorious activities. TRANSLATION O King, the water from Lord Brahma’s kamandalu washed the lotus feet of Lord Vamanadeva, who is known as Urukrama, the wonderful actor. Thus that water became so pure that it was transformed into the water of the Ganges, which went flowing down from the sky, purifying the three worlds like the pure fame of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. PURPORT Here we understand that the Ganges began when the water from Lord Brahma’s kamandalu washed the lotus feet of Lord Vamanadeva. But in the Fifth Canto it is stated that the Ganges began when Vamanadeva’s left foot pierced the covering of the universe so that the transcendental water of the Causal Ocean leaked through. And elsewhere it is also stated that Lord Narayana appeared as the water of the Ganges. The water of the Ganges, therefore, is a combination of three transcendental waters, and thus the Ganges is able to purify the three worlds. This is the description given by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. SB8.21.5 TEXT 5 brahmadayo loka-nathah sva-nathaya samadrtah sanuga balim ajahruh sanksiptatma-vibhutaye SYNONYMS brahma-adayah—great personalities, headed by Lord Brahma; loka-nathah—the predominating deities of various planets; sva-nathaya—unto their supreme master; samadrtah—with great respect; sa-anugah—with their respective followers; balim—different paraphernalia of worship; ajahruh—collected; sanksipta-atma-vibhutaye—unto the Lord, who had expanded His personal opulence but had now reduced His size to the Vamana form. TRANSLATION Lord Brahma and all the predominating deities of the various planetary systems began to worship Lord Vamanadeva, their supreme master, who had reduced Himself from His all-pervading form to His original form. They collected all the ingredients and paraphernalia for this worship. PURPORT Vamanadeva first expanded Himself to the universal form and then reduced Himself to the original Vamana-rupa. Thus He acted exactly like Lord Krsna, who, at the request of Arjuna, first showed His universal form and later resumed His original form as Krsna. The Lord can assume any form He likes, but His original form is that of Krsna (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). According to the capacity of the devotee, the Lord assumes various forms so that the devotee can handle Him. This is His causeless mercy. When Lord Vamanadeva resumed His original form, Lord Brahma and his associates collected various paraphernalia for worship with which to please Him. SB8.21.6-7 TEXTS 6–7 toyaih samarhanaih sragbhir divya-gandhanulepanaih dhupair dipaih surabhibhir lajaksata-phalankuraih stavanair jaya-sabdais ca tad-virya-mahimankitaih nrtya-vaditra-gitais ca sankha-dundubhi-nihsvanaih SYNONYMS toyaih—by water required for washing the lotus feet and bathing; samarhanaih—by padya, arghya and other such items for worshiping the Lord; sragbhih—by flower garlands; divya-gandha-anulepanaih—by many kinds of pulp, like sandalwood and aguru, to smear upon the body of Lord Vamanadeva; dhupaih—by incense; dipaih—by lamps; surabhibhih—all of them extremely fragrant; laja—by fried paddies; aksata—by unbroken grains; phala—by fruits; ankuraih—by roots and sprouts; stavanaih—by offering prayers; jaya-sabdaih—by saying “jaya, jaya”; ca—also; tat-virya-mahima-ankitaih—which indicated the glorious activities of the Lord; nrtya-vaditra-gitaih ca—by dancing, playing various musical instruments, and singing songs; sankha—of vibrating conchshells; dundubhi—of the beating on kettledrums; nihsvanaih—by the sound vibrations. TRANSLATION They worshiped the Lord by offering fragrant flowers, water, padya and arghya, sandalwood pulp and aguru pulp, incense, lamps, fused rice, unbroken grains, fruits, roots and sprouts. While so doing, they offered prayers indicating the glorious activities of the Lord and shouted “Jaya! Jaya!” They also danced, played instruments, sang, sounded conchshells and beat kettledrums, in this way worshiping the Lord. SB8.21.8 TEXT 8 jambavan rksa-rajas tu bheri-sabdair mano-javah vijayam diksu sarvasu mahotsavam aghosayat SYNONYMS jambavan—who was named Jambavan; rksa-rajah tu—the king in the form of a bear also; bheri-sabdaih—by sounding the bugle; manah-javah—in mental ecstasy; vijayam—victory; diksu—in all directions; sarvasu—everywhere; maha-utsavam—festival; aghosayat—declared. TRANSLATION Jambavan, king of the bears, also joined in the ceremony. Sounding his bugle in all directions, he declared a great festival for Lord Vamanadeva’s victory. SB8.21.9 TEXT 9 mahim sarvam hrtam drstva tripada-vyaja-yacnaya ucuh sva-bhartur asura diksitasyatyamarsitah SYNONYMS mahim—land; sarvam—all; hrtam—lost; drstva—after seeing; tri-pada-vyaja-yacnaya—by simply asking three steps of land; ucuh—said; sva-bhartuh—of their master; asurah—the demons; diksitasya—of Bali Maharaja, who was so determined in the sacrifice; ati—very much; amarsitah—for whom the function was unbearable. TRANSLATION When the demoniac followers of Maharaja Bali saw that their master, who had been determined in performing sacrifice, had lost all his possessions to Vamanadeva, who had taken them away on the plea of begging three paces of land, they were very angry and spoke as follows. SB8.21.10 TEXT 10 na vayam brahma-bandhur visnur mayavinam varah dvija-rupa-praticchanno deva-karyam cikirsati SYNONYMS na—not; va—either; ayam—this; brahma-bandhuh—Vamanadeva, in the form of a brahmana; visnuh—He is Lord Visnu Himself; mayavinam—of all cheaters; varah—the greatest; dvija-rupa—by assuming the form of a brahmana; praticchannah—is disguised for the purpose of cheating; deva-karyam—the interest of the demigods; cikirsati—He is trying for. TRANSLATION “This Vamana is certainly not a brahmana but the best of cheaters, Lord Visnu. Assuming the form of a brahmana, He has covered His own form, and thus He is working for the interests of the demigods. SB8.21.11 TEXT 11 anena yacamanena satruna vatu-rupina sarvasvam no hrtam bhartur nyasta-dandasya barhisi SYNONYMS anena—by Him; yacamanena—who is in the position of a beggar; satruna—by the enemy; vatu-rupina—in the form of a brahmacari; sarvasvam—everything; nah—our; hrtam—has been taken away; bhartuh—of our master; nyasta—had been given up; dandasya—of whom the power of giving punishment; barhisi—because of taking the vow of a ritualistic ceremony. TRANSLATION “Our lord, Bali Maharaja, because of his position in performing the yajna, has given up the power to punish. Taking advantage of this, our eternal enemy, Visnu, dressed in the form of a brahmacari beggar, has taken away all his possessions. SB8.21.12 TEXT 12 satya-vratasya satatam diksitasya visesatah nanrtam bhasitum sakyam brahmanyasya dayavatah SYNONYMS satya-vratasya—of Maharaja Bali, who is fixed in truthfulness; satatam—always; diksitasya—of he who was initiated into performing yajna; visesatah—specifically; na—not; anrtam—untruth; bhasitum—to speak; sakyam—is able; brahmanyasya—to the brahminical culture, or to the brahmana; daya-vatah—of he who is always kind. TRANSLATION “Our lord, Bali Maharaja, is always fixed in truthfulness, and this is especially so at present, since he has been initiated into performing a sacrifice. He is always kind and merciful toward the brahmanas, and he cannot at any time speak lies. SB8.21.13 TEXT 13 tasmad asya vadho dharmo bhartuh susrusanam ca nah ity ayudhani jagrhur baler anucarasurah SYNONYMS tasmat—therefore; asya—of this brahmacari Vamana; vadhah—the killing; dharmah—is our duty; bhartuh—of our master; susrusanam ca—and it is the way of serving; nah—our; iti—thus; ayudhani—all kinds of weapons; jagrhuh—they took up; baleh—of Bali Maharaja; anucara—followers; asurah—all the demons. TRANSLATION “Therefore it is our duty to kill this Vamanadeva, Lord Visnu. It is our religious principle and the way to serve our master.” After making this decision, the demoniac followers of Maharaja Bali took up their various weapons with a view to killing Vamanadeva. SB8.21.14 TEXT 14 te sarve vamanam hantum sula-pattisa-panayah anicchanto bale rajan pradravan jata-manyavah SYNONYMS te—the demons; sarve—all of them; vamanam—Lord Vamanadeva; hantum—to kill; sula—tridents; pattisa—lances; panayah—all taking in hand; anicchantah—against the will; baleh—of Bali Maharaja; rajan—O King; pradravan—they pushed forward; jata-manyavah—aggravated by usual anger. TRANSLATION O King, the demons, aggravated by their usual anger, took their lances and tridents in hand, and against the will of Bali Maharaja they pushed forward to kill Lord Vamanadeva. SB8.21.15 TEXT 15 tan abhidravato drstva ditijanikapan nrpa prahasyanucara visnoh pratyasedhann udayudhah SYNONYMS tan—them; abhidravatah—thus going forward; drstva—seeing; ditija-anika-pan—the soldiers of the demons; nrpa—O King; prahasya—smiling; anucarah—the associates; visnoh—of Lord Visnu; pratyasedhan—forbade; udayudhah—taking up their weapons. TRANSLATION O King, when the associates of Lord Visnu saw the soldiers of the demons coming forward in violence, they smiled. Taking up their weapons, they forbade the demons to continue their attempt. SB8.21.16-17 TEXTS 16–17 nandah sunando ’tha jayo vijayah prabalo balah kumudah kumudaksas ca visvaksenah patattrirat jayantah srutadevas ca puspadanto ’tha satvatah sarve nagayuta-pranas camum te jaghnur asurim SYNONYMS nandah sunandah—the associates of Lord Visnu such as Nanda and Sunanda; atha—in this way; jayah vijayah prabalah balah kumudah kumudaksah ca visvaksenah—as well as Jaya, Vijaya, Prabala, Bala, Kumada, Kumudaksa and Visvaksena; patattri-rat—Garuda, the king of the birds; jayantah srutadevah ca puspadantah atha satvatah—Jayanta, Srutadeva, Puspadanta and Satvata; sarve—all of them; naga-ayuta-pranah—as powerful as ten thousand elephants; camum—the soldiers of the demons; te—they; jaghnuh—killed; asurim—demoniac. TRANSLATION Nanda, Sunanda, Jaya, Vijaya, Prabala, Bala, Kumuda, Kumudaksa, Visvaksena, Patattrirat [Garuda], Jayanta, Srutadeva, Puspadanta and Satvata were all associates of Lord Visnu. They were as powerful as ten thousand elephants, and now they began killing the soldiers of the demons. SB8.21.18 TEXT 18 hanyamanan svakan drstva purusanucarair balih varayam asa samrabdhan kavya-sapam anusmaran SYNONYMS hanyamanan—being killed; svakan—his own soldiers; drstva—after seeing; purusa-anucaraih—by the associates of the Supreme Person; balih—Bali Maharaja; varayam asa—forbade; samrabdhan—even though they were very angry; kavya-sapam—the curse given by Sukracarya; anusmaran—remembering. TRANSLATION When Bali Maharaja saw that his own soldiers were being killed by the associates of Lord Visnu, he remembered the curse of Sukracarya and forbade his soldiers to continue fighting. SB8.21.19 TEXT 19 he vipracitte he raho he neme sruyatam vacah ma yudhyata nivartadhvam na nah kalo ’yam artha-krt SYNONYMS he vipracitte—O Vipracitti; he raho—O Rahu; he neme—O Nemi; sruyatam—kindly hear; vacah—my words; ma—do not; yudhyata—fight; nivartadhvam—stop this fighting; na—not; nah—our; kalah—favorable time; ayam—this; artha-krt—which can give us success. TRANSLATION O Vipracitti, O Rahu, O Nemi, please hear my words! Don’t fight. Stop immediately, for the present time is not in our favor. SB8.21.20 TEXT 20 yah prabhuh sarva-bhutanam sukha-duhkhopapattaye tam nativartitum daityah paurusair isvarah puman SYNONYMS yah prabhuh—that Supreme Person, the master; sarva-bhutanam—of all living entities; sukha-duhkha-upapattaye—for administering happiness and distress; tam—Him; na—not; ativartitum—to overcome; daityah—O demons; paurusaih—by human endeavors; isvarah—the supreme controller; puman—a person. TRANSLATION O Daityas, by human efforts no one can supersede the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can bring happiness and distress to all living entities. SB8.21.21 TEXT 21 yo no bhavaya prag asid abhavaya divaukasam sa eva bhagavan adya vartate tad-viparyayam SYNONYMS yah—the time factor, which represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead; nah—of us; bhavaya—for the improvement; prak—formerly; asit—was situated; abhavaya—for the defeat; diva-okasam—of the demigods; sah—that time factor; eva—indeed; bhagavan—the representative of the Supreme Person; adya—today; vartate—is existing; tat-viparyayam—just the opposite of our favor. TRANSLATION The supreme time factor, which represents the Supreme Person, was previously in our favor and not in favor of the demigods, but now that same time factor is against us.