Search Indian Maps, Pincodes, Local Info and more...
Mahapuranas Vamana
Vamana Purana - Lord Vishnu taking the form of a Dwarf
Vamana Purana talks about the reason why Lord Vishnu assumed the role of the dwarf, Vamana which was one of the ten avatars assumed by him, the importance of this avatar and goodness to the world during this time and many other important events. The main philosophy taught by the Vamana Purana is that if a person gets too arrogant and egoistic about his own achievements, he will be doomed quite soon. King Mahabali was the perfect example of this philosophy, which is why the Lord assumed Vamana avatar and made the king feel sorry for his arrogance.
Origin
There was once a king named Mahabali, who was the grandson of Prahlad. Apart from being a Daitya, there was nothing wrong about his kingdom. He was indulged in a very fair war and people were very happy during his rule. There was no fear about thieves or wrong doers and people lived in a safe and open environment. His rule ensured that people didn’t suffer from poverty and that everybody had belongings for themselves. Overall, there was happiness and success everywhere and even the Gods started feeling envious about King Mahabali’s rule.
Over a period of time, Mahabali started thinking quite highly of himself as he conquered all the worlds and their respective kingdoms. The other small gods started feeling threatened and approached Lord Vishnu to protect them from their miseries, to which the Lord obliged. By this time, King Mahabali had organised a grand Ashvamedha Yagya with the help of his Guru, the highly-revered Sukracharya. The main purpose of this Yagya was to proclaim Mahabali’s rule over all the three worlds. It was during this time that Lord Vishnu, assuming the role of Vamana, a short Brahmin boy and appeared before Mahabali.
Vamana requested Mahabali for a piece of land that could cover his three paces. Sukracharya predicted that there could be some bigger plan to this and advised Mahabali not to grant Vamana his wish. However, Mahabali underestimated the power of Lord Vishnu and granted Vamana his wish of three paces worth of land. The moment Vamana had his wish granted, he grew very big in size. With his first step he covered the entire Earth and Pathal Lok (underworld). With his second step, Vamana covered all of Heaven. It was then that Mahabali understand how arrogant he had been by assuming he was the ruler of the entire world. By the time, Vamana had covered two steps, Mahabali was left with nothing in his kingdom to offer the Lord. He realised his mistake and as he was a very devoted man to Lord Vishnu, for the Lord’s third step, Mahabali bowed down his head and offered himself.
Pleased to see King Mahabali’s devotion, the Lord asked him for a wish. Mahabali requested that even after his death, he would like to visit his people once every year and bless them with happiness and prosperity. The Lord granted him this wish. It is believed that Mahabali visits the area where he ruled, Kerala, every year during the festival of Onam. He recognises his people by the floral arrangements made at the entrances of their homes. This is why and how the festival of Onam is celebrated every year.
Characteristics Explained in Vamana Purana
The Vamana Purana explains some of the great philosophies of life, times when Lord Vishnu takes avatars to protect his people and the ways and means through which mankind must live. All these components are explained through ten characteristics namely, Sarga (which explains the creation of the universe), Visarga (evolution of living beings from one kind to another), Sthaana, Poshana, Uti and Vritti (which explain about the methodologies adopted by man to lead his day to day life), Raksha (which explains about the avatars of Lord Vishnu, when He assumes these avatars and how he protects people through these avatars), Manvantara (all the details and events that happened during the Manvantara era), Vansha (which explains in great detail about all the kings who ruled over the Universe starting right from Lord Brahma) and finally Upaashraya (which explains about the real concept and meaning of Lord Brahma).
This main characteristic of the Vamana avatar is the fact that unlike other avatars, there are no decorations for this avatar. Vamana came in the form of a simple Brahmin kid who was very small and demanded just three steps worth of land. The power of devotion, the importance of being humble in spite of successful achievements and the greatness of being kind to one’s subjects are clearly explained in this Maha Purana.