Three Steps That Covered Everything

He came as a small boy and asked for just three steps of land. The first step covered the earth. The second covered the sky.

King Bali was a kind and powerful demon king who had won everything, even the heavens. To gently restore balance, Vishnu came to his great yajna as a tiny brahmin boy named Vamana and asked for just three small steps of land. King Bali laughed and gave the gift. Then the little boy began to grow, and grew, and grew, until two of his giant steps covered the whole universe. Where would the third step go? Bali bowed his head and offered it himself. That bow turned a defeated king into one of the most beloved figures in Bharat.

A Demon King Who Was Loved

Long ago, there was a king named Bali. He was a demon king, an asura. But not the bad kind of demon. Not at all.

Bali was kind. He was wise. He was generous. He treated his people like family. There was no hunger in his kingdom. There were no thieves. There were no beggars at the gates. The crops grew tall, the rivers ran sweet, and the children laughed everywhere.

The people loved him. They sang songs about him in every village.

Bali was also very, very strong. Through years of meditation and great deeds, he had grown so powerful that he had defeated even Indra, the king of the gods. He had taken over the heavens. The gods had been pushed out of their own home.

Now you might think, "That sounds bad. The demons taking over heaven?" But here is the strange part. Bali ruled even the heavens with the same kindness he showed the earth. He was, by far, the best ruler the universe had ever seen.

There was only one small problem.

The gods needed to come home.

A Worried Mother

Up in the high palaces of the heavens, the goddess Aditi, the mother of all the gods, was sitting and crying. Her son Indra was in hiding. Her other children had nowhere to go. The houses they had built were now full of demons.

She prayed to her favourite god of all, Vishnu.

"O Vishnu, please. King Bali is a good king. I do not want him hurt. I do not want a war. I just want my children to come home. Please find a way that does not break anyone's heart."

Vishnu listened.

He thought for a long time. He could have sent a great army. He could have come down with his thunder mace and broken Bali's throne. He could have, but he did not want to. Because Bali was a good king, and Vishnu does not crush good kings.

So Vishnu thought of a much better idea.

He smiled.

"Mother Aditi," he said, "I will be born as your son. A very small son. I will go to King Bali and I will ask him for a small gift. And I will let his own goodness do the rest."

A Tiny Brahmin Boy

A little while later, Aditi gave birth to a small bright boy.

He was very, very short. They called him Vamana, which in Sanskrit means "the small one". His head only came up to a grown-up's waist. His arms and legs were tiny. He had a soft round face and big shining eyes.

He looked like an ordinary brahmin boy. He wore a simple white dhoti. Around his shoulder he had a thin sacred thread. In one hand he carried a small wooden umbrella. In the other, a small pot of water for his journey. He had a tiny clean walking stick made of palasha wood.

His little feet padded softly on the road as he walked. People who saw him passing smiled. "What a sweet little brahmacharin. Where could he be going by himself?"

Vamana was going to King Bali's palace.

The Great Yajna of King Bali

King Bali was performing the most enormous yajna anyone had ever seen.

Big fire pits roared with sacred flames. Hundreds of priests chanted mantras. Mountains of grain, ghee, fruit, gold, silk, and silver were piled up around the yajnashala. The sky was filled with smoke and the smell of sandalwood.

And here was the special rule of this yajna. While it was happening, King Bali had taken a great vow. "During this yajna, anyone who comes to me and asks for anything will receive it. I will not say no to any request, no matter what it is."

This was Bali's pride. He had never refused a single guest in his whole life.

In the middle of all the noise and grandness, the small bright Vamana walked in.

The priests stopped chanting for a moment to look at him. The mountains of gold and the giant pillars seemed to be laughing at the little boy. He was so tiny. He hardly came up to the height of one of the offering pots.

Bali saw him from his throne. The king's face filled with joy. He came down from the throne himself, walked to the boy, and bowed.

"Welcome, little brahmacharin. Please come and sit. What can I give you? Anything you want, name it. Gold? Cows? Land? Villages? A great library? Tell me, child."

Vamana smiled his soft smile.

"Great king, I do not want gold. I do not want cows. I do not want villages. I am a small brahmacharin. I only need a small thing."

"Anything!" said Bali, laughing. "Just name it."

Vamana looked down at his own tiny feet.

"Three steps of land, O king. Just enough land that I can cover with three steps of my own little feet."

The Guru Who Saw the Truth

Bali laughed out loud. "Three steps? Child, do you not understand who I am? I rule the earth and the heavens. Ask for three kingdoms, three mountains, three planets!"

Vamana shook his head softly. "Three steps will be enough for me, O king."

Bali shrugged. "As you wish. Three steps of land they shall be. Step them out wherever you like."

He lifted up his ceremonial water pot to pour the holy water that completes a gift.

But just then, something happened.

Bali's old guru, the great Shukracharya, ran up and grabbed the king's hand.

"Stop! O king, do not pour the water!"

Bali was surprised. "Why, my guru?"

Shukracharya had eyes that could see the truth of things. He had been watching the little boy carefully, and his sight had pierced through the small body.

"This is no ordinary brahmacharin, my king. This is Lord Vishnu himself, in his Vamana avatara. He has come to take everything from you. Three steps from him will not be three steps. Do not give the gift!"

The whole yajnashala fell silent.

Bali looked at his guru. Then he looked at the small bright boy.

If it was Vishnu himself, the king would be losing everything. His kingdom. His heavens. His treasury. His pride.

But Bali had taken a vow. He had said the boy could have anything he asked for. To go back on a promise was to break dharma. And to break dharma was the one thing Bali had never done in his whole life.

Bali smiled gently at his guru.

"My dear teacher, you have taught me everything I know. But I have to disagree with you on this one thing. If this little boy is really Vishnu, then how lucky I am. The Lord himself has come to my door asking for a gift. How can I send him away? My word is my word. Let me give him what I promised."

Shukracharya tried one last time. He turned himself into a tiny insect and flew into the spout of the water pot, hoping to block the water and stop the gift.

But Vamana, ever the calm little boy, gently poked a piece of grass into the spout to clear it. The grass touched the insect, who flew out, his trick over.

The water poured out. The gift was sealed.

"Three steps of land," said Bali. "They are yours, child. Step wherever you like."

The Boy Who Started to Grow

Vamana smiled.

And then he started to grow.

His little feet became as big as houses. His tiny legs became as tall as trees. His soft round face rose up past the clouds. His arms stretched wider than mountains.

The priests gasped. The mountains of gold suddenly looked tiny. The yajnashala that had felt so big a moment ago was now smaller than the boy's foot.

Vamana grew, and grew, and grew. Until he was bigger than the sky.

His form was now called Trivikrama, "the one with three steps".

He lifted his right foot.

With one step, he covered the entire earth. From end to end. From ocean to mountain. From forest to desert. The whole earth was under one of his feet.

He lifted his left foot.

With one step, he covered all of the heavens. From cloud to star. From sun to moon. From the highest peak of Brahma's home to the deepest sky. All of it was now under his other foot.

The whole universe was beneath the two giant feet of the little boy who had once asked for three small steps.

Vamana looked down. There was nothing left to step on. The earth was taken. The heavens were taken.

"O king," he said, his voice like soft thunder. "I have stepped twice. Where shall I put my third step?"

A King Who Bowed

Bali stood very still on the floor of the yajnashala.

He had lost everything. His kingdom. His heavens. His throne. Everything he had built over years and years was gone in two giant steps.

But he was not afraid. He was not angry. He looked up at the great Trivikrama and his eyes were shining.

"Lord," he said softly. "I gave you three steps. Two have been taken. Only one is left. I have only one place left to offer you."

He bent his head.

"Place your third step here. On my head. I am yours."

The great Trivikrama looked down at the tiny king bowing before him.

Very gently, more gently than a flower petal falls, he placed his enormous foot on Bali's head.

And in that touch, Bali felt something he had never felt before. He felt completely, completely free. The kingdom did not matter. The heavens did not matter. The treasury did not matter. The only thing that mattered was the warmth of the Lord's foot on his head.

Vishnu shrank back to the size of the little boy. He smiled at Bali.

"O king, you have given me everything. So I will give you something better than any kingdom. The world will remember your name forever. You will rule a place even higher than the heavens, called Sutala. And once every year, you will be allowed to come back and visit your beloved people on earth, who will celebrate the day you return as the happiest day of their year."

That day, every year, is what we now call Onam. The day King Bali comes home.

In Your Life

King Bali lost his whole kingdom. By the eyes, he was the loser of this story. But look closer.

He kept his word, even when keeping it cost him everything. He bowed his head when many other kings would have raised a sword. And the moment he bowed, he became more famous and more loved than he had ever been when he ruled the heavens.

Vishnu did not come to punish Bali. Vishnu came to complete him. The little boy with the umbrella was not Bali's enemy. He was Bali's last gift to himself, the one chance to give away even the very last thing he had, and become free.

In your own life, you will sometimes lose a game, a prize, a competition, a friend, even something you really wanted. You will be tempted to be angry, to argue, to refuse to accept the loss.

Remember Bali.

Lose with grace. Keep your word even when it hurts. Bow your head when the moment asks for it. And you will find, like Bali found, that the universe gives back something so much bigger than what you lost. People will remember you not for what you owned. They will remember you for how kindly you let it go.