Wamana Awatara: The Conquest of Mahabali in the Hands of Lord Vishnu

Once upon a time, a king named Mahabali, often referred to as King Asura, had the power of millions of elephants, horses, and large numbers of soldiers. With this power he wanted to conquer and rule the three worlds, namely the earth, heaven, and the underworld. His arrival in heaven caused chaos among the gods, especially Lord Indra who lost his kingdom. Aditi, the mother of the gods, was saddened to see the suffering of her children. With her grief, she went into asceticism, begging Lord Vishnu to solve the problem between Mahabali and the gods. Then Lord Vishnu was willing to punish Mahabali and also restore the power of the gods.

The birth of Wamana Awatara. (source: personal collection)

Lord Vishnu who heard the prayer of Aditi decided to be reborn in the form of Wamana, a dwarf brahmin. Wamana awatara was the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu to take on a full human form. Although in the form of a dwarf brahmin, Lord Vishnu descended to the world to teach a lesson to Mahabali who had created chaos and seized the three world powers.

Wamana's arrival to Mahabali kingdom. (source: personal collection)

One day, Mahabali was organizing a yajna (holy ceremony), to which all brahmins were invited. On seeing the wamana, Mahabali had decided to give him whatever he requested in return for attending the ceremony and also to satisfy his guest. Hearing these words, the Wamana asked only for a place three paces wide to meditate, and then the request was granted by King Mahabali without suspicion. After Mahabali granted his request, Wamana instantly turned into a huge giant who was ready to do Triwikrama, which means three steps to rule the world.

Lord Vishnu during his Triwikrama. (source: personal collection)

When performing the Triwikrama, the first step taken by Vishnu in performing the Triwikrama is to step into the heaven which is the abode of the gods. Where Wamana shows his strength to return it to the gods. The second step taken by Vishnu is to step onto the earth, where humans and earthly creatures live. With this step, Vishnu shows his power over the world known by humans. The third step taken by Vishnu involves the underworld where Vishnu controls the entire area under the earth and this is the final step to complete the Triwikrama mission. With his three steps, Vishnu manages to take over all three worlds and return power to the gods, including the kingdom of Lord Indra. As Vishnu completed the third step of the Triwikrama, Mahabali had to acknowledge the fact that his reign had come to an end.