Sri Vishnu Shata nama Stotram
3. वामनः - வாமனர் - Vaamanah :
Of the ten great incarnations, the fifth one is Vaamana.
Two meanings 1. very name indicates ‘One who has a small body’. 2. Vaamana also means ‘worshipful.
The word Vamanah can be analysed in a number of ways:
वामयति त्याजयति मदं बलिं,
vAmayati tyAjayati madam balim
– One who expelled the pride out of Bali. Vam literally means to vomit out, and vAm could mean one who made Bali literally vomit out his pride.
LingAyatasurin gives the interpretation,
“वामो वल्गुत्वं अस्य अस्ति इति वामनः,
‘Vaamo valgutvam asya asti iti Vamanah’
– One who has a very charming short form.
“वामो वटुत्वं अस्य अस्ति इति वामनः,
Vaamo vatutvam asya asti iti Vamanah’
– One who has a short form of a Gurukula student, which is how MahaVishnu appeared in front of MahaBali to ask for three feet of earth from him.
Another interpretation –
सर्वानि वामानि नयति इति वामनः,
sarvANi vAmAni nayati iti vAmanah.
One who bestows all the desires of the devotees, or
He produces joy in those who see Him, by His effulgence.
Yet another interpretation of Vamanah is based on the Chandogya Upanishad which says:
एष उ एव वामनीरेष हि सर्वाणि वामानि नयति
सर्वाणि वामानि नयति य एवं वेद ॥ ४.१५.३॥
eṣa u eva vāmanīreṣa hi sarvāṇi vāmāni nayati
sarvāṇi vāmāni nayati ya evaṃ veda ॥ 4.15.3॥
Meaning: One who bestows all the desires of the devotees, or one who produces joy in those who see Him, by His effulgence.
As Sri Sankararacharyar puts it
बलिं वामन रूपेन य़ाचितवान् इति वामनः।
‘Balim Vaamana Roopena Yaachitavaan Iti Vamanah
– He is called Vaamanah because he approached King Mahabali in the form of a dwarf and asked for three feet of land as bhiksha.
Vamana Avatara :
श्रोणायां श्रवणद्वादश्यां मुहूर्तेऽभिजिति प्रभुः।सर्वे नक्षत्रताराद्याश्चक्रुस्तज्जन्म दक्षिणम्॥५॥
śroṇāyāṁ śravaṇa-dvādaśyāṁmuhūrte ’bhijiti prabhuḥ |sarve nakṣatra-tārādyāścakrus taj-janma dakṣiṇam ||- SB 8.18.5.
On the day of Śravaṇa-dvādaśī [the twelfth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhādra], when the moon came into the lunar mansion Śravaṇa, at the auspicious moment of Abhijit, the Lord appeared in this universe. Considering the Lord’s appearance very auspicious, all the stars and planets, from the sun to Saturn, were munificently charitable.
द्वादश्यां सवितातिष्ठन्मध्यन्दिनगतो नृप।विजयानाम सा प्रोक्ता यस्यां जन्म विदुर्हरेः॥६॥
dvādaśyāṁ savitātiṣṭhanmadhyandina-gato nṛpa |vijayā-nāma sā proktāyasyāṁ janma vidur hareḥ ||- SB 8.18.6.
O King, when the Lord appeared — on dvādaśī, the twelfth day of the moon — the sun was at the meridian, as every learned scholar knows. This dvādaśī is called Vijayā.
The Bhaagavatham beautifully describes the form of Vaamana as:
इत्थं सशिष्येषु भृगुष्वनेकधा वितर्क्यमाणो भगवान्स वामनः।छत्रं सदण्डं सजलं कमण्डलुं विवेश बिभ्रद्धयमेधवाटम्॥२३॥
itthaṁ saśiṣyeṣu bhṛguṣv anekadhāvitarkyamāṇo bhagavān sa vāmanaḥ |chatraṁ sadaṇḍaṁ sajalaṁ kamaṇḍaluṁviveśa bibhrad dhayamedha-vāṭam ||. - SB 8.18.23.
While the priests of the Bhṛgu dynasty and their disciples talked and argued in various ways, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāmanadeva, holding in His hands the rod, the umbrella and a waterpot full of water, entered the arena of the aśvamedha sacrifice.
यजमानः प्रमुदितो दर्शनीयं मनोरमम्।
रूपानुरूपावयवं तस्मा आसनमाहरत्॥२६॥
yajamānaḥ pramuditō darśanīyaṃ manōramam|
rūpānurūpāvayavaṃ tasmā āsanamāharat||26||
Bali Mahārāja, jubilant at seeing Lord Vāmanadeva, whose beautiful limbs contributed equally to the beauty of His entire body, offered Him a seat with great satisfaction.
Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja :
After his appearance, Lord Vāmanadeva then visited the sacrificial arena on the northern side of the Narmadā River, at the field known as Bhṛgukaccha, where brāhmaṇas of the Bhṛgu dynasty were performing yajñas. Wearing a belt made of muñja straw, an upper garment of deerskin and a sacred thread and carrying in His hands a daṇḍa, an umbrella and a waterpot (kamaṇḍalu), Lord Vāmanadeva appeared in the sacrificial arena of Mahārāja Bali. Because of His transcendentally effulgent presence, all the priests were diminished in their prowess, and thus they all stood from their seats and offered prayers to Lord Vāmanadeva.
After washing the Lord’s feet, Bali Mahārāja immediately accepted the water from the Lord’s feet on his head and felt that he and his predecessors had certainly been glorified. Then Bali Mahārāja inquired of Lord Vāmanadeva’s welfare and requested the Lord to ask him for money, jewels or anything He might desire.
Lord Vamana replied,
तस्मात्त्वत्तो महीमीषद्वृणेऽहं वरदर्षभात्।पदानि त्रीणि दैत्येन्द्र सम्मितानि पदा मम॥१६॥
tasmāt tvatto mahīm īṣadvṛṇe ’haṁ varadarṣabhātpadāni trīṇi daityendrasammitāni padā mama- SB 8.19.16
O King of the Daityas, from Your Majesty, who come from such a noble family and who are able to give charity munificently, I ask only three paces of land, to the measurement of My steps.
( Lord Vamana, being full in Himself, actually has nothing to want for His self-interest. Lord Vāmanadeva, therefore, had not gone to Bali Mahārāja for His own self-interest. )
Bali Mahārāja said: O son of a brāhmaṇa, Your instructions are as good as those of learned and elderly persons. Nonetheless, You are a boy, and Your intelligence is insufficient. Thus You are not very prudent in regard to Your self-interest.
I am able to give You an entire island because I am the proprietor of the three divisions of the universe. You have come to take something from me and have pleased me by Your sweet words, but You are asking only three paces of land. Therefore You are not very intelligent. ( According to Vedic understanding, the entire universe is regarded as an ocean of space. In that ocean there are innumerable planets, and each planet is called a dvīpa, or island. When approached by Lord Vāmanadeva, Bali Mahārāja was actually in possession of all the dvīpas, or islands in space. Bali Mahārāja was very pleased to see the features of Vāmanadeva and was ready to give Him as much land as He could ask, but because Lord Vāmanadeva asked only three paces of land, Bali Mahārāja considered Him not very intelligent. )
O small boy, one who approaches me to beg something should not have to ask anything more, anywhere. Therefore, if You wish, You may ask from me as much land as will suffice to maintain You according to Your needs.
Lord Vamanadeva said: O my dear King, even the entirety of whatever there may be within the three worlds to satisfy one’s senses cannot satisfy a person whose senses are uncontrolled.
If I were not satisfied with three paces of land, then surely I would not be satisfied even with possessing one of the seven islands, consisting of nine varṣas. Even if I possessed one island, I would hope to get others.
We have heard that although powerful kings like Mahārāja Pṛthu and Mahārāja Gaya achieved proprietorship over the seven dvīpas, they could not achieve satisfaction or find the end of their ambitions.
यदृच्छयोपपन्नेन सन्तुष्टो वर्तते सुखम्।नासन्तुष्टस्त्रिभिर्लोकैरजितात्मोपसादितैः॥२४॥
yadṛcchayopapannenasantuṣṭo vartate sukham |nāsantuṣṭas tribhir lokairajitātmopasāditaiḥ ||- SB 8.19.24.
Word by word meaning :
yadṛcchayā — as offered by the supreme authority according to one’s karma; upapannena — by whatever is obtained; santuṣṭaḥ — one should be satisfied; vartate — there is; sukham — happiness; na — not; asantuṣṭaḥ — one who is dissatisfied; tribhiḥ lokaiḥ — even by possessing the three worlds; ajita-ātmā — one who cannot control his senses; upasāditaiḥ — even though obtained.
Translation :
One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds.
After these statements MahaBali accepted the wish of Lord Vamanadeva , then Lord Vamana deva became Lord Trivikrama measured bhooloka and suvarloka with two steps and and asked the place for third step. Then Bali requests Lord to put his foot on his head and surrendered all of his possessions and himself too. Lord Vamana deva placed him in sutala loka and there Bali is living.
The story of Vaamana avataara teaches us one very important point – whatever you do in life, either good or bad, surrender to Him and you will be liberated. Bali was a Chakravarthi, the most righteous of all Kings, a great donor and the grandson of Prahalada. Yet, he had a fault – his pride. However, when Vishnu came to test him, Bali realized that the guest was Paramathma Himself. He did not hesitate for even a second in bowing low and offering his head as the space for the third step. And he was rewarded with eternal fame. It was his instant surrender which raised him to the great heights that we today praise him with.
In this context, the three steps that were demanded by Vaamana could represent the three stages of Surrender. Physical surrender is when you surrender to the Pancha-Bhoothas around you and fully realize that you are made of them. This way, you surrender to God, who is the creator and the controller of the five elements. Psychological surrender happens when we dissociate from our minds and sacrifice the feelings of ego, pride, pain, pleasure etc. We recognize that He is beyond mind and hence try to transcend the mind. The final act is the intellectual sacrifice which is when you trust God more than your intellect. The concept of ‘I’ disappears and you recognize that there is a higher power which drives you. And with that comes Sharanaagati and that is exactly what Bali did.
And also it teaches us that, One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds.
When you have surrendered your body (represented by earth) and your mind (represented by the heavens) there will be no hesitation in surrendering your intellect and that is the lesson taught by the Vaamana avataara.
Om Vamanaya namah.
शरीरे जर्झरीभूते व्याधिग्रस्ते कलेवरे।
