Vamana Purana — Sukeshi's Inquiry into Dharma, Shloka 27
Sukeshi’s Inquiry into Dharma: The Seven Dvipas and the Twenty-One Hells
ततस्तं गदयाभ्येत्य पातयित्वा धरातले अभिद्रुत्य बबन्धाथ पाशैर्मत्तगजं बली
tatastaṃ gadayābhyetya pātayitvā dharātale abhidrutya babandhātha pāśairmattagajaṃ balī
ثم دنا إليه بالمِقْمَعَة فصرعه على الأرض. وأسرع بالي فقيّده بحبال القيد، كما يُقيَّد الفيل الهائج.
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FAQs
The verse foregrounds the Purāṇic motif that worldly strength can subdue bodies through force and restraint; it sets up (in many Purāṇic battle narratives) the contrast between physical domination (pāśa/bandhana) and the ultimately superior power of dharma or divine ordinance that later overturns mere might.
Vamśānucarita / Carita (narrative of kings/daityas and their deeds): this is event-narration within the historical-legendary stream rather than cosmogenesis (sarga) or dissolution (pralaya).
“Binding like a maddened elephant” evokes the taming of unruly force: the daitya-king’s attempt to ‘domesticate’ an opponent through pāśas. In broader Vāmana–Bali readings, bondage imagery often anticipates Bali’s eventual submission—not merely by violence but by a higher, dharmic settlement.