Shloka 31

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

द्वितीयेन क्रमेणाथ स्वर्महर्जनतापसाः क्रान्तार्धार्धेन वैराजं मध्येनापूर्यताम्बरम्

Transliteration

dvitīyena krameṇātha svarmaharjanatāpasāḥ krāntārdhārdhena vairājaṃ madhyenāpūryatāmbaram

Translation

তখন দ্বিতীয় পদক্ষেপে তিনি স্বর্গ, মহর্লোক ও তপোলোক অতিক্রম করলেন; আর সেই পদক্ষেপের অর্ধাংশে বিরাজা-ব্যাপ্তি পার হয়ে মধ্যদেশ ও আকাশ পূর্ণ করলেন।

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic speaker) describing Trivikrama’s act to the listening sage(s) (contextual narration within the Vāmana–Bali episode).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Trivikrama)
• Bali (implied)

Key Themes

• Trivikrama’s cosmic expansion
• Cosmography (lokas)
• Divine sovereignty over the three worlds
• Mythic measurement of the universe

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "vira", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What does ‘Virāja’ signify here—place, being, or principle?

In Purāṇic cosmography, Virāja can denote the cosmic expanse or the personified cosmic order/body through which the worlds are arrayed. Here it functions as a vast intermediate cosmic domain that Trivikrama’s stride crosses, emphasizing the avatar’s universe-filling magnitude.

Why are Svarga, Maharloka, and Tapoloka listed in a single stride?

The verse compresses multiple higher lokas into the sweep of Trivikrama’s second step to convey that the ‘measure’ of the cosmos is effortlessly encompassed by Vishnu’s form; it is a poetic cosmographic stacking rather than a cartographic itinerary.

Does this verse mention any pilgrimage geography typical of the Vāmana Purāṇa?

No. Unlike the tīrtha-focused sections, this passage is primarily cosmological and mythic, naming lokas rather than rivers, forests, or terrestrial sacred sites.