Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

गुरोर्मदीयस्य गुरुस्तस्यास्त्यग्निपरिग्रहः न स धारयते भूम्यां पारक्यां जातवेदसम्

Transliteration

gurormadīyasya gurustasyāstyagniparigrahaḥ na sa dhārayate bhūmyāṃ pārakyāṃ jātavedasam

Translation

“My preceptor’s preceptor has undertaken the maintenance of the sacred fires. He does not sustain Jātavedas (the sacrificial fire) upon land that belongs to another.”

Speakers

• Vāmana (Vishnu in brahmacārin guise) addressing Bali (Daitya king) in the sacrificial arena

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vāmana)
• Agni

Key Themes

• Dharma of yajña and sacred fires
• Gift-giving framed as religious necessity
• Property/ownership norms in ritual law
• Vāmana’s strategic humility

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does Vāmana mention ‘my guru’s guru’ and the rule about not keeping fire on another’s land?

The verse invokes a dharma-legal rationale: maintaining consecrated fires (agni-parigraha) is tied to rightful possession of land. By citing the preceptor’s lineage, Vāmana strengthens the authority of the request and frames it as a necessity for ritual propriety rather than personal gain.

What does ‘Jātavedas’ signify here?

Jātavedas is a Vedic epithet of Agni. In Purāṇic narrative it often functions as a reverential synonym for the sacrificial fire itself—especially the fire that must be properly housed, fed, and ritually protected.

Is this verse primarily ritual instruction or narrative strategy?

Both. It reflects a dharma principle (ritual fires should not be maintained on ‘borrowed’ land), while also serving the narrative: Vāmana’s seemingly modest, rule-based request prepares the ground for the later cosmic expansion of the ‘three steps’.