Shloka 34
Vāmanadeva Praises Bali; the Measure of Three Steps; Śukrācārya Warns Against the Gift
क्रमतो गां पदैकेन द्वितीयेन दिवं विभो: । खं च कायेन महता तार्तीयस्य कुतो गति: ॥ ३४ ॥
kramato gāṁ padaikena dvitīyena divaṁ vibhoḥ khaṁ ca kāyena mahatā tārtīyasya kuto gatiḥ
Vāmanadeva will cover the earth with His first step and the heavens with His second; then, expanding His vast universal body, He will fill all outer space. Where, then, will you place His third step?
Śukrācārya wanted to tell Bali Mahārāja how he would be cheated by Lord Vāmana. “You have promised three steps,” he said. “But with only two steps, all your possessions will be finished. How then will you give Him a place for His third step?” Śukrācārya did not know how the Lord protects His devotee. The devotee must risk everything in his possession for the service of the Lord, but he is always protected and never defeated. By materialistic calculations, Śukrācārya thought that Bali Mahārāja would under no circumstances be able to keep his promise to the brahmacārī, Lord Vāmanadeva.
FAQs
This verse states that Vāmana covered the earth with one step and the heavens with the second, filling even the sky with His immense form—leaving no space for a third step, highlighting His all-pervading supremacy.
Because the Lord’s first two steps encompass earth and heaven, and His expanded body occupies the sky itself; thus the cosmos offers no remaining location for a third step.
It teaches humility before the Divine: worldly power and possessions are limited, and true security comes from surrendering ego and acknowledging the Lord’s supreme ownership.