Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 29
Bali Mahārāja Upholds Truth; Vāmana Reveals the Universal Form and Takes the Two Steps
हृद्यङ्ग धर्मं स्तनयोर्मुरारे- र्ऋतं च सत्यं च मनस्यथेन्दुम् । श्रियं च वक्षस्यरविन्दहस्तां कण्ठे च सामानि समस्तरेफान् ॥ २५ ॥ इन्द्रप्रधानानमरान्भुजेषु तत्कर्णयो: ककुभो द्यौश्च मूर्ध्नि । केशेषु मेघाञ्छ्वसनं नासिकाया- मक्ष्णोश्च सूर्यं वदने च वह्निम् ॥ २६ ॥ वाण्यां च छन्दांसि रसे जलेशं भ्रुवोर्निषेधं च विधिं च पक्ष्मसु । अहश्च रात्रिं च परस्य पुंसो मन्युं ललाटेऽधर एव लोभम् ॥ २७ ॥ स्पर्शे च कामं नृप रेतसाम्भ: पृष्ठे त्वधर्मं क्रमणेषु यज्ञम् । छायासु मृत्युं हसिते च मायां तनूरुहेष्वोषधिजातयश्च ॥ २८ ॥ नदीश्च नाडीषु शिला नखेषु बुद्धावजं देवगणानृषींश्च । प्राणेषु गात्रे स्थिरजङ्गमानि सर्वाणि भूतानि ददर्श वीर: ॥ २९ ॥
hṛdy aṅga dharmaṁ stanayor murārer ṛtaṁ ca satyaṁ ca manasy athendum śriyaṁ ca vakṣasy aravinda-hastāṁ kaṇṭhe ca sāmāni samasta-rephān
O King, Bali Mahārāja beheld within the virāṭ body of Lord Murāri: Dharma upon His heart; ṛta and truth upon His chest; the moon within His mind; Śrī Lakṣmī, lotus in hand, upon His bosom; all the Vedas and sacred sound upon His throat; the devas headed by Indra upon His arms; the directions within His ears; the higher worlds upon His head; clouds in His hair; wind in His nostrils; the sun in His eyes; and fire in His mouth. From His speech shone forth the Vedic meters and mantras; upon the taste of His tongue stood Varuṇa; upon His brows were the regulative ordinances; upon His eyelids day and night; upon His forehead anger; and upon His lips greed. In His touch was desire; in His semen all waters; upon His back irreligion; and in His strides the sacrificial fire of yajña. In His shadow was death; in His smile the māyā potency; and in the hairs of His body all herbs and medicines. In His veins were the rivers; upon His nails the stones; in His intelligence Brahmā, the devas, and the ṛṣis; and throughout His body and senses all beings, moving and unmoving—thus Bali saw the entire universe in the Lord’s vast form.
FAQs
This verse states that the universal form contains all aspects of existence—rivers, mountains, Brahmā, demigods, sages, and all moving and nonmoving beings—situated within the Lord’s life-airs and limbs.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this narration to King Parīkṣit, describing the vision of the universal form and what was perceived within it.
By practicing reverence and responsibility—seeing life as sacred and interconnected—one cultivates humility, reduces envy, and strengthens devotion through remembering the Lord as the shelter of all.