Shloka 34
Brahmā Worships Vāmana; the Demons Attack; Bali is Bound and Questioned About the Third Step
विप्रलब्धो ददामीति त्वयाहं चाढ्यमानिना । तद् व्यलीकफलं भुङ्क्ष्व निरयं कतिचित् समा: ॥ ३४ ॥
vipralabdho dadāmīti tvayāhaṁ cāḍhya-māninā tad vyalīka-phalaṁ bhuṅkṣva nirayaṁ katicit samāḥ
Proud of your wealth, you deceived Me by saying, “I will give,” yet you could not fulfill your promise. Therefore, as the fruit of your false pledge, you must live for a few years in hellish life.
The false prestige of thinking “I am very rich, and I possess such vast property” is another side of material life. Everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one else possesses anything. This is the real fact. īśāvāsyam idaṁ samaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat . Bali Mahārāja was undoubtedly the most exalted devotee, whereas previously he had maintained a misunderstanding due to false prestige. By the supreme will of the Lord, he now had to go to the hellish planets, but because he went there by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he lived there more opulently than one could expect to live in the planets of heaven. A devotee always lives with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, engaging in His service, and therefore he is always transcendental to hellish or heavenly residences.
FAQs
This verse states that cheating through false promises brings a definite karmic reaction—described here as suffering in hellish conditions for some time.
In the conflict between the devas and asuras, Bali accuses Indra of deceiving him with the claim “I will give,” and thus declares that Indra must bear the reaction for that dishonesty.
It teaches that integrity matters: making promises to manipulate others leads to suffering and loss, while truthfulness protects one’s spiritual progress and relationships.