Shloka 15
प्राप्प वामनरूपेण प्रच्छन्न॑ ब्रह्म॒रूपिणा । बलेयथा हूतं राज्यं विक्रमैस्तच्च ते श्रुतम्
prāpya vāmanarūpeṇa pracchannaṁ brahmarūpiṇā | baler yathā hṛtaṁ rājyaṁ vikramais tac ca te śrutam ||
Having approached in the guise of a dwarf, while concealing his true divine nature, he took away Bali’s sovereignty by his measured strides—this, too, you have heard.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the Vāmana–Bali episode as a moral exemplar: worldly sovereignty is not absolute, and when pride or unrighteousness swells, a higher dharmic order can curtail it—sometimes through seemingly small or humble means.
Vaiśampāyana alludes to the well-known account in which Vāmana, disguised as a dwarf brāhmaṇa, approaches King Bali and, through His cosmic strides, deprives Bali of his kingdom—reminding the listener that this story is already familiar by tradition.