Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 31
Bali Mahārāja’s Surrender, Prahlāda’s Praise, and the Lord’s Mercy
Sutala and Future Indrahood
एष मे प्रापित: स्थानं दुष्प्रापममरैरपि । सावर्णेरन्तरस्यायं भवितेन्द्रो मदाश्रय: ॥ ३१ ॥
eṣa me prāpitaḥ sthānaṁ duṣprāpam amarair api sāvarṇer antarasyāyaṁ bhavitendro mad-āśrayaḥ
Le Seigneur dit : En raison de sa grande patience, Je lui ai accordé une demeure difficile à obtenir même pour les demi-dieux. Durant le manvantara de Sāvarṇi, sous Mon refuge, il deviendra Indra du ciel.
This is the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even if the Lord takes away a devotee’s material opulences, the Lord immediately offers him a position of which the demigods cannot even dream. There are many examples of this in the history of devotional service. One of them is the opulence of Sudāmā Vipra. Sudāmā Vipra suffered severe material scarcity, but he was not disturbed and did not deviate from devotional service. Thus he was ultimately given an exalted position by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Here the word mad-āśrayaḥ is very significant. Because the Lord wanted to give Bali Mahārāja the exalted position of Indra, the demigods might naturally have been envious of him and might have fought to disturb his position. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead assured Bali Mahārāja that he would always remain under the Lord’s protection ( mad-āśrayaḥ ).
FAQs
This verse states that Bali attained a position so rare that even the demigods struggle to obtain it—showing that wholehearted surrender to the Lord brings the highest divine favor.
In the context of Vāmana’s benedictions, Bali acknowledges the Lord’s arrangement that, in Sāvarṇi Manu’s era, the same person (connected to the narrative of Indra’s position) will become Indra while taking shelter of Bali—highlighting the Lord’s control over cosmic offices.
Bali’s words teach gratitude and humility: accept the Lord’s will, keep faith during reversals, and value devotion and integrity over temporary status.