Shloka 40

Vamana's Three Steps — Vamana’s Three Steps and the Binding of Bali

Devanagari script

प्रोक्तं श्रुतौ भवतापीश वाक्यं दानं पात्रे भवते सौख्यदायि देशे सुपुण्ये वरदे यच्च काले तच्चाशेषं दृश्यते चक्रपाणे

Transliteration

proktaṃ śrutau bhavatāpīśa vākyaṃ dānaṃ pātre bhavate saukhyadāyi deśe supuṇye varade yacca kāle taccāśeṣaṃ dṛśyate cakrapāṇe

Translation

“Wahai Tuhan, Engkau sendiri telah menyatakan dalam Śruti ajaran ini: sedekah yang diberikan kepada penerima yang layak menjadi pemberi kebahagiaan; dan apa pun yang diberikan di tempat yang sangat suci serta pada waktu yang tepat, berbuah sebagai anugerah. Semua itu sepenuhnya tampak pada-Mu, wahai pemegang cakra.”

Speakers

• Bāṇa addressing Viṣṇu
• citing Vedic authority to argue for Bali’s merit.

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Vamana/Trivikrama)

Key Themes

• Vedic grounding of dāna-dharma
• Pātra (worthiness) doctrine
• Desha–kāla conditions for merit
• Bhagavān as supreme field of merit
• Defense of Bali’s intention

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

How does this verse connect dāna to ‘place’ (deśa) in a text famous for sacred geography?

It reiterates a core Purāṇic rule: gifts fructify according to recipient (pātra), place (deśa), and time (kāla). Even without naming a tīrtha, it mirrors the Vāmana Purāṇa’s broader method of mapping merit onto locations—here culminating in the theological claim that Viṣṇu is the highest ‘sacred locus’.

What is meant by ‘pātra’ in dāna ethics?

Pātra is the ‘fit vessel’—a recipient whose conduct, learning, and restraint make the gift spiritually efficacious. The verse implies that giving to Viṣṇu (or His embodiment as a brāhmaṇa Vāmana) is the unsurpassed pātra.

Why invoke Śruti (Veda) here?

Bāṇa strengthens his plea by appealing to the highest pramāṇa (authority). If Vedic teaching defines the conditions for fruitful giving, then Bali’s act—directed to the supreme recipient—should be read as maximally meritorious rather than punishable.