Shloka 36

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

Devanagari script

तन्मुरारिवचः श्रुत्वा विहस्याथ बलेः सुतः बाणः प्राहामरपतिं वचनं हेतुसंयुतम्

Transliteration

tanmurārivacaḥ śrutvā vihasyātha baleḥ sutaḥ bāṇaḥ prāhāmarapatiṃ vacanaṃ hetusaṃyutam

Translation

മുരാരി (വിഷ്ണു)യുടെ വാക്കുകൾ കേട്ട് ബലിയുടെ പുത്രൻ ബാണൻ ചിരിച്ചു; അമരന്മാരുടെ അധിപനോട് കാരണസഹിതമായ വചനം പറഞ്ഞു.

Speakers

• Bāṇa (son of Bali) addressing the divine lord (amarapati; in-context: Viṣṇu/Murāri)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Murāri)
• Bali
• Bāṇa

Key Themes

• Daitya resistance and rhetoric
• Debate framed as ‘reasoned speech’ (hetu)
• Honorific ambiguity (amarapati) in Purāṇic diction
• Escalation toward conflict/constraint

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "hasya", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Who is ‘amarapati’ here—Indra or Viṣṇu?

Although ‘amarapati’ commonly denotes Indra, the verse explicitly says Bāṇa heard Murāri’s words and then spoke to ‘amarapati’; the most coherent immediate referent is the same divine interlocutor (Viṣṇu) addressed with a lofty epithet. Purāṇic style often reuses such titles fluidly.

Why does Bāṇa laugh—what does it signal in Purāṇic narrative?

Laughter (vihāsa) frequently marks daitya bravado or a refusal to concede moral pressure. It sets up a counter-argument (hetu-saṃyuta) and foreshadows confrontation, portraying the asura side as rhetorically assertive even when opposing dharma.

What is the narrative function of calling Viṣṇu ‘Murāri’ here?

‘Murāri’ anchors the scene in Viṣṇu’s heroic identity: the one who subdues demonic forces. In the Vāmana–Bali arc, it reminds the listener that the ‘brahmacārin dwarf’ is the same cosmic protector who overcomes asuric obstruction.