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

ഹേ ഈശ! ശ്രുതിയിൽ നീ തന്നേ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു: യോഗ്യപാത്രത്തിന് നൽകിയ ദാനം സുഖദായകമാണ്; അത്യന്തം പുണ്യദേശത്തും യഥാകാലത്തും നൽകിയ ദാനം വരദായകമാണ്. ഹേ ചക്രപാണേ! ഇതെല്ലാം ഇവിടെ നിനക്കിൽ പൂർണ്ണമായി ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നു.

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.