Shloka 34

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

Devanagari script

तस्या विष्णुपदीत्येवं नामाख्यातमभून्मुने तथा सुरनदीत्येवं तामसेवन्त तापसाः भगवानप्यसंपूर्णे तृतीये तु क्रमे विभुः

Transliteration

tasyā viṣṇupadītyevaṃ nāmākhyātamabhūnmune tathā suranadītyevaṃ tāmasevanta tāpasāḥ bhagavānapyasaṃpūrṇe tṛtīye tu krame vibhuḥ

Translation

O sage, thus her name became renowned as “Viṣṇupadī”; likewise she was known as “Surānadī” (the river of the gods). Ascetics resorted to her (banks) for religious practice. And the Lord, the all-pervading One, (then proceeded) to the third stride, though it was not yet fully completed.

Speakers

• Narrator (traditionally Pulastya) addressing a sage (mune; commonly Nārada in this dialogue-frame)

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Vāmana/Trivikrama)

Key Themes

• Sacred geography and hydronymy
• Tīrtha-mahima (sanctity of waters)
• Trivikrama’s cosmic stride as aetiology for place-names
• Ascetic practice on riverbanks (tapas)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are two names—Viṣṇupadī and Surānadī—given for the same sacred water?

Purāṇic geography often preserves multiple sacral epithets for a single river/tīrtha: one name encodes mythic causation (Viṣṇu’s ‘footprint’ sanctifying the waters), while another encodes ritual status (the river as ‘of the gods,’ i.e., fit for divine/vedic rites and ascetic resort).

What does the reference to the ‘third stride’ imply in a geography-focused Purāṇa?

The Trivikrama stride is used as an aetiological device: cosmic action leaves terrestrial markers—footprints, springs, river-names, and tīrthas. The verse links the river’s sanctity and naming to the unfolding of the third step narrative.

Does ‘asaṃpūrṇe tṛtīye krame’ mean the third step was incomplete?

It signals narrative tension: Bali’s promise of ‘three steps’ meets the cosmic expansion of Trivikrama. The ‘incompletion’ points to the unresolved placement/fulfillment of the third step, which is typically resolved by Bali offering his own head (or surrender) as the locus for the final step.