Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India

A - B - C - D - E - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - P - R - S - T - U - V - Y


Bali

Read about Bali at Wikipedia or at the Urday website.

BALI, MAHABALI. [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] A good and virtuous Daitya king. He was son of Virochana, son of Prahlada, son of Hiranyakasipu. His wife was Vindhyavali. Through his devotion and penance he defeated Indra, humbled the gods, and extended his authority over the three worlds.

The gods appealed to Vishnu for protection, and he became manifest in his Dwarf Avatara for the purpose of restraining Bali. The dwarf craved from Bali the boon of three steps of ground, and, having obtained it, he stepped over heaven and earth in two strides; but then, out of respect to Bali's kindness and his grandson Prahlada's virtues, he stopped short, and left to him patala, the infernal regions.

Bali is also called Mahabali, and his capital was Mahabalipura. The germ of the legend of the three steps is found in the Rigveda, where Vishnu is represented as taking three steps over earth, heaven, and the lower regions, typifying perhaps the rising, culmination, and setting of the sun.

VAIROCHANA. [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] A name of Bali .

BALEYA [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] A descendant of Bali, a Daitya.


Modern Languages MLLL-4993. Indian Epics. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. The textual material made available at this website is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. No claims are made regarding the status of images used at this website; if you own the copyright privileges to any of these images and believe your copyright privileges have been violated, please contact the webmaster. Page last updated: October 16, 2007 12:22 PM