Vaman Jayanti
Lord Vaman is one of the 24 Avatars of Lord Vishnu. We mark the birthdays of the
four main avatars – Sri Ram, Sri Krishna, Sri Narsingh and Sri Vaman-ji with more
flair and
festivity than the other 20 avatars because of the time they spent with their
devotees while on Earth.
The Story of Lord Vaman-ji and Raja Bali
As mentioned above Lord Vishnu reincarnated as Lord Vaman-ji to help his
devotees.
Each of the four main avatars came to destroy demon kings who gained immense
powers.
These avatars are:
Raja Bali, the grandson of the great Bhakt Prahlad, had amassed great powers
through completing 99 of 100 Ashwamegh Yagnas that gave him three
indestructible weapons and powers greater than some of the Gods.
It was while Raja Bali was enacting the 100th yagna, that Lord Indra went to his
mother to tell her of his concerns that Raja Bali would overtake him in power if he
completed this final yagna. To help protect the Gods including her son, Aditi, Lord
Indra’s mother undertook a 12 day vrat called Payovrat which earnt her a boon to fix
her problem.
As a result of this boon Aditi became pregnant to the 5th incarnation of Lord
Vishnu, Lord Vaman. Lord Vaman-ji was born on12th day of Ashadra month - the day
after deoshani ekadasi - when it is believed Lord Vishnu goes into Isolation for four
months.
Lord Vaman-ji who appeared in a tiny child like form as a priest, approached the
powerful Raja Bali as he was distributing land to the demons, and asked him to
allocate just a little land for the Devas. Lord Vaman-ji asked for the amount of land
equal to just three of his strides.
Raja Bali thought all this to be very humorous as Lord Vaman-ji appeared to be
among the smallest of men, and three strides worth of land could surely cause no
loss to the demon king. Shukracharya, the guru of the devas, warned the self-
assured Raja Bali that he was dealing with the Lord himself , who would take
everything back from him, but Raja Bali would not listen, and in fact was cursed by
Shukracharya for this.
At the agreement of the deal between Lord Vaman-ji and Raja Bali, Lord Vaman-ji
turned into a giant form bigger than all the worlds and with his first step he took the
whole of the Earth, with his second the Sky and the heavens including Janlok,
Maharlok, Taplok and Satyalok.
Lord Vaman-ji asked Bali for a place to put his third stride. Raja Bali, feeling great
humility and not wanting to go back on his word in the presence of the Lord said,
“Oh Lord, place your foot upon my head.”
Lord Vaman-ji steeped on the demon King’s head and exiled him down to Sutal
loka, and thus he was unable to complete his 100th yagna and gain the powers he
needed to overtake the Gods.
Due to the demon king’s humility, devotion and graceful acceptance of defeat, the
Lord was pleased with Raja Bali and granted him a boon of eternal protection.
Pandit-ji’s recommendations for Vaman Jayanti:
Like other Vishnu avatars, Lord Vaman would be easily pleased with offerings:
Vasudevah” 108 times and make offerings of the above items, especially Tulsi if
possible.
Take advice from your personal Guru-ji if possible
four main avatars – Sri Ram, Sri Krishna, Sri Narsingh and Sri Vaman-ji with more
flair and
festivity than the other 20 avatars because of the time they spent with their
devotees while on Earth.
The Story of Lord Vaman-ji and Raja Bali
As mentioned above Lord Vishnu reincarnated as Lord Vaman-ji to help his
devotees.
Each of the four main avatars came to destroy demon kings who gained immense
powers.
These avatars are:
- Lord Ram avatar – he came to destroy the evil of Rawan
- Lord Krishna avatar - he came to destroy Kansa
- Lord Narsingh avatar - he came to destroy Hiranyakshipu
- Lord Vaman avatar - he came to stop Raja Bali
Raja Bali, the grandson of the great Bhakt Prahlad, had amassed great powers
through completing 99 of 100 Ashwamegh Yagnas that gave him three
indestructible weapons and powers greater than some of the Gods.
It was while Raja Bali was enacting the 100th yagna, that Lord Indra went to his
mother to tell her of his concerns that Raja Bali would overtake him in power if he
completed this final yagna. To help protect the Gods including her son, Aditi, Lord
Indra’s mother undertook a 12 day vrat called Payovrat which earnt her a boon to fix
her problem.
As a result of this boon Aditi became pregnant to the 5th incarnation of Lord
Vishnu, Lord Vaman. Lord Vaman-ji was born on12th day of Ashadra month - the day
after deoshani ekadasi - when it is believed Lord Vishnu goes into Isolation for four
months.
Lord Vaman-ji who appeared in a tiny child like form as a priest, approached the
powerful Raja Bali as he was distributing land to the demons, and asked him to
allocate just a little land for the Devas. Lord Vaman-ji asked for the amount of land
equal to just three of his strides.
Raja Bali thought all this to be very humorous as Lord Vaman-ji appeared to be
among the smallest of men, and three strides worth of land could surely cause no
loss to the demon king. Shukracharya, the guru of the devas, warned the self-
assured Raja Bali that he was dealing with the Lord himself , who would take
everything back from him, but Raja Bali would not listen, and in fact was cursed by
Shukracharya for this.
At the agreement of the deal between Lord Vaman-ji and Raja Bali, Lord Vaman-ji
turned into a giant form bigger than all the worlds and with his first step he took the
whole of the Earth, with his second the Sky and the heavens including Janlok,
Maharlok, Taplok and Satyalok.
Lord Vaman-ji asked Bali for a place to put his third stride. Raja Bali, feeling great
humility and not wanting to go back on his word in the presence of the Lord said,
“Oh Lord, place your foot upon my head.”
Lord Vaman-ji steeped on the demon King’s head and exiled him down to Sutal
loka, and thus he was unable to complete his 100th yagna and gain the powers he
needed to overtake the Gods.
Due to the demon king’s humility, devotion and graceful acceptance of defeat, the
Lord was pleased with Raja Bali and granted him a boon of eternal protection.
Pandit-ji’s recommendations for Vaman Jayanti:
Like other Vishnu avatars, Lord Vaman would be easily pleased with offerings:
- yellow flowers
- yellow clothes
- bananas
- Tulsi leaves.
Vasudevah” 108 times and make offerings of the above items, especially Tulsi if
possible.
Take advice from your personal Guru-ji if possible
