If you missed my article on Zeus, it can be found here.
Vamana is a type of god from Hindu mythology and is Vishnu’s fifth avatar. Vamana goes by several names, some are Dadhivamana, Urukrama, and Trivikrama. I was unsure of what an avatar is, so I looked it up. What I found was an avatar is the incarnation of a god or goddess. Vishnu, the god of goodness, sustenance, and preservation would incarnate to destroy evil and restore Dharma (cosmic law), thus relieving the earth of its burdens.
Vamana’s father is Kashyapa, a revered Vedic sage. His mother is Aditi, who propitiated Vishnu because of what the world had become because of Bali’s rule of the earth and heavens. Aditi’s devotion pleased Vishnu, and he agreed to intercede, and she agreed to be the vessel to bring his next incarnation into the world. Aditi soon became pregnant with Vamana. Because Vamana is Vishnu, his wife is Lakshmi, and any of her avatars. Lakshmi is the goddess of prosperity, beauty, fertility, and power. In Vamana’s lifetime, his wife’s incarnation was named Kirti. Their child in this union is a son, Brhatsloka. In fact, Brhatsloka is their only child, and Vamana has no other children.
Vamana is described as a dwarf and having young features. To explain the dwarf word, Vamana is a Sanskrit word meaning dwarf, so it was used to speak of someone of short stature. Vishnu chose this form intentionally to trick Bali. Vamana’s symbols are umbrellas and the kamandalu. A kamandalu is an oblong water pot made from any material. It has a handle across the top and sometimes a spout.
I have alluded to the main myth I found starring Vamana, so now I will tell you. It starts with Bali, who was in a war with Indra, Bali lost and lost his powers. When this happened, all the devas (devas are gods in the Hindu faith. Goddesses are called devis) became immortal and had their own realm to reside in. Humans got the earth. Bali wanted everything. He wanted his powers back and to rule the earth and heavens. He was guided by Acharya and Shukracharya, who told him to perform the Mahabhishek Vishwajeet Yagya to regain all his powers. Once done, Bali battled Indra again, this time leaving the battle victorious and taking control of the heavens and earth. Aside from this crap, he is a devoted follower of Vishnu.
Bali was a horrible ruler. Because of the state of the world, she had her husband’s blessing to make a plea to Vishnu. As I said earlier, Vishnu was happy with her devotion and agreed Bali needed to be stopped. Vishnu told Aditi that his next avatar would be born from her, and a bit later, Aditi was pregnant. The child she gave birth to she named Vamana.
Once Vamana was grown, he took on the appearance of a Brahmin boy and walked to Bali’s sacrifice site with an umbrella. As I said, Bali was said to be wholly devoted to Vishnu. When Vamana walked onto the site, Bali, thinking Vamana was of the Brahmachari, offered him a boon of his choice. Vamana said all he wanted was three paces of land. Now remember, Vamana is a guy of diminutive height, so Bali agreed without incident. Vamana immediately grew so tall that one step covered the entire earth. His next step covered the heavens. Finally, Bali offered his head for Vamana’s last step out of integrity and honor. Pleased, Vamana changed to his true form of Vishnu and blessed Bali allowing him to be immortal and being Vishnu’s protector and guardian forever.
What do you think of Vamana? It is hard to wrap my head around avatars and literally being a form of the original god. Why not just come yourself? In any case, have you played as Vamana? How is he? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle.
