शनैस् तद्देशम् अभ्यागाद् वामनः सामगायनः यज्ञवाटम् अनुप्राप्तो वामनश् चित्रकुण्डलः
Gradually, Vāmana, singing the Sāma hymns, arrived at that place; Vāmana, adorned with brilliant earrings, entered the sacrificial enclosure.
प्रशंसमानस् तं यज्ञं वामनं प्रेक्ष्य भार्गवः ब्रह्मरूपधरं देवं वामनं दैत्यसूदनम्
Bhārgava, seeing Vāmana and praising that sacrifice, recognized Vāmana as the god in the form of Brahma, the slayer of demons.
दातारं यज्ञतपसां फलं हन्तारं रक्षसाम् ज्ञात्वा त्वरन्न् अथोवाच राजानं भूरितेजसम्
Knowing him as the giver, the fruit of sacrificial austerities, and the destroyer of demons, Bhārgava quickly spoke to the king, radiant with great energy.
जेतारं क्षत्रधर्मेण दातारं भक्तितो धनम् बलिं बलवतां श्रेष्ठं सभार्यं दीक्षितं मखे
He is the conqueror by the duty of kṣatriyas, the giver of wealth through devotion; Bali, the foremost among the powerful, consecrated with his wife in the sacrifice.
ध्यायन्तं यज्ञपुरुषम् उत्सृजन्तं हविः पृथक् तम् आह भृगुशार्दूलः शुक्रः परमबुद्धिमान्
Śukra, the tiger among Bhṛgus and supremely wise, spoke to him who was meditating on the sacrificial person and offering oblations separately.
यो ऽसौ तव मखं प्राप्तो ब्राह्मणो वामनाकृतिः नासौ विप्रो बले सत्यं यज्ञेशो यज्ञवाहनः
That Brahmin who has arrived at your sacrifice in the form of Vāmana is not a true Brahmin, O Bali; he is the lord of sacrifice, the bearer of sacrifice.
शिशुस् त्वां याचितुं प्राप्तो नूनं देवहिताय हि मया च सह संमन्त्र्य पश्चाद् देयं त्वया प्रभो
A child has come to ask you, surely for the benefit of the gods; after consulting with me, O master, you should give afterwards.
बलिस् तु भार्गवं प्राह पुरोधसम् अरिंदमः
Bali, the subduer of enemies, spoke to Bhārgava, the priest.
धन्यो ऽहं मम यज्ञेशो गृहम् आयाति मूर्तिमान् आगत्य याचते किंचित् किं मन्त्र्यम् अवशिष्यते
Blessed am I, for the lord of sacrifice comes to my house in person; having arrived, he asks for something—what remains to be discussed?
एवम् उक्त्वा सभार्यो ऽसौ शुक्रेण च पुरोधसा जगाम यत्र विप्रेन्द्रो वामनो ऽदितिनन्दनः
Having spoken thus, he, together with his wife and Śukra, the priest, went to where the foremost Brahmin, Vāmana, son of Aditi, was.
कृताञ्जलिपुटो भूत्वा केनार्थित्वं तद् उच्यताम् वामनो ऽपि तदा प्राह पदत्रयमितां भुवम्
With hands joined in reverence, he asked, 'For what purpose have you come?' Vāmana then spoke: 'Give me land measuring three steps.'
देहि राजेन्द्र नान्येन कार्यम् अस्ति धनेन किम् तथेत्य् उक्त्वा तु कलशान् नानारत्नविभूषितात्
Give, O king, for there is no other purpose; what use is wealth? Having said 'so be it,' he brought vessels adorned with various jewels.
वारिधारां पुरस्कृत्य वामनाय भुवं ददौ पश्यत्सु ऋषिमुख्येषु शुक्रे चैव पुरोधसि
Pouring water as a preliminary rite, he gave land to Vāmana, as the chief among sages and Śukra, the priest, looked on.
पश्यत्सु लोकनाथेषु वामनाय भुवं ददौ पश्यत्सु दैत्यसंघेषु जयशब्दे प्रवर्तति
As the lords of the worlds watched, he gave land to Vāmana; as the assembly of demons looked on, shouts of victory arose.
शनैस् तु वामनः प्राह स्वस्ति राजन् सुखी भव देहि मे संमितां भूमिं त्रिपदाम् आशु गम्यते
Slowly, Vāmana spoke: 'Blessings, O king, be happy; give me the measured land of three steps, it will be quickly taken.'
तथेत्य् उवाच दैत्येशो यावत् पश्यति वामनम् यज्ञेशो यज्ञपुरुषश् चन्द्रादित्यौ स्तनान्तरे
The lord of demons replied, 'So be it,' as he looked at Vāmana, the lord of sacrifice, the sacrificial person, with the moon and sun at his chest.
यथा स्यातां सुरा मूर्ध्नि ववृधे विक्रमाकृतिः अनन्तश् चाच्युतो देवो विक्रान्तो विक्रमाकृतिः तं दृष्ट्वा दैत्यराट् प्राह सभार्यो विनयान्वितः
As the gods stood at the fore, the form of mighty stride grew; the endless and infallible Lord, the valiant one, took on the form of the stride. Seeing him, the king of the Daityas, together with his wife, spoke with humility.
क्रमस्व विष्णो लोकेश यावच्छक्त्या जगन्मय जितं मया सुरेशान सर्वभावेन विश्वकृत्
Stride forth, O Viṣṇu, Lord of the worlds, as much as your power allows, O embodiment of the universe. O Lord of the gods, O creator of all, I have given you all I possess.
तद्वाक्यसमकालं तु विष्णुः प्राह महाक्रतुः
At that very moment, the great sacrificer Viṣṇu replied to those words.
दैत्येश्वर महाबाहो क्रमिष्ये पश्य दैत्यराट्
O lord of the Daityas, mighty-armed one, I shall stride; watch, O king of the Daityas.
एवं वदन्तं स प्राह क्रम विष्णो पुनः पुनः
As he spoke thus, Bali said again and again, 'Stride, O Viṣṇu, stride!'
कूर्मपृष्ठे पदं न्यस्य बलियज्ञे पदं न्यसत् द्वितीयं तु पदं प्राप ब्रह्मलोकं सनातनम्
He placed one foot upon the back of the tortoise, and another at the place of the Bali sacrifice; the second step reached the eternal world of Brahmā.
तृतीयस्य पदस्यात्र स्थानं नास्त्य् असुरेश्वर क्व क्रमिष्ये भुवं देहि बलिं तं हरिर् अब्रवीत् विहस्य बलिर् अप्य् आह सभार्यः स कृताञ्जलिः
For the third step, O lord of the Asuras, there is no place here. Where shall I stride? Give me the earth, said Hari to Bali with a smile. Bali, together with his wife, with joined palms, replied:
त्वया सृष्टं जगत् सर्वं न स्रष्टाहं सुरेश्वर त्वद्दोषाद् अल्पम् अभवत् किं करोमि जगन्मय
The whole world was created by you; I am not the creator, O lord of the gods. Because of your power, mine became small—what can I do, O embodiment of the universe?
तथापि नानृतपूर्वं कदाचिद् वच्मि केशव सत्यवाक्यं च मां कुर्वन् मत्पृष्ठे हि पदं न्यस
Yet, I have never spoken falsehood before, O Keśava. Make my word true—place your foot upon my back.
ततः प्रसन्नो भगवांस् त्रयीमूर्तिः सुरार्चितः
Then the blessed Lord, the three-formed one, worshipped by the gods, was pleased.
वरं वृणीष्व भद्रं ते भक्त्या प्रीतो ऽस्मि दैत्यराट्
"Choose a boon, O fortunate one; I am pleased with your devotion, O king of the Daityas."
स तु प्राह जगन्नाथं न याचे त्वां त्रिविक्रमम् स तु प्रादात् स्वयं विष्णुः प्रीतः सन् मनसेप्सितम्
But he replied to the Lord of the universe, 'I do not ask you, O Trivikrama.' Yet Viṣṇu, pleased, granted him what he desired in his heart.
रसातलपतित्वं च भावि चेन्द्रपदं पुनः आत्माधिपत्यं च हरिर् अविनाशि यशो विभुः
Falling to Rasātala, and again attaining the position of Indra, and sovereignty over oneself—these, the imperishable Hari, the glorious one, granted.
एवं दत्त्वा बलेः सर्वं ससुतं भार्ययान्वितम् रसातले हरिः स्थाप्य बलिं त्व् अमरवैरिणम्
Thus, having given everything of Bali, along with his sons and wife, Hari established Bali, the foe of the immortals, in Rasātala.