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श्लोक - नाम क्रमांक: 152
मराठी अर्थ
शब्द:
ॐ वामनाय नमः।
विवेचन:
जो वामन अवताराने प्रकट झाला, तो वामनः. लहान रूप धारण करूनही त्याने त्रैलोक्य व्यापले आणि धर्माची प्रतिष्ठा केली. विनय, बुद्धी आणि दिव्य सामर्थ्य यांचा अद्वितीय संगम या नावात आहे.
अर्थ:
वामन अवतार धारण करणारा.
English Meaning
Meaning:
Om Vamanaya Namah।
Simple Meaning:
From *vamana* (dwarf); "The Dwarf, the Short One" — the Vamana avatar, in which He took the form of a small brahmin boy to approach the demon king Bali and then expanded to cover the entire universe in three steps, revealing that the smallest form can contain the infinite
Mythology / Philosophy / Spiritual:
**The complete Vāmana narrative<br> When the great asura king Bali Mahārāja — through immense tapas and the guidance of his guru Śukrācārya — had conquered all three worlds and even displaced Indra from heaven, the gods prayed to Viṣṇu. He appeared as Vāmana — a charming, small Brāhmaṇa youth — at Bali's great yajña. Despite Śukrācārya's warnings, Bali's innate generosity led him to promise the young Brāhmaṇa whatever he asked. Vāmana asked for only three paces of land. Bali agreed. And then — the miracle: ‘Trivikrama’, the cosmic form, expanded to fill the universe. First pace: all of earth. Second pace: all of heaven. Third pace: placed on Bali's own head, pushing him to the netherworld (‘Pātāla’) — yet simultaneously granting him the lordship of Pātāla and the promise of being Indra in a future cycle. **The divine generosity of Bali<br> The episode is also a profound teaching about the Lord's relationship with genuine generosity and surrender. Bali, though an asura, honored his word completely and surrendered himself fully to the Lord. Viṣṇu was so moved by this that He became Bali's personal doorkeeper (‘dvārapāla’) in Pātāla — the Infinite serving the finite as a guard, in reciprocal honor of the finite's absolute surrender. **Symbolic meaning<br> The three strides represent ‘sattva’ (upward movement toward light/heaven), ‘rajas’ (movement across the horizontal plane of the world), and ‘tamas’ (the downward movement into the depths) — Viṣṇu permeates all three modes of existence. The small form and the cosmic expansion teach that the Lord cannot be assessed by appearances — what seems small and humble is the Infinite in disguise.