Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life

Verse 1 (bhagavata.8.22.1)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवं विप्रकृतो राजन् बलिर्भगवतासुरः । भिद्यमानोऽप्यभिन्नात्मा प्रत्याहाविक्लवं वचः ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ viprakṛto rājan balir bhagavatāsuraḥ bhidyamāno ’py abhinnātmā pratyāhāviklavaṁ vacaḥ

Shukadeva Gosvami said: O King, though thus put into distress by Bhagavan, the lord of the asuras, Bali, remained unshaken within, and, undisturbed, spoke these words.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.8.22.2)

श्रीबलिरुवाच यद्युत्तमश्लोक भवान् ममेरितं वचो व्यलीकं सुरवर्य मन्यते । करोम्यृतं तन्न भवेत् प्रलम्भनं पदं तृतीयं कुरु शीर्ष्णि मे निजम् ॥ २ ॥

śrī-balir uvāca yady uttamaśloka bhavān mameritaṁ vaco vyalīkaṁ sura-varya manyate karomy ṛtaṁ tan na bhavet pralambhanaṁ padaṁ tṛtīyaṁ kuru śīrṣṇi me nijam

Shri Bali said: O Uttamashloka, best among the gods, if You consider this promise of mine to be false, I shall make it true — let this never be called deception; place Your third step upon my own head.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.8.22.3)

बिभेमि नाहं निरयात् पदच्युतो न पाशबन्धाद् व्यसनाद् दुरत्ययात् । नैवार्थकृच्छ्राद् भवतो विनिग्रहा- दसाधुवादाद् भृशमुद्विजे यथा ॥ ३ ॥

bibhemi nāhaṁ nirayāt pada-cyuto na pāśa-bandhād vyasanād duratyayāt naivārtha-kṛcchrād bhavato vinigrahād asādhu-vādād bhṛśam udvije yathā

I fear neither the loss of my position, nor hell, nor this binding, nor unbearable calamity, nor the ruin of my wealth, nor even this punishment from You — as much as I am deeply troubled by the fear of ill repute.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.8.22.4)

पुंसां श्लाघ्यतमं मन्ये दण्डमर्हत्तमार्पितम् । यं न माता पिता भ्राता सुहृदश्चादिशन्ति हि ॥ ४ ॥

puṁsāṁ ślāghyatamaṁ manye daṇḍam arhattamārpitam yaṁ na mātā pitā bhrātā suhṛdaś cādiśanti hi

I consider the punishment given by the most worshipable One to be the most praiseworthy a man can receive — the kind that neither mother, father, brother, nor friend ever gives.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.8.22.5)

त्वं नूनमसुराणां नः परोक्षः परमो गुरुः । यो नोऽनेकमदान्धानां विभ्रंशं चक्षुरादिशत् ॥ ५ ॥

tvaṁ nūnam asurāṇāṁ naḥ parokṣaḥ paramo guruḥ yo no ’neka-madāndhānāṁ vibhraṁśaṁ cakṣur ādiśat

Surely You are the hidden and highest teacher of us asuras, who have given us, blinded as we were by manifold pride, the very eye of true sight.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.8.22.6)

यस्मिन् वैरानुबन्धेन व्यूढेन विबुधेतराः । बहवो लेभिरे सिद्धिं यामु हैकान्तयोगिनः ॥ ६ ॥

yasmin vairānubandhena vyūḍhena vibudhetarāḥ bahavo lebhire siddhiṁ yām u haikānta-yoginaḥ

By binding themselves in unyielding enmity even to You, many asuras have won that very perfection which single-minded yogis attain,

Verse 7 (bhagavata.8.22.7)

तेनाहं निगृहीतोऽस्मि भवता भूरिकर्मणा । बद्धश्च वारुणैः पाशैर्नातिव्रीडे न च व्यथे ॥ ७ ॥

tenāhaṁ nigṛhīto ’smi bhavatā bhūri-karmaṇā baddhaś ca vāruṇaiḥ pāśair nātivrīḍe na ca vyathe

and by that same doer of countless wonders I have now been seized, bound with the ropes of Varuna — yet in this I feel neither shame nor any pain.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.8.22.8)

पितामहो मे भवदीयसम्मतः प्रह्लाद आविष्कृतसाधुवादः । भवद्विपक्षेण विचित्रवैशसं सम्प्रापितस्त्वं परमः स्वपित्रा ॥ ८ ॥

pitāmaho me bhavadīya-sammataḥ prahrāda āviṣkṛta-sādhu-vādaḥ bhavad-vipakṣeṇa vicitra-vaiśasaṁ samprāpitas tvaṁ paramaḥ sva-pitrā

My grandfather Prahlada, honored among Your devotees and famed for his saintliness, though subjected by his own father to every manner of torment on Your account, held You alone as his ultimate refuge.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.8.22.9)

किमात्मनानेन जहाति योऽन्ततः किं रिक्थहारैः स्वजनाख्यदस्युभिः । किं जायया संसृतिहेतुभूतया मर्त्यस्य गेहैः किमिहायुषो व्ययः ॥ ९ ॥

kim ātmanānena jahāti yo ’ntataḥ kiṁ riktha-hāraiḥ svajanākhya-dasyubhiḥ kiṁ jāyayā saṁsṛti-hetu-bhūtayā martyasya gehaiḥ kim ihāyuṣo vyayaḥ

What use is this body, which in the end abandons even its own owner? What use are those plunderers who go by the name of kinsmen? What use is a wife, who is herself the very cause of continued bondage? And what use, for a being sure to die, is the wasting of one's life upon house and home?

Verse 10 (bhagavata.8.22.10)

इत्थं स निश्चित्य पितामहो महा- नगाधबोधो भवतः पादपद्मम् । ध्रुवं प्रपेदे ह्यकुतोभयं जनाद् भीतः स्वपक्षक्षपणस्य सत्तम ॥ १० ॥

itthaṁ sa niścitya pitāmaho mahān agādha-bodho bhavataḥ pāda-padmam dhruvaṁ prapede hy akutobhayaṁ janād bhītaḥ svapakṣa-kṣapaṇasya sattama

O most worthy One, having thus resolved, my great and unfathomably wise grandfather Prahlada, fearing the very kinsmen of his own side whom You had destroyed, took firm and fearless shelter at Your lotus feet.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.8.22.11)

अथाहमप्यात्मरिपोस्तवान्तिकं दैवेन नीतः प्रसभं त्याजितश्रीः । इदं कृतान्तान्तिकवर्ति जीवितं ययाध्रुवं स्तब्धमतिर्न बुध्यते ॥ ११ ॥

athāham apy ātma-ripos tavāntikaṁ daivena nītaḥ prasabhaṁ tyājita-śrīḥ idaṁ kṛtāntāntika-varti jīvitaṁ yayādhruvaṁ stabdha-matir na budhyate

Today I too, though You are the traditional foe of my own line, have been brought forcibly by providence to Your presence and stripped of all my fortune; this fleeting life stands ever at the threshold of death, yet the dull-witted person fails to grasp it.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.8.22.12)

श्रीशुक उवाच तस्येत्थं भाषमाणस्य प्रह्लादो भगवत्प्रियः । आजगाम कुरुश्रेष्ठ राकापतिरिवोत्थितः ॥ १२ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca tasyetthaṁ bhāṣamāṇasya prahrādo bhagavat-priyaḥ ājagāma kuru-śreṣṭha rākā-patir ivotthitaḥ

Shukadeva Gosvami said: O best of the Kurus, even as Bali was speaking thus, Prahlada, most dear to Bhagavan, arrived there like the full moon rising.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.8.22.13)

तमिन्द्रसेनः स्वपितामहं श्रिया विराजमानं नलिनायतेक्षणम् । प्रांशुं पिशङ्गाम्बरमञ्जनत्विषं प्रलम्बबाहुं शुभगर्षभमैक्षत ॥ १३ ॥

tam indra-senaḥ sva-pitāmahaṁ śriyā virājamānaṁ nalināyatekṣaṇam prāṁśuṁ piśaṅgāmbaram añjana-tviṣaṁ pralamba-bāhuṁ śubhagarṣabham aikṣata

Bali, now holding Indra's post, beheld his grandfather — his eyes wide as lotus petals, his form tall, robed in yellow, his complexion dark as collyrium, his arms long, resplendent and foremost among the fortunate.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.8.22.14)

तस्मै बलिर्वारुणपाशयन्त्रितः समर्हणं नोपजहार पूर्ववत् । ननाम मूर्ध्नाश्रुविलोललोचनः सव्रीडनीचीनमुखो बभूव ह ॥ १४ ॥

tasmai balir vāruṇa-pāśa-yantritaḥ samarhaṇaṁ nopajahāra pūrvavat nanāma mūrdhnāśru-vilola-locanaḥ sa-vrīḍa-nīcīna-mukho babhūva ha

Bound by Varuna's ropes, Bali could not offer him the fitting honor he once had; he could only bow his head in obeisance, his eyes brimming with tears, his face lowered in shame.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.8.22.15)

स तत्र हासीनमुदीक्ष्य सत्पतिं हरिं सुनन्दाद्यनुगैरुपासितम् । उपेत्य भूमौ शिरसा महामना ननाम मूर्ध्ना पुलकाश्रुविक्लवः ॥ १५ ॥

sa tatra hāsīnam udīkṣya sat-patiṁ hariṁ sunandādy-anugair upāsitam upetya bhūmau śirasā mahā-manā nanāma mūrdhnā pulakāśru-viklavaḥ

Seeing Hari seated there, attended by Sunanda and the other associates, the great-souled Prahlada came near, and, his body thrilled and his eyes filled with tears, bowed his head to the ground in obeisance.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.8.22.16)

श्रीप्रह्लाद उवाच त्वयैव दत्तं पदमैन्द्रमूर्जितं हृतं तदेवाद्य तथैव शोभनम् । मन्ये महानस्य कृतो ह्यनुग्रहो विभ्रंशितो यच्छ्रिय आत्ममोहनात् ॥ १६ ॥

śrī-prahrāda uvāca tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ hṛtaṁ tad evādya tathaiva śobhanam manye mahān asya kṛto hy anugraho vibhraṁśito yac chriya ātma-mohanāt

Shri Prahlada said: That great post of Indra which You Yourself once gave, You have today taken away just as fittingly; I count this too as a great mercy shown by You, for he has been freed from the very fortune that had bewildered him.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.8.22.17)

यया हि विद्वानपि मुह्यते यत- स्तत् को विचष्टे गतिमात्मनो यथा । तस्मै नमस्ते जगदीश्वराय वै नारायणायाखिललोकसाक्षिणे ॥ १७ ॥

yayā hi vidvān api muhyate yatas tat ko vicaṣṭe gatim ātmano yathā tasmai namas te jagad-īśvarāya vai nārāyaṇāyākhila-loka-sākṣiṇe

By that same illusion under which even the learned grow bewildered, who can truly discern his own way as he should? To that Lord of the universe, witness of all worlds, Narayana, I offer my obeisance.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.8.22.18)

श्रीशुक उवाच तस्यानुशृण्वतो राजन् प्रह्लादस्य कृताञ्जलेः । हिरण्यगर्भो भगवानुवाच मधुसूदनम् ॥ १८ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca tasyānuśṛṇvato rājan prahrādasya kṛtāñjaleḥ hiraṇyagarbho bhagavān uvāca madhusūdanam

Shukadeva Gosvami said: O King, within the hearing of Prahlada, who stood there with folded hands, Brahma, born of the golden womb, then spoke to Bhagavan Madhusudana.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.8.22.19)

बद्धं वीक्ष्य पतिं साध्वी तत्पत्नी भयविह्वला । प्राञ्जलिः प्रणतोपेन्द्रं बभाषेऽवाङ्मुखी नृप ॥ १९ ॥

baddhaṁ vīkṣya patiṁ sādhvī tat-patnī bhaya-vihvalā prāñjaliḥ praṇatopendraṁ babhāṣe ’vāṅ-mukhī nṛpa

O King, seeing her husband bound, the chaste Vindhyavali, overcome with fear, folded her hands and, bowing to Upendra, spoke with her face lowered.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.8.22.20)

श्रीविन्ध्यावलिरुवाच क्रीडार्थमात्मन इदं त्रिजगत् कृतं ते स्वाम्यं तु तत्र कुधियोऽपर ईश कुर्युः । कर्तुः प्रभोस्तव किमस्यत आवहन्ति त्यक्तह्रियस्त्वदवरोपितकर्तृवादाः ॥ २० ॥

śrī-vindhyāvalir uvāca krīḍārtham ātmana idaṁ tri-jagat kṛtaṁ te svāmyaṁ tu tatra kudhiyo ’para īśa kuryuḥ kartuḥ prabhos tava kim asyata āvahanti tyakta-hriyas tvad-avaropita-kartṛ-vādāḥ

Shri Vindhyavali said: O Lord, this triple world was fashioned by You for Your own play, yet others, of poor understanding, lay false claim to its ownership. O Creator, O Sustainer, O Destroyer — what indeed can those shameless ones, who have wrongly assumed the mantle of doer, ever give to You?

Verse 21 (bhagavata.8.22.21)

श्रीब्रह्मोवाच भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगन्मय । मुञ्चैनं हृतसर्वस्वं नायमर्हति निग्रहम् ॥ २१ ॥

śrī-brahmovāca bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jaganmaya muñcainaṁ hṛta-sarvasvaṁ nāyam arhati nigraham

Shri Brahma said: O nurturer of all beings, O lord of all creatures, O God of gods, O one who pervades the universe — release him now; everything has already been taken from him, and he no longer deserves further punishment.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.8.22.22)

कृत्स्ना तेऽनेन दत्ता भूर्लोकाः कर्मार्जिताश्च ये । निवेदितं च सर्वस्वमात्माविक्लवया धिया ॥ २२ ॥

kṛtsnā te ’nena dattā bhūr lokāḥ karmārjitāś ca ye niveditaṁ ca sarvasvam ātmāviklavayā dhiyā

He has offered You the whole of his earth and every world won by his own deeds, and with an undivided mind he has surrendered everything he possessed — even his own body — to You.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.8.22.23)

यत्पादयोरशठधीः सलिलं प्रदाय दूर्वाङ्कुरैरपि विधाय सतीं सपर्याम् । अप्युत्तमां गतिमसौ भजते त्रिलोकीं दाश्वानविक्लवमनाः कथमार्तिमृच्छेत् ॥ २३ ॥

yat-pādayor aśaṭha-dhīḥ salilaṁ pradāya dūrvāṅkurair api vidhāya satīṁ saparyām apy uttamāṁ gatim asau bhajate tri-lokīṁ dāśvān aviklava-manāḥ katham ārtim ṛcchet

One of guileless mind who offers at Your feet even mere water or sprouts of durva grass in true worship becomes fit for the highest destination and the fortune of all three worlds; how then can this Bali, who has offered everything with an equally guileless mind, deserve such distress?

Verse 24 (bhagavata.8.22.24)

श्रीभगवानुवाच ब्रह्मन् यमनुगृह्णामि तद्विशो विधुनोम्यहम् । यन्मदः पुरुषः स्तब्धो लोकं मां चावमन्यते ॥ २४ ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca brahman yam anugṛhṇāmi tad-viśo vidhunomy aham yan-madaḥ puruṣaḥ stabdho lokaṁ māṁ cāvamanyate

Shri Bhagavan said: O Brahma, whomever I favor, from him I first take away his wealth and opulence — for it is that very pride which makes a man grow arrogant and hold in contempt both the world and Me.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.8.22.25)

यदा कदाचिज्जीवात्मा संसरन् निजकर्मभिः । नानायोनिष्वनीशोऽयं पौरुषीं गतिमाव्रजेत् ॥ २५ ॥

yadā kadācij jīvātmā saṁsaran nija-karmabhiḥ nānā-yoniṣv anīśo ’yaṁ pauruṣīṁ gatim āvrajet

Whenever this dependent living being, wandering through countless species by the force of his own deeds, chances at last to attain the human state,

Verse 26 (bhagavata.8.22.26)

जन्मकर्मवयोरूपविद्यैश्वर्यधनादिभिः । यद्यस्य न भवेत् स्तम्भस्तत्रायं मदनुग्रहः ॥ २६ ॥

janma-karma-vayo-rūpa- vidyaiśvarya-dhanādibhiḥ yady asya na bhavet stambhas tatrāyaṁ mad-anugrahaḥ

if at that time he remains untouched by pride in his birth, his deeds, his youth, his beauty, his learning, his power or his wealth, then this alone should be taken as a sign of My special favor upon him.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.8.22.27)

मानस्तम्भनिमित्तानां जन्मादीनां समन्ततः । सर्वश्रेयःप्रतीपानां हन्त मुह्येन्न मत्परः ॥ २७ ॥

māna-stambha-nimittānāṁ janmādīnāṁ samantataḥ sarva-śreyaḥ-pratīpānāṁ hanta muhyen na mat-paraḥ

Even birth and its like — which, being the seeds of pride, obstruct every path to true good — can never bewilder My devotee.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.8.22.28)

एष दानवदैत्यानामग्रणीः कीर्तिवर्धनः । अजैषीदजयां मायां सीदन्नपि न मुह्यति ॥ २८ ॥

eṣa dānava-daityānām agranīḥ kīrti-vardhanaḥ ajaiṣīd ajayāṁ māyāṁ sīdann api na muhyati

This Bali stands foremost among the Danavas and Daityas, his fame ever growing; he has conquered that very illusion which none can conquer — for even in the depths of ruin, he has not for a moment been bewildered.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.8.22.29)

क्षीणरिक्थश्च्युतः स्थानात् क्षिप्तो बद्धश्च शत्रुभिः । ज्ञातिभिश्च परित्यक्तो यातनामनुयापितः ॥ २९ ॥

kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ jñātibhiś ca parityakto yātanām anuyāpitaḥ

Though stripped of his wealth, though fallen from his station, though seized and bound by his foes, though forsaken by his own kinsmen, and though made to bear such heavy suffering,

Verse 30 (bhagavata.8.22.30)

गुरुणा भर्त्सितः शप्तो जहौ सत्यं न सुव्रतः । छलैरुक्तो मया धर्मो नायं त्यजति सत्यवाक् ॥ ३० ॥

guruṇā bhartsitaḥ śapto jahau satyaṁ na suvrataḥ chalair ukto mayā dharmo nāyaṁ tyajati satya-vāk

and though rebuked and cursed even by his own guru, this man of firm vow has not abandoned truth — it was I who spoke of dharma with cunning, yet this truthful one has never abandoned dharma.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.8.22.31)

एष मे प्रापितः स्थानं दुष्प्रापममरैरपि । सावर्णेरन्तरस्यायं भवितेन्द्रो मदाश्रयः ॥ ३१ ॥

eṣa me prāpitaḥ sthānaṁ duṣprāpam amarair api sāvarṇer antarasyāyaṁ bhavitendro mad-āśrayaḥ

I have won for him a station hard to attain even for the gods — in the age of Savarni Manu, he shall become Indra himself, under My own protection.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.8.22.32)

तावत् सुतलमध्यास्तां विश्वकर्मविनिर्मितम् । यदाधयो व्याधयश्च क्लमस्तन्द्रा पराभवः । नोपसर्गा निवसतां सम्भवन्ति ममेक्षया ॥ ३२ ॥

tāvat sutalam adhyāstāṁ viśvakarma-vinirmitam yad ādhayo vyādhayaś ca klamas tandrā parābhavaḥ nopasargā nivasatāṁ sambhavanti mamekṣayā

Until then, dwell in the realm of Sutala, fashioned by Vishvakarma, where, by My own watchfulness, those who live there suffer neither mental anguish, nor sickness, nor fatigue, nor lethargy, nor defeat, nor any affliction at all.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.8.22.33)

इन्द्रसेन महाराज याहि भो भद्रमस्तु ते । सुतलं स्वर्गिभिः प्रार्थ्यं ज्ञातिभिः परिवारितः ॥ ३३ ॥

indrasena mahārāja yāhi bho bhadram astu te sutalaṁ svargibhiḥ prārthyaṁ jñātibhiḥ parivāritaḥ

O Maharaja Indrasena, now go your way, and may all good fortune be yours — go to Sutala, surrounded by your own kin, that realm desired even by the dwellers of heaven.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.8.22.34)

न त्वामभिभविष्यन्ति लोकेशाः किमुतापरे । त्वच्छासनातिगान् दैत्यांश्चक्रं मे सूदयिष्यति ॥ ३४ ॥

na tvām abhibhaviṣyanti lokeśāḥ kim utāpare tvac-chāsanātigān daityāṁś cakraṁ me sūdayiṣyati

There, not even the guardians of the worlds will be able to overcome you, what then of ordinary beings; and should any Daitya defy your rule, My own discus will destroy him.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.8.22.35)

रक्षिष्ये सर्वतोऽहं त्वां सानुगं सपरिच्छदम् । सदा सन्निहितं वीर तत्र मां द्रक्ष्यते भवान् ॥ ३५ ॥

rakṣiṣye sarvato ’haṁ tvāṁ sānugaṁ saparicchadam sadā sannihitaṁ vīra tatra māṁ drakṣyate bhavān

O hero, I shall always be near, protecting you in every way, together with your followers and all that belongs to you; and there you will always be able to see Me before you.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.8.22.36)

तत्र दानवदैत्यानां सङ्गात्ते भाव आसुरः । दृष्ट्वा मदनुभावं वै सद्यः कुण्ठो विनङ्क्ष्यति ॥ ३६ ॥

tatra dānava-daityānāṁ saṅgāt te bhāva āsuraḥ dṛṣṭvā mad-anubhāvaṁ vai sadyaḥ kuṇṭho vinaṅkṣyati

There, whatever demonic disposition still clings to you from your association with the Danavas and Daityas will, upon beholding My own wondrous majesty directly, be utterly dissolved before long.