Atala, Vitala, and Sutala: King Bali

Verse 1 (devibhagavatam.8.19.1)

श्रीनारायण उवाच । प्रथमे विवरे विप्र अतलाख्ये मनोरमे । मयपुत्रो बलो नाम वर्ततेऽखर्वगर्वकृत्

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca | prathame vivare vipra atalākhye manorame | mayaputro balo nāma vartate'kharvagarvakṛt

Shri Narayana said: In the first cavern, O brahmin, the delightful realm called Atala, dwells Maya's son named Bala, who inspires boundless pride,

Verse 2 (devibhagavatam.8.19.2)

षण्णवत्यो येन सृष्टा मायाः सर्वार्थसाधिकाः । मायाविनो याश्च सद्यो धारयन्ति च काश्चन

ṣaṇṇavatyo yena sṛṣṭā māyāḥ sarvārthasādhikāḥ | māyāvino yāśca sadyo dhārayanti ca kāścana

— by whom ninety-six kinds of magic were created, each capable of accomplishing every purpose; magicians employ these instantly, and some are held and used continually.

Verse 3 (devibhagavatam.8.19.3)

जृम्भमाणस्य यस्यैव बलस्य बलशालिनः । स्त्रीगणा उपपद्यन्ते त्रयोलोकविमोहनाः

jṛmbhamāṇasya yasyaiva balasya balaśālinaḥ | strīgaṇā upapadyante trayolokavimohanāḥ

When that mighty Bala merely yawns, throngs of women appear, capable of enchanting all three worlds,

Verse 4 (devibhagavatam.8.19.4)

पुंश्चल्यश्चैव स्वैरिण्यः कामिन्यश्चेति विश्रुताः । या वै बिलायनं प्रेष्ठं प्रविष्टं पुरुषं रहः

puṁścalyaścaiva svairiṇyaḥ kāminyaśceti viśrutāḥ | yā vai bilāyanaṁ preṣṭhaṁ praviṣṭaṁ puruṣaṁ rahaḥ

— known by the names Punshchali, Svairini, and Kamini. Whatever man enters that cavern-realm, alone, in privacy,

Verse 5 (devibhagavatam.8.19.5)

रसेन हाटकाख्येन साधयित्वा प्रयत्नतः । स्वविलासावलोकानुरागस्मितविगूहनैः

rasena hāṭakākhyena sādhayitvā prayatnataḥ | svavilāsāvalokānurāgasmitavigūhanaiḥ

— those women, having with effort prepared him with the elixir called Hataka, then, through their playful glances, affectionate smiles, and veiled allure,

Verse 6 (devibhagavatam.8.19.6)

संलापविभ्रमाद्यैश्च रमयन्त्यपि ताः स्त्रियः । यस्मिन्नुपयुक्ते जनो मनुते बहुधा स्वयम्

saṁlāpavibhramādyaiśca ramayantyapi tāḥ striyaḥ | yasminnupayukte jano manute bahudhā svayam

— and through amorous banter and other charms, gladden him. When that elixir is consumed, a man comes to imagine himself, in many ways, to be —

Verse 7 (devibhagavatam.8.19.7)

ईश्वरोऽहमहं सिद्धो नागायुतबलो महान् । आत्मानं मन्यमानः सन्मदान्ध इव कथ्यते

īśvaro'hamahaṁ siddho nāgāyutabalo mahān | ātmānaṁ manyamānaḥ sanmadāndha iva kathyate

— "I am the Lord! I am a Siddha, mighty as ten thousand elephants!" So imagining himself, he is said to become, as it were, blinded by intoxication.

Verse 8 (devibhagavatam.8.19.8)

एवं प्रोक्ता स्थितिश्चात्र अतलस्य च नारद । द्वितीयविवरस्यात्र वितलस्य निबोधत

evaṁ proktā sthitiścātra atalasya ca nārada | dvitīyavivarasyātra vitalasya nibodhata

Thus, O Narada, the condition of Atala has been described here. Now hear of the second cavern, Vitala.

Verse 9 (devibhagavatam.8.19.9)

भूतलाधस्तले चैव वितले भगवान्भवः । हाटकेश्वरनामायं स्वपार्षदगणैर्वृतः

bhūtalādhastale caiva vitale bhagavānbhavaḥ | hāṭakeśvaranāmāyaṁ svapārṣadagaṇairvṛtaḥ

Below the earth's surface, in Vitala itself, dwells the Blessed Bhava (Shiva), under the name Hatakeshvara, surrounded by his own retinue of attendants,

Verse 10 (devibhagavatam.8.19.10)

प्रजापतिकृतस्यापि सर्गस्य बृंहणाय च । भवान्या मिथुनीभूय आस्ते देवाधिपूजितः

prajāpatikṛtasyāpi sargasya bṛṁhaṇāya ca | bhavānyā mithunībhūya āste devādhipūjitaḥ

— there, for the purpose of furthering the creation made even by Prajapati, joined in union with Bhavani, and honored by the chief of the gods, he abides.

Verse 11 (devibhagavatam.8.19.11)

भवयोर्वीर्यसम्भूता हाटकी सरिदुत्तमा । समिद्धो मरुता वह्निरोजसा पिबतीव हि

bhavayorvīryasambhūtā hāṭakī sariduttamā | samiddho marutā vahnirojasā pibatīva hi

From the vital seed of that divine pair springs the excellent river Hataki; there, fire, kindled by the wind, seems indeed to drink of it with its own force,

Verse 12 (devibhagavatam.8.19.12)

तन्निष्ठ्यूतं हाटकाख्यं सुवर्णं दैत्यवल्लभम् । दैत्याङ्गना भूषणार्हं सदा तं धारयन्ति हि

tanniṣṭhyūtaṁ hāṭakākhyaṁ suvarṇaṁ daityavallabham | daityāṅganā bhūṣaṇārhaṁ sadā taṁ dhārayanti hi

— and what it spews out is the gold called Hataka, beloved of the Daityas; the Daitya women, indeed, always wear it, fit as it is for their ornaments.

Verse 13 (devibhagavatam.8.19.13)

तद्बिलाधस्तलात्प्रोक्तं सुतलाख्यं बिलेश्वरम् । पुण्यश्लोको बलिर्नामा आस्ते वैरोचनिर्मुने

tadbilādhastalātproktaṁ sutalākhyaṁ bileśvaram | puṇyaśloko balirnāmā āste vairocanirmune

Below that cavern is declared the one called Sutala; there, O sage, dwells its lord, the man of pure and holy fame, Bali, son of Virochana,

Verse 14 (devibhagavatam.8.19.14)

महेन्द्रस्य च देवस्य चिकीर्षुः प्रियमुत्तमम् । त्रिविक्रमोऽपि भगवान् सुतले बलिमानयत्

mahendrasya ca devasya cikīrṣuḥ priyamuttamam | trivikramo'pi bhagavān sutale balimānayat

— whom the Blessed Lord Trivikrama (Vamana), wishing to grant the god Mahendra his supreme desire, brought down and placed in Sutala.

Verse 15 (devibhagavatam.8.19.15)

त्रैलोक्यलक्ष्मीमाक्षिप्य स्थापितः किल दैत्यराट् । इन्द्रादिष्वप्यलब्धा या सा श्रीस्तमनुवर्तते

trailokyalakṣmīmākṣipya sthāpitaḥ kila daityarāṭ | indrādiṣvapyalabdhā yā sā śrīstamanuvartate

Having stripped him of the fortune of the three worlds, the king of the Daityas was there established indeed; and that very fortune, which not even Indra and the others attained, still follows him.

Verse 16 (devibhagavatam.8.19.16)

तमेव देवदेवेशमाराधयति भक्तितः । व्यपेतसाध्वसोऽद्यापि वर्तते सुतलाधिपः

tameva devadeveśamārādhayati bhaktitaḥ | vyapetasādhvaso'dyāpi vartate sutalādhipaḥ

He worships that very Lord of gods with devotion; free from all fear, he remains even now, established as the lord of Sutala.

Verse 17 (devibhagavatam.8.19.17)

भूमिदानफलं ह्येतत्पात्रभूतेऽखिलेश्वरे । वर्णयन्ति महात्मानो नैतद्युक्तं च नारद

bhūmidānaphalaṁ hyetatpātrabhūte'khileśvare | varṇayanti mahātmāno naitadyuktaṁ ca nārada

Great souls describe all this as merely the fruit of the gift of land made to the All-Lord, its worthy recipient — but this, O Narada, is not truly an adequate account,

Verse 18 (devibhagavatam.8.19.18)

वासुदेवे भगवति पुरुषार्थप्रदे हरौ । एतद्दानफलं विप्र सर्वथा नहि युज्यते

vāsudeve bhagavati puruṣārthaprade harau | etaddānaphalaṁ vipra sarvathā nahi yujyate

— for, O brahmin, to regard this as merely the "fruit of a gift" given to the Blessed Vasudeva Hari, the very bestower of life's highest goals, is not at all fitting.

Verse 19 (devibhagavatam.8.19.19)

यस्यैव देवदेवस्य नामापि विवशो गृणन् । स्वकीयकर्मबन्धीयगुणान्विधुनुतेऽञ्जसा

yasyaiva devadevasya nāmāpi vivaśo gṛṇan | svakīyakarmabandhīyaguṇānvidhunute'ñjasā

For merely uttering the name of that God of gods, even unwillingly, a person instantly sheds the very qualities that bind him through his own past karma,

Verse 20 (devibhagavatam.8.19.20)

यत्क्लेशबन्धहानाय साङ्ख्ययोगादिसाधनम् । कुर्वते यतयो नित्यं भगवत्यखिलेश्वरे

yatkleśabandhahānāya sāṅkhyayogādisādhanam | kurvate yatayo nityaṁ bhagavatyakhileśvare

— that very bondage of affliction which ascetics ceaselessly strive to remove through Sankhya, Yoga, and other disciplines directed at the Blessed All-Lord.

Verse 21 (devibhagavatam.8.19.21)

न चायं भगवानस्माननुजग्राह नारद । मायामयं च भोगानामैश्वर्यं व्यतनोत्परम्

na cāyaṁ bhagavānasmānanujagrāha nārada | māyāmayaṁ ca bhogānāmaiśvaryaṁ vyatanotparam

And, O Narada, the Blessed Lord did not merely show us grace in a small way — he bestowed the illusory, supreme sovereignty over worldly enjoyments,

Verse 22 (devibhagavatam.8.19.22)

सर्वक्लेशाधिहेतुं तदात्मानुस्मृतिमोषणम् । यं साक्षाद्भगवान् विष्णुः सर्वोपायविदीश्वरः

sarvakleśādhihetuṁ tadātmānusmṛtimoṣaṇam | yaṁ sākṣādbhagavān viṣṇuḥ sarvopāyavidīśvaraḥ

— that very sovereignty which is the root of every affliction and which steals away remembrance of one's own true Self — the very thing which the Blessed Vishnu himself, the Lord who knows every means,

Verse 23 (devibhagavatam.8.19.23)

याञ्जाछलेनापहृतं सर्वस्वं देहशेषकम् । अप्राप्तान्योपाय ईशः पाशैर्वारुणसम्भवैः

yāñjāchalenāpahṛtaṁ sarvasvaṁ dehaśeṣakam | aprāptānyopāya īśaḥ pāśairvāruṇasambhavaiḥ

— through the pretext of a request took away all his wealth, leaving him only his body; and the Lord, when Bali had no other recourse, bound him with the fetters born of Varuna,

Verse 24 (devibhagavatam.8.19.24)

बन्धयित्वावमुच्यापि गिरिदर्यामिवाब्रवीत् । असाविन्द्रो महामूढो यस्य मन्त्री बृहस्पतिः

bandhayitvāvamucyāpi giridaryāmivābravīt | asāvindro mahāmūḍho yasya mantrī bṛhaspatiḥ

— and, though he bound him, also released him again, and spoke to him as if within a mountain cave: "That Indra is a great fool, though his own minister is Brihaspati,

Verse 25 (devibhagavatam.8.19.25)

प्रसन्नमिममत्यर्थमयाचल्लोकसम्पदम् । त्रैलोक्यमिदमैश्वर्यं कियदेवातितुच्छकम्

prasannamimamatyarthamayācallokasampadam | trailokyamidamaiśvaryaṁ kiyadevātitucchakam

— for, finding the Lord well pleased, he begged only for worldly dominion. How utterly trifling is this sovereignty over the three worlds!

Verse 26 (devibhagavatam.8.19.26)

आशिषां प्रभवं मुक्त्वा यो मूढो लोकसम्पदि । अस्मत्पितामहः श्रीमान् प्रह्लादो भगवत्प्रियः

āśiṣāṁ prabhavaṁ muktvā yo mūḍho lokasampadi | asmatpitāmahaḥ śrīmān prahlādo bhagavatpriyaḥ

— that fool, abandoning the very source of all blessings, set his heart on worldly riches. But our own grandfather, the glorious Prahlada, beloved of the Lord,

Verse 27 (devibhagavatam.8.19.27)

दास्यं वव्रे विभोस्तस्य सर्वलोकोपकारकः । पित्र्यमैश्वर्यमतुलं दीयमानं च विष्णुना

dāsyaṁ vavre vibhostasya sarvalokopakārakaḥ | pitryamaiśvaryamatulaṁ dīyamānaṁ ca viṣṇunā

— chose instead servitude to that all-powerful Lord, himself a benefactor of all the worlds; and even the incomparable ancestral sovereignty, though offered by Vishnu,

Verse 28 (devibhagavatam.8.19.28)

पितर्युपरते वीरे नैवैच्छद्भगवत्प्रियः । तस्यातुलानुभावस्य सर्वलोकोपधीमतः

pitaryuparate vīre naivaicchadbhagavatpriyaḥ | tasyātulānubhāvasya sarvalokopadhīmataḥ

— even when his heroic father had died, that beloved of the Lord did not desire it at all. Of him, whose majesty was beyond compare, the very intelligence underlying all the worlds,

Verse 29 (devibhagavatam.8.19.29)

अस्मद्विधो नाल्पपक्वेतरदोषोऽवगच्छति । एवं दैत्यपतिः सोऽयं बलिः परमपूजितः

asmadvidho nālpapakvetaradoṣo'vagacchati | evaṁ daityapatiḥ so'yaṁ baliḥ paramapūjitaḥ

— one such as us, still unripe and marked by faults, cannot fully comprehend. Thus that lord of the Daityas, Bali, most highly honored,

Verse 30 (devibhagavatam.8.19.30)

सुतले वर्तते यस्य द्वारपालो हरिः स्वयम् । एकदा दिग्विजये राजा रावणो लोकरावणः

sutale vartate yasya dvārapālo hariḥ svayam | ekadā digvijaye rājā rāvaṇo lokarāvaṇaḥ

— abides in Sutala, whose very gatekeeper is Hari himself. Once, during his conquest of the quarters, King Ravana, the terror of the worlds,

Verse 31 (devibhagavatam.8.19.31)

प्रविशन्सुतले येन भक्तानुग्रहकारिणा । पादाङ्गुष्ठेन प्रक्षिप्तो योजनायुतमत्र हि

praviśansutale yena bhaktānugrahakāriṇā | pādāṅguṣṭhena prakṣipto yojanāyutamatra hi

— as he attempted to enter Sutala, was, by that Hari who shows grace to his devotees, flung back a distance of ten thousand yojanas by the mere touch of his big toe.

Verse 32 (devibhagavatam.8.19.32)

एवम्भूतानुभावोऽयं बलिः सर्वसुखैकभुक् । आस्ते सुतलराजस्थो देवदेवप्रसादतः

evambhūtānubhāvo'yaṁ baliḥ sarvasukhaikabhuk | āste sutalarājastho devadevaprasādataḥ

Such is the extraordinary majesty of this Bali; enjoying every happiness undisturbed, he abides, established as king of Sutala, by the grace of the God of gods.