Vamana Jayanti

Lord Vishnu, the creator of the universe, has taken many incarnations for the welfare of the earth and the deities. This incarnation of Lord Vishnu is in the form of Vamana incarnation which Lord Vishnu took to break the pride of the demons and to give the Indira his kingdom and share.

Every year Vaman Jayanti is celebrated on the Dwadashi of Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month. On this day Lord Vishnu took Vaman incarnation to protect the deities. His birthday is celebrated as Vaman Jayanti. Vaman incarnation of Lord Vishnu is worshiped on this day. By worshiping Vamana avatar all troubles disappear. Just as Indra regained his lost wealth by the grace of Lord Vishnu, similarly the person who worships Lord Vaman on this day regains his lost wealth and prosperity.

Let us know why Lord Vishnu took Vaman incarnation?

According to Vamana Purana, in ancient times, the first man in the dynasty of demons was Hiranyakashipu. His son named Prahlad was a very bright demon. Virochana was born from Prahlad and Bali from Virochana. After Hiranyakashipu was killed, Bali drove away the deities from all places and started ruling over the three worlds. All three worlds came under the control of demons. All the wealth and splendor was taken away by the demon king Bali. In this way, Bali attained the infinite opulence of the three worlds.

When Devaraja Indra saw all three worlds under the control of Bali, he approached his mother Aditi and spoke of the defeat of the deities in the battle with the demon Bali. Aditi said, "If that is the case, my son, even if all the deities unite, they cannot defeat Bali in battle. Only Lord Vishnu, who has a thousand heads, can defeat him. No one else can conquer him." After this, Aditi, Kashyapa, Indra, and all the other gods went to Lord Brahma. Kashyapa and Aditi explained the whole situation to Lord Brahma.

Then Brahma ji said - All of you go in the north direction to the place situated on the northern bank of Kshirsagar which scholars pronounce by the name of Amrit. When you people go there and start performing rigorous penance, then at the end of summer, Vasudev will hear your voice and will appear to grant you a boon.

After receiving the permission of Lord Brahma, Aditi went to Kshirsagar and performed severe penance. Pleased with the penance, Lord Vishnu appeared and said to Aditi – I am pleased with your difficult penance. Whatever wish you have in your mind, ask for it.

Aditi said- God! If you are pleased then may my son Indra become the ruler of all three worlds. The demons have snatched away his kingdom and his share. I am not sad that my son's kingdom has been snatched away by the demons , but my heart is torn by the snatching away of his rightful share.

The Supreme Lord said, "Goddess, in accordance with your desire, I have bestowed my grace upon you. Listen, I will take birth from your womb through Kashyapa, and after being born from your womb, I will eliminate all your enemies. O Nandini! Cast aside your sorrow and be well. With these words, after the departure of the Lord, Aditi conceived. The entire earth trembled at the entry of the Lord into her womb. Big mountains started moving and the power of all the demons diminished.

After the power of the demons was over, Asur raj Bali saw all the demons as helpless and asked his grandfather Prahlad - Tat! At this time the demons have become powerless after being scorched by the fire. Now why has it become like this? It seems as if everyone has become a victim of Brahmadanda. Are any ominous things going to happen to the demons? Due to which the demons have thus become devoid of glory.

Prahlad contemplated Shri Hari. While contemplating, he saw God in the form of Vaman in Aditi's womb. Then he told King Bali that Shri Hari, who will defeat all the demons, is going to incarnate in the form of Vamana. Shri Hari himself has taken away your strength.

King Bali said- Tat! Who is that Hari whom we all fear? We have hundreds of demons more powerful than Vasudeva. They are all very powerful and mighty. Vishnu is not even half our strength.

Hearing the words of demon king Bali, Prahlad became angry and said to the one who condemned God - Bali! All these demons and devils will be killed along with a irrational and foolish king like you. Lord Vishnu is dearer to me than life itself, yet you are insulting and criticizing me by not paying attention to my dignity. Because you are criticizing your Guru father Virochana's father Prahlad's Guru i.e., my Guru Lord Vishnu, hence you will get spoiled here. These insulting words of yours towards Lord Vishnu are more painful for me than getting my head cut off. So, I curse you. I will soon see you corrupted from the state.

Hearing such harsh and unpleasant words Demon King Bali started pacifying him by repeatedly bowing his head and paying obeisance at his feet.

Bali said- Tat! You are happy with me , I had become a fool , don't be angry with me. I said this because I was irrational due to pride of power. My intellect was destroyed due to attachment. You did a very good thing by cursing me, a sinner. Prahlad was also moved by his repentance and said that if you want to overcome these sins and want your welfare, then from today you become a devotee of the same Shri Hari. He will become your protector. This is your welfare.

Aditi got the boon who would fulfill all her wishes, God slowly started growing in her womb . After this, in the 10th month Lord Govind was born in the form of Vaman.

King Bali went to his Guru Shukracharya Ji to perform the Yagya and told him about the purpose of the Yagya. Then Shukracharya ji thought and said that this yagya would be best for you. Because Lord Narayana himself is coming to your yagya. He is the one who creates the universe and he is the one who destroys it , but Shukracharya requested King Bali not to promise to give anything when asked by Lord Vaman.

Hearing such words of Shukracharya, King Bali said, Gurudev, how can I do this? No beggar leaves my door empty handed, then if Lord Vishnu himself becomes a beggar and asks for something from me, then how can I refuse him?

At the same time Lord Vaman arrived at the Yagya place. With the arrival of Lord Vaman, all the demons became powerless and Raja Bali, along with Shukracharya and all the demons, worshiped Lord Hari (Vamana) and, pleased, offered precious gems, horses, elephants, and all other things to God. Upon hearing the gracious words of King Bali, Lord Vamana spoke with gentle and insightful words, "O King! Give me only the space covered by three steps, and that would be sufficient for me." Hearing this, King Bali, proud of his generosity, smiled and said to Lord Vamana, "What benefit will you gain from just three steps of land? Ask for a thousand, ten thousand steps from me."Hearing such words of the king, Lord Vaman smiled in his heart and said, no king, I want only three steps of land.

Seeing Lord Vaman's stubbornness to give him three steps of land, the king promised to give him three steps of land and as soon as water fell on Lord Vaman's hand to donate, the Lord transformed from a small (Vaman) form into a huge form. Seeing this huge form of God, all demons even Raja Bali himself got scared. Thereafter, as per the promise, Lord Vaman measured the entire earth in one step and destroyed all the demons of the earth, and then in the second step he measured the entire world of Deities (heaven) and handed over that heaven to Indra and other Deities.

Lord Narayana had measured the entire earth and heaven in just two steps, now according to the king's statement, one more step of land was left but now there was no such land left in the universe which could be measured by Lord Vaman, then King Bali (who was committed to charity) bowed his head at the feet of Lord Vaman and said, Narayan, please measure my head in the third step. Thus, as soon as Lord Vaman placed the third step on the head of Raja Bali, Raja Bali immediately went from the earth world to the underworld called Sutal. In this way King Bali became the king of the underworld.

Bali asked- Oh God! With your permission, what will be the means of enjoyment for me who resides there in the underworld ? Satisfied with this, I will always remember you.

Lord Vaman said - Donations given untimely, Shradh without Brahmin and Havan performed without Shraddha will be your share. Yagya without Dakshina, rituals performed without rituals and worship without fasting will give you results. O sacrifice! Worship done without water, rituals done without Kush and Havan done without ghee will give you results. Whatever activities a person does by taking shelter of this place, demons will never have the power over it. The person who fasts on the day of Ekadashi in the Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month, takes bath in the lake named Vishnupad on the day of Dwadashi and donates as much as he can after seeing Vamana, will attain the supreme position.

Worship method of Vaman Jayanti

First of all, the person should wake up early in the morning, finish his daily routine etc. and clean himself by taking a bath in a holy river or at home as per his convenience. After that, clean the temple of your house thoroughly, purify the place where you want to worship and install the idol of God Vishnu by sprinkling Ganga water, then take a stool , spread a yellow cloth on it and place Lord Vishnu on that stool . Install the statue of Vaman incarnation, if the statue of Vaman incarnation of Lord Vishnu is not found, then install the statue of Lord Vishnu only. After installing the idol, perform Aarti of the Lord with incense sticks etc. and offer yellow colored fruits, flowers, sweets and clothes. Also, one should recite the story of Vaman incarnation of Lord and Vishnu Sutra and resolve the fast as per one's power. Take it and remember the thousand names of God throughout the day.

At the end, in the evening, after performing Aarti and worshiping the Lord again, distribute Prasad and if you are able, then feed food and distribute clothes to the needy people.

Importance of Vaman Jayanti

According to the Puranas, Vamana incarnation is the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This first incarnation of Lord Vishnu was in human form, before this he had taken four incarnations in animal form or in half man and half animal form. In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu had saved the earth and the Deities from the wrath of demons by breaking the pride of a very powerful demon like King Bali. Therefore, if the person worships the Vaman incarnation of Lord Vishnu, all the troubles of that person's life end and with the blessings of Lord Vishnu, the person gets prosperity and fame. The person who worships the Vamana incarnation of Lord Vishnu selflessly and with devotion definitely attains salvation. Just as Lord Vaman defeated the Deities' enemy King Bali and returned the kingdom to the Deities and made the Deities free from fear of King Bali, similarly, the person who worships the Vaman incarnation of Lord Vishnu on this day, Lord Vishnu frees that person from fear of the enemy and the person always gets victory over his enemies by the grace of Lord Vishnu.

Vamana Jayanti

Vamana Jayanti

Let us know why Lord Vishnu took Vaman incarnation?

Worship method of Vaman Jayanti

Importance of Vaman Jayanti

Related Jayanti topics-

About this Article