Bali Mahārāja

tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ

tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ
hṛtaṁ tad evādya tathaiva śobhanam |
manye mahān asya kṛto hy anugraho
vibhraṁśito yac chriya ātma-mohanāt ||
yayā hi vidvān api muhyate yatas
tat ko vicaṣṭe gatim ātmano yathā |
tasmai namas te jagad-īśvarāya vai
nārāyaṇāyākhila-loka-sākṣiṇe ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.16–17)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Vāmanadeva:] That this splendorous abode of Indra was [previously] given entirely [to Bali] and today taken entirely [back from Bali] by you is indeed proper, as I consider great favor has been shown to him [by you] in [his] being deprived of wealth, which is bewildering regarding the ātmā (self). Who perceives [i.e., can perceive] the actual nature of the ātmā in the presence of [wealth,] that by which even a learned and regulated person is bewildered? Obeisance unto him, the Lord of the universe, Nārāyāṇa, the observer of all beings [i.e., unto he who has greatly favored Bali by graciously depriving him of the wealth in his possession].”

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kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ

kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ |
jñātibhiś ca parityakto yātanām anuyāpitaḥ ||
guruṇā bhartsitaḥ śapto jahau satyaṁ na suvrataḥ |
chalair ukto mayā dharmo nāyaṁ tyajati satya-vāk ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.22.29‒30)

[Vāmanadeva to Brahmā about Bali Mahārāja:] “Although he was bereft of his property, deprived of his position, thrown down and bound by his enemies, deserted by his kinsmen, subjected repeatedly to torment, and chastized and cursed by his guru, he did not give up his truthfulness, as he was firmly avowed. Even when I spoke [to him] about dharma deceptively, he did not give up speaking the truth.”

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kim ātmanānena jahāti yo’ntataḥ

kim ātmanānena jahāti yo’ntataḥ
kiṁ riktha-hāraiḥ svajanākhya-dasyubhiḥ |
kiṁ jāyayā saṁsṛti-hetu-bhūtayā
martyasya gehaiḥ kim ihāyuṣo vyayaḥ ||
itthaṁ sa niścitya pitāmaho mahān
agādha-bodho bhavataḥ pāda-padmam |
dhruvaṁ prapede hy akutobhayaṁ janād
bhītaḥ svapakṣa-kṣapaṇasya sattama ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.9–10)

[Bali Mahārāja explains to Vāmanadeva why Prahlāda Mahārāja took shelter in him:] “‘What good is this body, which leaves one in the end? What good are the bandits known as kinsmen, who steal away one’s wealth? What good is a wife, who is a cause of saṁsāra? And what good are houses, wherein there is [only] the loss of a mortal’s life?’ Thus resolved and wary of the world, that great grandfather [of mine], of unfathomable understanding, took shelter in your unwavering lotus feet, because of which there can be no fear whatsoever, even though you were the destroyer of his own dynasty, O Best of the virtuous!”

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pitāmaho me bhavadīya-sammataḥ

pitāmaho me bhavadīya-sammataḥ
prahrāda āviṣkṛta-sādhu-vādaḥ |
bhavad-vipakṣeṇa vicitra-vaiśasaṁ
samprāpitas tvaṁ paramaḥ sva-pitrā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.8)

[Bali Mahārāja to Vāmanadeva:] “Highly honored by those who are your own, and known to be of virtuous renown, my grandfather, Prahrāda [i.e., Prahlāda], underwent multifarious torture from his own father, who was inimical to you, and [still] held you to be his refuge.” 

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