Author: Dr Manasa Nagabhushanam, Daiv
Bali Padyami honours a king who lost everything he had, and in losing it, found something that could not be taken away.
Mahabali was the grandson of Prahlada, a ruler so generous and so powerful that even the gods felt unsettled. When Vishnu came to him in the form of the dwarf Vamana, asking for three steps of land, his teacher Shukracharya warned him not to give. Bali replied that he could not break his word to someone who had come asking, even if it cost him his kingdom. Vamana grew to a cosmic size and covered the earth and the heavens in two steps. For the third, Bali offered his own head.
The story does not end with defeat. Tradition says that Vishnu, pleased with his surrender, granted Bali the kingdom of Sutala and promised to stand guard at his door. The one who lost his throne gained the Lord himself as his doorkeeper. Every year, on this day, Bali is believed to return to visit his people, and homes are lit to welcome him. We hold on to titles, possessions and pride as though they were our identity. Bali shows that what we offer to the Divine, freely and without bargaining, comes back to us as protection and peace. This Bali Padyami offer something you are holding too tightly, a grudge, a possession or an ambition, to the Divine, and give something useful to someone who needs it.