Devdutt Pattanaik: Bali underfoot

A few months ago there was a war going on in Kerala about whether Onam has to be celebrated as the annual return during harvest of Mahabali the asuraking from Patala his subterranean realm or as Vaman Jayanti the triumph of Vishnus dwarf avatar Vaman over Bali But very few commented on the fact that unlike Kerala in the rest of India Balis return is celebrated on the first day of the waxing moon known as Bali Pratipada the fourth day of Diwali following the new moon night when Lakshmi is veneratedIllustrationDevdutt PattanaikAccording to Vishnu Purana there was a great asuraking called Mahabali during whose rule everyone was so happy that they felt no need to invoke the devas during yagnas In fact no one died and so Yama god of death was worried So the devas went to their father Brahma who took them to Vishnu who promised to find a way to get rid of the wonderful Mahabali Since Mahabali could not be defeated in war Vishnu decided to defeat him taking advantage of his generosity for Mahabali had declared he would give whosoever approached him whatsoever they asked for Vishnu in the form of a dwarf or Vaman asked for three paces of land Mahabali gave it At that moment Vaman took the form of a giant and with two paces covered the earth and the sky and in a booming voice asked Mahabali that there was no place for him to place his foot after the third pace Mahabali overwhelmed by this magnificent sight bowed down and asked Vaman to place his foot on his head Vaman did so and shoved Mahabali under the earth Impressed by Mahabalis nature Vishnu asked him for a boon and Mahabali asked Vishnu to serve as his doorkeeper in Patala Vishnu agreed and declared that once a year Mahabali would return to earth and with him would come great harvest and prosperityFrom a mythological point of view the story is very complex containing layers and layers of thought spread over 3000 years from the Vedic Vishnu who takes three paces to measure space and time to the Puranic conflict between devas and asuras Lakshmis primeval association with subterranean creatures mdash including nagas asuras and yakshas mdash to the Brahminical need to turn every avatar of Vishnu into a privileged brahmin who brings good luck to all those who respect and take care of him to the historical spread of Brahminism from North India to South India and the role Brahmins played in legitimising kingship in exchange for landgrants to the rise of caste hierarchy in India to the discomfort with charity in some Hindu philosophies charitable characters are demons or antiheroes who invariably sufferHowever in the 19th century the British transformed this complex myth into selfserving historical narrative an approach that greatly appeals ironically to rational secular and even atheist Right and Leftleaning politicians Rightleaning politicians see the story as indicating the historical spread of dharma across India and the defeat of immoral and unethical demons Leftleaning politicians see the story as a story of Aryan invasion of white brahmins who overpowered and enslaved black people and made them dalitWhen ideology blinds us we turn to mythology subjective truth of communities about the human condition into history which is more often than not a political truthThe author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times Reach him at devduttdevduttcom