Week 3 Story: The Cunning Vishnu
There is a holy place that sits upon a mountain. This mountain is not so tall that there are no trees on top, but the rocky terrain makes the ascent treacherous. Due to the humidity of the area the mountain is often bathed in mist. This holy place had often been used by ascetics to meditate. At one time Vishnu sat atop the mountain in meditation. He meditated so deeply that he became unaware of what happened in the world.
Mahabali, a demon of ill-intent, set upon the world and conquered the heavens and the earth. He had bested all the gods except Vishnu, who had not stopped meditating. To celebrate his victory, Mahabali constructed a grand palace. There he held court and ruled over both worlds.
All the gods, bitter from their defeat, rushed to Vishnu and begged him to defeat Mahabali. Vishnu objected to the task, as he did not want to violently overthrow the new dictator. One of the gods suggested that he trick Mahabali. Vishnu agreed, and took the form of a learned dwarf.
When Vishnu arrived at the gates of Mahabali's palace, Mahabali sensed his great ability and said, "Welcome to my palace. I am so humbled that a man of such great achievement has come to pay me a visit."
Vishnu replied, "You honor me. Oh, great conqueror. I am passing through and wanted to glance upon your greatness."
Mahabali, flattered by those words, exclaimed, "Before you leave, I must give you a gift!"
Vishnu replied, "I am grateful, but require nothing."
Mahabali then said, "Please accept my gift. I will give you anything."
Vishnu then said, "I would like as much property as two steps cover."
Mahabali agreed, and as he did, Vishnu grew to an enormous size and stepped over both the earth and the heavens. Mahabali, admitting defeat, knelt before Vishnu. Vishnu banished him to the demonic realm.
Author's Note
I did my own version of Mahabali's Story. I liked how the story pitted Vishnu against a conqueror. I also liked how Vishnu defeated Mahabali by tricking him.
Bibliography
R.K. Narayan. Ramayana. Kindle. Mahabali's Story.
Mahabali, a demon of ill-intent, set upon the world and conquered the heavens and the earth. He had bested all the gods except Vishnu, who had not stopped meditating. To celebrate his victory, Mahabali constructed a grand palace. There he held court and ruled over both worlds.
All the gods, bitter from their defeat, rushed to Vishnu and begged him to defeat Mahabali. Vishnu objected to the task, as he did not want to violently overthrow the new dictator. One of the gods suggested that he trick Mahabali. Vishnu agreed, and took the form of a learned dwarf.
When Vishnu arrived at the gates of Mahabali's palace, Mahabali sensed his great ability and said, "Welcome to my palace. I am so humbled that a man of such great achievement has come to pay me a visit."
Vishnu replied, "You honor me. Oh, great conqueror. I am passing through and wanted to glance upon your greatness."
Mahabali, flattered by those words, exclaimed, "Before you leave, I must give you a gift!"
Vishnu replied, "I am grateful, but require nothing."
Mahabali then said, "Please accept my gift. I will give you anything."
Vishnu then said, "I would like as much property as two steps cover."
Mahabali agreed, and as he did, Vishnu grew to an enormous size and stepped over both the earth and the heavens. Mahabali, admitting defeat, knelt before Vishnu. Vishnu banished him to the demonic realm.
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| Lord Vishnu. Suriya Verojn |
I did my own version of Mahabali's Story. I liked how the story pitted Vishnu against a conqueror. I also liked how Vishnu defeated Mahabali by tricking him.
Bibliography
R.K. Narayan. Ramayana. Kindle. Mahabali's Story.
Hey John, really great story! Beautiful description of the mountain, it really framed the story nicely. I really liked your use of dialogue to paint a precise picture of how Mahabali was deceived. I agree with you that a story of cunning defeating brute force is always intriguing. Looking forward to your future posts!
ReplyDeleteHi John! Beautiful description of the mountain, I was able to visualize in my head the mountain! I also like how Mahabali tricked him by growing into a giant. I wonder why Vishnu insisted to give Mahabali a gift but the decided to deceive Mahabali for wanting some land next to his temple. Maybe add some made up background context that can follow along with the main story. What is Vishnu decided to not to deceive Mahabali, do you think that they would get along? Don't be afraid to make up some parts of the story or even rewrite the story with a new plot!
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your retelling of the story of how Vishnu tricked Mahabali. I thought the dialogue made it more interesting to follow. I also like how you described the mountain in detail, it really set the stage for the whole story. It was interesting to see how Vishnu refused to attack Mahabali by force. This really shows his good character that makes him such a great God. I liked seeing how he chose to trick him instead. I think this is a really good start but maybe it could be longer. I think it would be interesting to see how Mahabali feels when he is tricked. Was he angry? Or was he just so in awe of what Vishnu had done that he felt he got what he deserved. This is something the original story doesn't explain so it might be fun to add onto the story.