Indian culture, with the former being
deemed better.
Vamakhepa
(1843–1911) Asceticdevotee (bhakta) of
the Goddessin her fierce and powerful
form as Tara; his presence and supposed
miraculous powers are largely responsi-
ble for the importance of Tarapithas an
important regional sacred site (tirtha) in
West Bengal. From his earliest child-
hood, Vamakhepa was occupied with
thoughts of the Goddess, and from an
early age he took up residence in the
cremation groundat Tarapith, where he
undertook the worshipof Tara. Various
stories describe his power to heal people
of all sorts of ailments, as well as his
complete disregard for all accepted
standards—according to tradition, he
once urinated on the temple’s image of
Tara, to show his contempt for a deity
made of iron, and was struck in punish-
ment by the Goddess.
Vamana Avatar
Fifth avatarof Vishnu, this one in the
form of a dwarf (“vamana”). As with all
of Vishnu’s avatars, the Vamana avatar
comes into being in a time of crisis and
serves to restore the cosmic balance
that has been thrown out of equilibri-
um. In this case the source of trouble
stems from a demon(asura) named
Bali, who has grown so powerful that
he is able to rule the entire universe,
doing as he wishes. As in many other
cases, Vishnu is able to counter and
conquer this disruptive force through
cunning and trickery, rather than simple
overt power.
The mythic tale describes how Bali is
sponsoring a great sacrifice, to which all
the gods and sages have come. Vishnu
comes in the form of a dwarf, disguised
as a mendicant brahmin. Bali gives
many rich gifts to those attending, as
part of the gift-giving (dana) associated
with sacrifice, and he offers to give
Vamana anything that he asks for.
Vamana refuses the offer of riches, land,
and material wealth, and asks only for
three paces worth of land to set up his
own sacrificial altar. Bali is amused by
the request and grants it flippantly
despite the warnings of Shukra, his reli-
gious preceptor (guru), that he should
not do this.
As soon as Bali pours water on
Vamana’s hand, marking that the gift has
been given irrevocably, Vamana suddenly
begins to grow. He grows so large that he
takes up all the space in the cosmos and
then begins to take his three steps. With
his first step he traverses the earth,
with his second the heavens, and with
his third step there is nowhere else to
go. Bali realizes that he has been
defeated, and as a gestureof submis-
sion indicates that Vishnu’s third step
should fall on his head. Vishnu’s third
step pushes Bali down into the nether-
world, where he still remains as the
ruler. As for many of the other avatars,
Bali’s fate gives an important lesson:
Vishnu’s purpose is not to destroy him,
but to restore the cosmic balance that
has been lost through one being gaining
disproportionate or inappropriate power.
Through his submission to Vishnu, Bali
remains a powerful being, but on a
diminished scale.
The motif of measuring out the uni-
verse in three steps is part of the oldest
stratum of Vishnu’s mythology. In one of
the few hymns to Vishnu in the Rg Veda
(1.154), the oldest Hindu religious text,
he is described as a protective and
benevolent deity, who with three steps
defines the boundaries of the universe.
This manifestation of Vishnu is named
Trivikrama (“[taking] three steps”); it
seems likely that the motif from this
hymn was grafted onto the Vamana
story as part of the process of assimila-
tion into the pantheon.Vana Dashanami
One of the ten divisions of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, renunciant
ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of
Shiva. The Dashanamis were suppos-
edly established by the ninth-centuryVana Dashanami