The three strides of Vishnu, from the Rigveda to the dwarf and King Bali

At the close of the rite the sacrificer walks three Vishnu-strides. The text explains that Vishnu is the sacrifice and that by striding he won for the gods the all-pervading power they now have: the earth with the first step, the air with the second, the sky with the last. Each stride is taken with a verse naming a metre, Gayatri, Trishtubh and Jagati, and shutting out the enemy from that world.

Indra and Vishnu fight the Asuras and win. They offer to settle, and Indra sets the terms: whatever Vishnu crosses in three strides is theirs and the rest belongs to the Asuras. Vishnu crosses these worlds, then the Vedas, then speech. The passage is told to explain the verse about the two gods dividing the thousand in three.

Indra and Vishnu strive over the thousandth cow of a gift of a thousand. Indra fears Vishnu will take the whole thousand, so they come to terms: Indra receives two thirds and Vishnu the remaining third. The text points to the Rigveda verse that says the two have conquered and divided the thousand.

Vishvamitra shows Rama the hermitage called Siddhashrama, once the dwelling of Vishnu as the dwarf. Bali, son of Virochana, had conquered Indra and ruled the three worlds, and during his sacrifice he gave every asker what he asked. The gods begged Vishnu to go to him as a dwarf. In one recension Kashyapa and Aditi, ending a thousand-year vow, ask Vishnu to be born as their son and Indra's younger brother; he is born as a mendicant with umbrella, gourd and topknot. He asks Bali for three paces, takes a wondrous form, covers earth, air and sky, gives Bali a dwelling in Patala and returns the three worlds to Indra.

The Mahabharata mentions the deed briefly. In the Shanti Parva Vishnu foretells that he will be born of Aditi and Kashyapa, give Indra back his kingdom and settle Bali in Patala. In the Vana Parva Krishna is praised as the one who became Aditi's child, Indra's younger brother, and crossed sky, air and earth in three strides. The Vishnu Purana gives it one sentence: in the present age Vishnu was born as a dwarf, won the worlds in three paces and gave them to Indra.

Kerala keeps the story for the king's sake. Mahabali was sent to the world below by Vamana's third step, and Onam celebrates his homecoming to see his people once a year. The festival runs ten days in the month of Chingam (August to September), from Atham to Thiruvonam. It opens with a flag-raising at Thrikkakara, a temple of Vamana whose name means the place of the holy foot. Flower circles are laid at doorsteps and enlarged daily, clay figures are placed at house entrances, and a feast is served on Thiruvonam.

The temple's legend is the Vamana story, and its main image shows the god at the moment of the strides: over 35 feet tall, the left leg raised level with the ground and the right foot resting on Mahabali's head. Two fingers of the left hand are held out for the two steps already taken and one finger of the right hand asks where the third should go. The shrine is a Divya Desam sung by Tirumangai Alvar and Tirumalisai Alvar; the temple at Tirukkoyilur shares the legend.

In the Deccan and the west Bali's yearly visit falls on the fourth day of Diwali, the first day of Kartika (October or November). It is Bali Padwa in Maharashtra and Bali Padyami in Karnataka and Andhra, and it begins the new year in Gujarat. The day marks the annual return to earth that Vishnu granted Bali. People take oil baths, wear new clothes, draw floor patterns, light lamps and worship Bali and his wife.