Stories 2
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Legend
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✕ dwarf
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Legend · 4 tellings · contested
The dwarf who lay down and won the earth
The Asuras have won the earth and are dividing it. They grant the gods only as much as Vishnu, a dwarf who is the sacrifice, can lie on; the gods enclose him with the metres and win the whole earth by worship. The Bhagavata Purana tells the bargain as Vamana and King Bali.
Legend · 4 tellings · contested
Vamana and King Bali
The generous asura king Bali grants a dwarf brahmin three paces of land; two strides cover heaven and earth, Bali offers his own head for the third and is sent to rule Sutala with Vishnu as his doorkeeper.