Mahabali

Look for a panel on the wall on the right side of the main shrine. This action-packed panel is called the Trivikrama panel. And it tells the story of Mahabali.

Story goes that there was once a demon king named Mahabali. Unlike other demon kings, Mahabali was wise and just and very popular with his subjects. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, the god of protection. He was such a good king that he was even granted a boon that nobody could ever defeat him in battle. Naturally, Mahabali quickly conquered the Earth, the heavens and the netherworld and ruled over it all, wisely and well. Nobody complained, because he was such a good king.

But Indra, the king of heaven, was unhappy with Mahabali’s rising power. Feeling insecure about his own position, he complained to Lord Vishnu. And Lord Vishnu had to find a way to settle this matter.

Now, it was well known that Mahabali was a generous king who rarely refused to grant a request. One day, Vishnu came to meet him, disguised as a dwarf called Vamana. He had a strange request. He asked Mahabali for only as much land as three paces of his feet would cover. Mahabali agreed. And then a miracle happened. The dwarf, Vamana, grew taller and taller. He was so tall, that with his first step, he covered the entire Earth. And then with his second step he raised his leg high and covered the entire sky.

That is the moment you see depicted in the Trivikrama panel - you can see Vamana with his leg stretched right out to the Heavens. Trivikrama roughly translates to ‘the one who took three steps’. Trivikrama is another name for Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu.

Vamana now turned to Mahabali and asked where he should place the third step. By now, Mahabali knew that Vamana was none other than Lord Vishnu. But he wasn’t one to go back on a promise. So he knelt and offered his own head for the third step. Vishnu put his foot on Mahabali’s head and gently pushed him down to the Netherworld. And from then on that became Mahabali’s Kingdom.

But since Mahabali was a good king, Vishnu left him with two new boons. One – He promised Mahabali that he would always have his protection. And two – Mahabali could return to Earth once every year and spend time with his beloved subjects. This annual homecoming of Mahabali is celebrated in Kerala as the festival of Onam.

But there’s more to this panel. It depicts an interesting side-story and we will cover that in the next story on this tour.