Lord Vāmanadeva Appears

Lord Vamanadeva Appears

Aditi, the mother of the demigods, began to lament the fate of her sons, who had been forced to leave the heavenly planets. She pleaded with her husband, the great sage Kasyapa, saying, "O best of sages, please bestow upon my sons a benediction by which they can regain what they have lost."

Kasyapa, who was also a great devotee of the Lord, replied to his wife, "Only Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can bestow such a benediction. You should engage in His devotional service, and He will surely fulfill your desire."

So with full and undiverted attention, Aditi began to meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way she subdued her mind and senses, which were as strong as strong horses.

At last the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before her in His original Visnu form. He wore yellow garments and bore a conchshell, disc, club, and lotus in His four hands, and His eyes looked like the petals of a blooming lotus. On seeing the Lord, Aditi was overwhelmed with transcendental bliss and stood silently with tears in her eyes.

"You have prayed to Me and properly worshiped Me," the Supreme Lord said, "Therefore I shall agree to become your son, and in this way I shall act to help your other sons regain their rightful positions."

So on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadra, when the moon came into the lunar mansion Sravana, at the auspicious moment of Abhijit, Lord Visnu appeared in this universe as the son of Kasyapa and Aditi. Then, in the presence of His supremely fortunate parents, the Lord assumed the form of Vamana, a dwarf brahmacari (spiritual student). Just as an actor may play different roles, but remains the same man, so the Lord assumes many thousands and millions of forms-and yet these forms are not different from one another.

When the great sages saw the Lord in the role of a dwarf brahmacari, they were very pleased. They held many auspicious ceremonies and initiated Him as a brahmana (spiritual teacher of society). According to the Vedic culture a brahmacari goes out to beg alms to learn the spiritual qualities of humility and pridelessness. And Lord Vamanadeva determined that He would follow this custom, even though He was actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of all the universes.

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