Story of King Mahabali
Story of King Mahabali
Onam is a harvest festival and usually falls in the month of August or September. It corresponds to the month of Chingam (the first month of the Malayalam calendar). Onam is also celebrated to welcome King Mahabali who had sought the Blessings of Lord Maha Vishnu to visit the people of Kerala every year as he loved them very much.
The beauty about Onam festival is that although it is primarily a Hindu festival, many Non-Hindu communities from Kerala also come together to celebrate this great occasion. King Mahabali is welcomed with a “Pookolam” or flower Rangoli and there are many cultural events including boat races, various traditional dances, prayers and of course feasts.
The Story
Many years ago there lived a demon King in Kerala. This King though born in the Asura clan, was very kind, noble and truthful. Infact, he was known for his generosity and his rule was compared to the Golden Era. His name was Mahabali and he was the grandson of the great Prahlada. He was forever engaged in the glorification of God and in the upliftment of his subjects. During his rule, there was no poverty or ill health and every home was lit with joy and every day was like a festive occasion. Due to his intense penance, Mahabali was soon to gain control over the three worlds and this made the Devas very nervous and insecure.
The Devas went to Lord Vishnu and pleaded with Him to do something about this. Lord Vishnu knew that Mahabali indeed was a great king but there had to be a balance in the power between the Devas and the Demons. If Mahabali became too powerful it could shake this balance. So, Lord Vishnu decided to go to Earth and take birth in the home of Sage Kashyapa and Aditi. Thus Vishnu took His fifth incarnation in the form of a dwarf and called Himself as Vamana.
Years later, one day Vamana went to the palace of Mahabali. On this day a big Yagna was being performed in the royal court. When Mahabali saw Vamana – a Brahmin, he prostrated to him and asked him what he desired. Vamana said, “Oh noble King, can I please have three feet of land to live in?”
Mahabali was amused at this strange request as Vamana was a dwarf with small feet. He said confidently, “Yes, Oh Brahmin, you can have three feet of land in my kingdom”. Suddenly, to Mahabali’s amazement, Vamana expanded in size. He took one step which covered the entire earth. With the next step, the Brahmin covered the entire sky. By now, Mahabali realized that this was no ordinary Brahmin and to keep his word and honour, he offered Vamana his own head for His third step. The minute Vamana’s foot touched Mahabali’s head, he was released from the cycle of birth and death and he got the vision of Lord Vishnu in the place of Vamana.
Lord Vishnu, highly impressed with Mahabali, told him to ask for any boon. Mahabali, with utter humility said, “Oh Lord, I love my people very much. Please allow me to visit Kerala once in a year”. Lord Vishnu immediately agreed. So, once a year Mahabali visits Kerala and his homecoming is celebrated as Onam. Thus, we can conclude that the Lord had incarnated as Vamana to bless Bali and not to destroy him.