Vamana

Vamana is the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the first to appear in human form, as a dwarf Brahmin boy who asks the generous demon king Bali for three steps of land. He is shown with an umbrella and a water pot, and as Trivikrama in his giant form, one foot raised across the cosmos. In Odisha, Vamana is honoured through Bamana Janma, observed at the Shri Mandir in Puri on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada, and a Dadhibaman cult survives in western Odisha. The Odia Bhagabata retells the story.

The story is told in the Bhagavata Purana and the Vamana Purana. Bali, a grandson of Prahlada, had conquered the three worlds and driven out the gods. While Bali performed a sacrifice, Vishnu came as Vamana, a small Brahmin boy, and asked for as much land as he could cover in three steps. Bali's...