THE VAMANA INCARNATION:
The origin of this incarnation is the ‘three strides of Vishnu’ mentioned in the Rig Veda. In the Treta Yuga or second age, the demon Bali had acquired dominion over the three worlds by his austerities, and the gods were shorn of their power and dignity. To remedy this Vishnu took the form of the diminutive dwarfed son of Kashyapa and Aditi. The dwarf appeared before Bali and begged him to give him as much land as he could step on in three paces. The generous monarch complied with the request. The dwarf, in two strides, covered heaven and earth, but, respecting the virtues of Bali, abstained from stepping over Patala, the infernal region below the ground. This was left as the domain of Bali and his demons.