In his fifth incarnation (avatar), Vishnu, the Hindu God of Preservation, manifested as the dwarf Vamana to thwart the grandiose sacrifice of the demon king Bali who had defeated Indra, the King of the Gods, and assumed his throne in the heavens of the gods (Indraloka or Svarga). When Bali offered the lowly Vamana anything of his choosing, Vamana humbly asked for all the land he could cover in three steps. After Bali granted his request, Vamana instantly transformed himself in the colossal Trivikrama (The Taker of Three Steps). His first step encompassed the earth, his second step traversed the entire sky, and his third step enveloped the celestial regions. Bali was thus defeated and relegated to rule a minor domain.
Vamana is represented here as a corpulent dwarf standing in a stiff, frontal pose (samapada sthanaka). He has short curly hair similar to a Buddha or Jina and a cranial protuberance similar to a Buddha’s ushnisha that evokes the topknot of a Brahmacharin (religious student in the Brahmacharya Ashram stage of life). He wears a tiara, the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder, a long forest garland (vanamala) hanging across his thighs, and a short dagger tucked into his jeweled waist sash. His arms are now missing, but his hands would have likely held Vishnu’s four primary attributes of a mace (gada), discus (chakra), conch (shankha), and lotus (padma).
See also M.81.240, M.84.58.1, M.84.221.3, and AC1994.4.1.
