Devanagari
तस्मात् त्वत्तो महीमीषद् वृणेऽहं वरदर्षभात् ।
पदानि त्रीणि दैत्येन्द्र सम्मितानि पदा मम ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
tasmāt tvatto mahīm īṣad
vṛṇe ’haṁ varadarṣabhāt
padāni trīṇi daityendra
sammitāni padā mama
Synonyms
tasmāt
—
from such a person
;
tvattaḥ
—
from Your Majesty
;
mahīm
—
land
;
īṣat
—
very little
;
vṛṇe
—
am asking for
;
aham
—
I
;
varada
—
ṛṣabhāt — from the personality who can give charity munificently
;
padāni
—
footsteps
;
trīṇi
—
three
;
daitya
—
indra — O King of the Daityas
;
sammitāni
—
to the measurement of
;
padā
—
by a foot
;
mama
—
My .
Translation
O King of the Daityas, from Your Majesty, who come from such a noble family and who are able to give charity munificently, I ask only three paces of land, to the measurement of My steps.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O King of the Daityas! From you, who are able to give charity munificently, I ask only three paces of land, to the measurement of my steps.
It will later be understood that his three steps covered by three worlds. He asked for only a little area that covered his three steps (mahīm īṣat). This will be for my hermitage. This will be enough for my subsistence, for I survive by taking whatever food is offered. This was the meaning he intended to convey to Bali. When he says that he will take only the measurement of three steps, it is not untrue since he later expanded as Trivikrama, and those steps could not be refused by Bali.
Purport
Lord Vāmanadeva wanted three paces of land according to the measurement of His footsteps. He did not want more than necessary. But although He pretended to be an ordinary human child, He actually wanted the land comprising the upper, middle and lower planetary systems. This was just to show the prowess of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.