158
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 8, Ch. 22]
extent that with two footsteps You covered the entire universe. Because You were working on behalf of Your devotees, You do not regard this as cheating. Never mind. I cannot be considered a devotee. Nonetheless, because although You are the husband of the goddess of fortune You have come to me to beg, I must satisfy You to the best of my ability. So please do not think that I wanted to cheat You; I must fulfill my promise. I still have one possession—my body. You have taken my wealth, but still I have my body. When I place my body for Your satisfaction, please put Your third step on my head.” Since the Lord had covered the entire universe with two steps, one might ask how Bali Mahārāja’s head could be sufficient for His third step? Bali Mahārāja, however, thought that the possessor of wealth must be greater than the possession. Therefore although the Lord had taken all his possessions, the head of Bali Mahārāja, the possessor, would provide adequate place for the Lord’s third step.
TEXT 3
बिभेमि नाहं निरयात् पदच्युतो
न पाशबन्धाद् व्यसनाद् दुरत्ययात् ।
नैवार्थकृच्छ्राद् भवतो विनिग्रहा-
दसाधुवादाद् भृशमुद्धिजे यथा ॥ ३ ॥
bibhemi nāhaṁ nirayāt pada-cyuto
na pāśa-bandhād vyasanād duratyayāt
naivārtha-kṛcchrād bhavato vinigrahād
asādhu-vādād bhṛśam udvije yathā
bibhemi —I do fear;  na —not;  aham —I;  nirayāt —from a position in hell;  pada-cyutaḥ —nor do I fear being deprived of my position;  na —nor;  pāśa-bandhāt —from being arrested by the ropes of Varuṇa;  vyasanāt —nor from the distress;  duratyayāt —which was unbearable for me;  na —nor;  eva —certainly;  artha-kṛcchrāt —because of poverty, or scarcity of money;  bhavataḥ —of Your Lordship;  vinigrahāt —from the punishment I am now suffering;  asādhu-vādāt —from defamation;  bhṛśam —very much;  udvije —I become anxious;  yathā —as.