158 Srimad-Bhagavatam [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, be-
cause 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 uni-
verse with two steps, one might ask how Bali Maharaja’s head could be
sufficient for His third step? Bali Maharaja, however, thought that the
possessor of wealth must be greater than the possession. Therefore al-
though the Lord had taken all his possessions, the head of Bali Maharaja,
the possessor, would provide adequate place for the Lord’s third step.
TEXT 3
faafe até fry TTA
A TAAY ATA AAG |
Aare ara fafamer-
SATAN BARA TA 21
bibhemi naéham nirayat pada-cyuto
na pasa-bandhad vyasandad duratyayat
naivartha-krechrad bhavato vinigrahad
asadhu-vadad bhrsam udvije yatha
bibhemi—I do fear; na—not; aham—I; nirayat—from a position in

hell; pada-cyutah—nor do I fear being deprived of my position; na—
nor; pdasa-bandhat—from being arrested by the ropes of Varuna;
vyasanat—nor from the distress; duratyayat—which was unbearable
for me; na—nor; eva—certainly; artha-krcchrat—because of poverty,
or scarcity of money; bhavatah—of Your Lordship; vinigrahét—from
the punishment I am now suffering; asddhu-vadat—from defamation;
bhrsam—very much; udvije—I become anxious; yathd—as.
