बलिर्भगवता महेन्द्रस्य प्रियं चिकीर्षमाणेनादितेर्लब्धकायो भूत्वा
वटुवामनरूपेण पराक्षिप्तलोकत्रयो भगवदनुकम्पयैव पुनः प्रवेशित
इन्द्रादिष्वविद्यमानया सुसमृद्धया श्रियाभिजुष्टः स्वधर्मेणाराधयंस्तमेव
भगवन्तमाराधनीयमपगतसाध्वस आस्तेऽधुनापि ॥१८॥
tato 'dhastÄt sutale udÄra-Å›ravÄḥ puṇya-Å›loko virocanÄtmajo balir bhagavatÄ mahendrasya priyaá¹ cikÄ«rá¹£amÄṇenÄditer labdha-kÄyo bhÅ«tvÄ vaá¹u-vÄmana-rÅ«peṇa parÄká¹£ipta-loka-trayo bhagavad-anukampayaiva punaḥ praveÅ›ita indrÄdiá¹£v avidyamÄnayÄ susamá¹›ddhayÄ Å›riyÄbhijuá¹£á¹aḥ sva-dharmeṇÄrÄdhayaá¹s tam eva bhagavantam ÄrÄdhanÄ«yam apagata-sÄdhvasa Äste 'dhunÄpi
tataḥ adhastÄt - beneath the planet known as Vitala; sutale - on the planet known as Sutala; udÄra-Å›ravÄḥ - very greatly celebrated; puṇya-Å›lokaḥ - very pious and advanced in spiritual consciousness; virocana-Ätmajaḥ - the son of Virocana; baliḥ - Bali MahÄrÄja; bhagavatÄ - by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; mahÄ-indrasya - of the King of heaven, Indra; priyam - the welfare; cikÄ«rá¹£amÄṇena - desiring to perform; Äditeḥ - from Aditi; labdha-kÄyaḥ - having obtained His body; bhÅ«tvÄ - appearing; vaá¹u - brahmacÄri; vÄmana-rÅ«peṇa - in the form of a dwarf; parÄká¹£ipta - wrested away; loka-trayaḥ - the three worlds; bhagavat-anukampayÄ - by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eva - certainly; punaḥ - again; praveÅ›itaḥ - caused to enter; indra-Ädiá¹£u - even among the demigods like the King of heaven; avidyamÄnayÄ - not existing; susamá¹›ddhayÄ - much enriched by such exalted opulence; Å›riyÄ - by good fortune; abhijuá¹£á¹aḥ - being blessed; sva-dharmeṇa - by discharging devotional service; ÄrÄdhayan - worshiping; tam - Him; eva - certainly; bhagavantam - the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ÄrÄdhanÄ«yam - who is most worshipable; apagata-sÄdhvasaḥ - without fear; Äste - remains; adhunÄ api - even today.
Below the planet Vitala is another planet, known as Sutala, where the great son of MahÄrÄja Virocana, Bali MahÄrÄja, who is celebrated as the most pious king, resides even now. For the welfare of Indra, the King of heaven, Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the form of a dwarf brahmacÄrÄ« as the son of Aditi and tricked Bali MahÄrÄja by begging for only three paces of land but taking all the three worlds. Being very pleased with Bali MahÄrÄja for giving all his possessions, the Lord returned his kingdom and made him richer than the opulent King Indra. Even now, Bali MahÄrÄja engages in devotional service by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the planet of Sutala.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as UttamaÅ›loka, “He who is worshiped by the best of selected Sanskrit verses,†and His devotees such as Bali MahÄrÄja are also worshiped by puṇya-Å›loka, verses that increase one’s piety. Bali MahÄrÄja offered everything to the Lord — his wealth, his kingdom and even his own body (sarvÄtma-nivedane baliḥ). The Lord appeared before Bali MahÄrÄja as a brÄhmaṇa beggar, and Bali MahÄrÄja gave Him everything he had. However, Bali MahÄrÄja did not become poor; by donating all his possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became a successful devotee and got everything back again with the blessings of the Lord. Similarly, those who give contributions to expand the activities of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and to accomplish its objectives will never be losers; they will get their wealth back with the blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. On the other side, those who collect contributions on behalf of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness should be very careful not to use even a farthing of the collection for any purpose other than the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
