One of the Asuras, he is the evil mastermind who, after much scheming and plotting, managed to take control of the entire universe. If you’re interested, he achieved this by discovering a loophole in the small print — anyone who practiced enough austerities would automatically become master of everything.

This evil genius was on the scene a trillion years before Dr Who, Superman or James Bond were available. It was left to Vishnu to sort things out by taking on the form of a dwarf called Vanama and challenging Mr Evil to a wager.

When Bali saw the puny dwarf approach, he laughingly offered to give him a share of his new kingdom. “You can have as much as you can walk across in three steps,” he said. Whereupon, in three paces, Vanama daintily stepped across the whole universe. Never mess with a magic dwarf.

A disgusted Bali was forced to give him the lot and retire to sulk in the Underworld.

If you stumble upon an ass in a tumbledown shed, that could mean several things about you. But the most likely is that you’re on your way to the land of death, as that is how Bali appears to his guests.

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Article last revised on September 18, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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