Ulagalanda Perumal is the name of the Vamana Avatar of
Vishnu in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu. Ulagalanda Perumal means the
lord who measured the universe (with three strides).
King Bali, great-grandson of Hiranyakasipu and grandson of Prahlada, conquered the three worlds and ruled them. He followed Dharma and was famous for charity and justice.
King Bali, great-grandson of Hiranyakasipu and grandson of Prahlada, conquered the three worlds and ruled them. He followed Dharma and was famous for charity and justice.
Indra, the chief of celestial beings or Devas, was thus superseded.
Indra approached Lord Vishnu to stop King Bali from
attaining the position of Indra.
Vishnu went in the
guise of a Dwarf Brahmana, a student of the Vedas (brahmacharin), and begged of
Bali for three feet of land on which he could sit and meditate on Brahman undisturbed.
The generous Bali granted the request.
But to his astonishment the Dwarf grew to a height
transcending the world. In one step he measured the entire earth. In next step
he measured the sky.
Vishnu then demanded King Bali to show him room for the
third step.
True to his promise, Bali offered his own head, on which the
god placed his foot and sent him down to the netherworld.
Greatly pleased with the king's nobility and firmness of
character, Vishnu guards the palace of Bali in the netherworld.
The most famous temple dedicated to Ulagalanda Perumal is
located at Kanchipuram.