Open Veils · Answer
In which Mahabharata book does it talk about Vamana
The Mahabharata does reference Vamana directly. The principal account appears in Book 3, the Vana Parva, Chapter 270 (Ganguli translation). The Harivamsa, the epic's own appendix, provides additional treatment. Secondary references also appear in the Shanti Parva.
Evidence
- The Mahabharata, attributed to the sage Vyasa, contains its main Vamana passage in the Vana Parva — Book 3, Chapter 270 — in the Kisari Mohan Ganguli translation (1883–1896).
- The Vana Parva version is essentially the complete account as it stands in the Mahabharata; all other internal references are considered brief mentions or supplementary blessings associated with Vamana rather than independent retellings.
- The Harivamsa — the acknowledged khila or appendix to the Mahabharata — furnishes two further accounts of the legend, making it the most expansive Mahabharata-adjacent source outside the Puranas.
- There, Vishnu assuming the form of a dwarf approaches the demon-king Bali, who had wrested dominion over the worlds after defeating Indra and completing a hundred sacrifices.
- Bali grants the dwarf brahmin a boon of three paces of ground, whereupon Vishnu expands into the cosmic Trivikrama form, covering earth with one stride and the heavens with the second, then placing the third step on Bali's head, dispatching him to the netherworld Patala and restoring the gods.