Be it a celestial, demon, human, animal or bird, for all there exists a single rule of upholding the Dharma of the worlds. Upholding Dharma is not only winning great wars or doing impossible tasks with the help of power and strength, but even small things like keeping up promises, spreading share and care and being selfless too are also the important factors in protecting Dharma. Nobody is exempt from his, and the same is proved by the great king Bali Chakravarthy who shone with virtues of goodness, even though born as a demon. To keep up a promise , he sacrificed his power, fame and finally his place on Earth, but his name still shines like an ever burning lamp for the promise he kept up to Bhagwan Vishnu.
Once during a conflict between the Devas and the demons, King Bali decided to gain supremacy over the Devas not with bloodshed and war, but by performing a Yagn under the guidance of his Guru Shukracharya which would give him the supremacy over the Devas. However, the Devas worry about his act, as it would disturb the entire Dharma of the worlds and they rush to Bhagwan Vishnu to save them.
Bhagwan Vishnu takes the form of a young Brahmin and goes to Bali Chakravarthy. The king is impressed at the divine radiance of the young Brahmin and asks the little one what he sought. The king offers him wealth and riches, yet the young Brahmin refuses all. When Bali Chakravarthy insists upon giving him whatever the young Brahmin asked for, the boy asks for three steps of land.
This shocks Rishi Shukracharya and he understands that the young one is none other than Bhagwan Vishnu. He stops Bali Chakravarthy and asks him to send the boy away. When Bali Chakravarthy asks for the reason, he reveals that that is all a plot by the Devas and the young Brahmin is Bhagwan Vishnu who has come to stop the Yagn.
Bali Chakravarthy smiles and then mentions to his guru that a promise or a word given is the most valuable thing ever and one cannot step back from it. King Bali mentions that even if it is likely to bring harm also he wouldn’t budge on going back, as it is against Dharma to break a word given. When Rishi Shukracharya says that this would lead to dire consequences too, the king mentions that when the Almighty himself has come to ask him for something, then the almighty would also protect him too.
Saying this, the noble king keeps his word and donates the three steps of land. Assuming the Vamanavatara, Bhagwan Vishnu grows enormously in his size and places his two steps on the cosmos and the Earth. When he asks the king as to where to put his third step, King Bali bows down and asks him to step on his head. Bhagwan Vishnu gets immensely pleased with the sacrifice of Bali Chakravarthy and offers him his protection forever. Making Bali the king of the Patal Lok, Bhagwan Vishnu himself becomes Bali Chakravarthy’s gatekeeper.
The value of keeping a word is the greatest virtue of all. Be it a small or a big one, it brings immense faith in oneself and the strength to overcome any kind of obstacles in life. It is the greatness of Bali Chakravarthy that he shows even his Guru Shukracharya the value of the same and promises are to be kept up, but not broken.