The Three Steps

The sages told the Pandavas of King Bali, the demon who was so generous and so true to his word that the Lord himself had to come in disguise to humble him - and even then honored him above many a god.

Bali was an asura king, the grandson of the great devotee Prahlada, and though he was of the line of the demons he was a noble and righteous ruler, famed throughout the worlds for his virtue. Above all he was famed for two things: his absolute truthfulness, and his boundless generosity. It was said that Bali never refused any request, never broke a promise, and never sent a petitioner away empty-handed; whatever was asked of him, he gave. By his strength and his sacrifices he grew so mighty that he conquered the three worlds and drove Indra and the gods from heaven, and ruled over all of creation. And he ruled it well and justly - so that his subjects prospered and loved him, and there was no real wickedness in his reign, only this: that he had taken heaven from its rightful lords, and that in his greatness a seed of pride had begun to grow in him, a pride in his own power and his own giving.