The Mythology Associated with Deepavali
The Legend of King Bali
Another legend is associated with Diwa1i and that is of King Bali. This king, we are told, also had a long and happy reign. To propitiate the gods he performed a Yagna (fire sacrifice). So successful was his Yagna that even the gods were terrified to appear before him and grant him a boon in the fear that what he might ask could be beyond their capacity to satisfy. To avoid embarassment the gods sent one of them to King Bali's court in the guise of a sage. When the Sage reached King bali's court, Bali asked him to ask for anything he wanted. Facing the righteous King, the sage asked for space for three paces. This request seemed strange to all the courtiers, but king Bali granted it. Once the request was granted to him, the wily Sage, who was none but god in disguise, submerged the entire world (Mrityu-loka) with one step, with the second he submerged heaven (Swarga-loka) and for the third step; there was no respectable place to put his foot down and so he asked the bewildered Bali for some respectable place to this foot so that the boon could be fulfilled. Left with no alternative, the noble but exasperated King Bali offered his head for the purpose. To his surprise, the wily sage not only lost no time in placing his foot over King Bali's head, but also thrust Bali into the nether worlds (Patala-loka) which as per Hindu cosmogony is hell and lies below the surface of the earth.

In memory of this, we are told, that the second day of Diwali (Bali Prati-pada) is celebrated. Prati-pada here translates as "below the opponent's foot" (Prati=opponent, Pada=foot).

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