Lord Vamana is the fifth incarnation of Lord
Vishnu, as a dwarf priest. Legend says that Bali, the king of demons captured the three worlds (earth, heaven, and the subterranean region called patal) through devotion and penance. As a result, Lord
Indra, the King of the Devas, lost his monopoly in heaven and went to worship Lord Vishnu. To help the Devas, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Vamana and requested Bali to gift him as much land as he could measure with his three steps. Vamana captured heaven and earth with two steps, and due to lack of space, he kept his third step on the King’s head and pushed him down to Patal.