ed up the Earth with one of his tusks,
and replaced it in its proper sphere. At another time, the mighty Lord,
assuming a wonderful form with a body half lion, half man, and squeezing
his hands, repaired to the court of the ruler of the Daityas. That
progenitor of the Daityas, the son of Diti, who was the enemy of the
(gods), beholding the Lord's peculiar form, burst out into passion and
his eyes became inflamed with rage. And Hiranya-Kasipu, the war-like son
of Diti and the enemy of the gods, adorned with garlands and looking like
a mass of dark clouds, taking up his trident in hand and roaring like the
clouds, rushed on that being half lion, half man. Then that powerful king
of wild beasts, half man, half lion, taking a leap in the air, instantly
rent the Daitya in twain by means of his sharp claws. And the adorable
lotus-eyed Lord of great effulgence, having thus slain the Daitya king
for the well-being of all creatures, again took his birth in the womb of
Aditi as son of Kasyapa. And at the expiration of a thousand years she
was delivered of that superhuman conception. And then was born that
Being, of the hue of rain-charged clouds with bright eyes and of dwarfish
stature. He had the ascetic's staff and water-pot in hand, and was marked
with the emblem of a curl of hair on the breast. And that adorable Being
wore matted locks and the sacrificial thread, and he was stout and
handsome and resplendent with lustre. And that Being, arriving at the
sacrificial enclosure of Vali, king of the Danavas, entered the
sacrificial assembly with the aid of Vrihaspati. And beholding that
dwarf-bodied Being, Vali was well-pleased and said unto him, 'I am glad
to see thee, O Brahmana! Say what is it that thou wantest from me!' Thus
addressed by Vali, the dwarf-god replied with a smile, saying, 'So be it!
Do thou, lord of the Danavas, give me three paces of ground!' And Vali
contented to give what that Brahmana of infinite power had asked. And
while measuring with his paces the space he sought. Hari assumed a
wonderful and extraordinary form. And with only three paces he instantly
covered this illimitable world. And then that everlasting God, Vishnu,
gave it away unto Indra. This history which has just been related to
thee, is celebrated as the 'Incarnation of the Dwarf', And from him, all
the gods had their being, and after him the world is said to be
Vaishnava, or pervaded by Vishnu. And for the destruction of the wicked
and the prese