VAMANA

[Hindu] In Vedic Hinduism, the fifth avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a dwarf. It was in this form that Vishnu tricked Bali into giving up heaven and earth. He asked Bali to be given a plot of land a mere three paces wide. Bali agreed, and Vishnu returned to his usual size and paced out the measure of heaven and earth in two steps. He elected not to claim the underworld, which he allowed Bali to retain and rule over.