The day after Kartik amavasya is Bali Pratipada also known in the south as Bali Padyami or the ascent of King Bali . It is called Padwa in Maharashtra. King Bali of patala loka come out of Pathala Loka and rule Bhuloka as per the boon given by Lord Vishnu. Hence, it is known as ‘Bali Padyami’.
King Bali of the netherworld, intelligent, generous, valiant and mighty, with his powers, had become a threat to the gods after completing 99 yajnas and on the verge of commencing with the 100th which would have brought him on equal footing with Lord Indra. He had infact started to call himself Bali Indra. The threatened gods appealed to Lord Vishnu to curb the powers of Bali. To do so, Lord Vishnu assumed the Vamana avatar and begged the king for that much land that he could cover with three footsteps. The generous King Bali agreed as he was also known for his generosity towards Brahmanas.
With the first step, Vamana covered heaven and with the second step the earth. When he asked Bali where he could keep his third step, Bali offered his head and placed the Lord’s foot on his head. Lord Vishnu then told Bali that he now had no place on heaven or earth and banished him into the Patala (nether land) with his third stride. However, pleased with his generosity, Lord Vishnu granted him a boon to return to earth once a year on the day succeeding the dark night of Kartik amavasya, to light millions of lamps on earth to dispel darkness and ignorance and spread the radiance of knowledge, love and wisdom. Hence the day after Deepawali is celebrated as Bali Pratipada.
In Karnataka, seven fortresses and images of King Bali and his wife Vindhyavali are made of cowdung and worshipped. “Let the ideal kingdom of Bali dawn at the earliest on earth” is the prayer that is chanted and offered. In the evenings lamps are lit and crackers are burst. The day is considered auspicious for starting any new educational and spiritual ventures.
