Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/135

Rh of Vishnu; but the homely Malayali prefers to describe him as a fair boy. Mahabali asked the boy what he warted and gave him fruits and sweetmeats, but the cunning young rogue would accept nothing. "What do you want, then?” asked the king who used to give all those who came to him whatever they asked for. The boy said that he required only three feet of ground and this was readily granted by the unsuspecting king. Suddenly the boy assumed a huge shape (generally called Visvarupa or world-pervading shape) and with one foot covered all Mahabali’s dominions. The second foot took in all the sky covering the king’s dominions, but where was the third foot of ground? The king was amazed and thought that Vishnu himself was before him. "Where am I to measure the third foot?” cried the deity. "On my head, my lord!” was the calm reply of the monarch. And so it came to pass, and Mahabali was humbled to dust. This event took place on the Onam day, in the asterism of Tiru-Ona (whence the name Ona, devoid of, Tiru which means holy) in the month of Simha answering to the latter half of August and the former half of September.