Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/182

 whose story has just been given, was king over the three worlds--heaven, earth and sky. In the form of a Brāhman dwarf, Vishnu appears, and asks, as a gift, all he could cross over in three steps. This the king grants. Immediately the pigmy becomes a giant, and

with one step strides over heaven, and with the second over the earth, and thus fulfils his purpose. The