The King Who Gave Everything and Lost More
Mahabali was not a tyrant. The Vamana Purana is careful about this. He was generous beyond measure, a ruler whose yagnas fed multitudes, a king whose word held. When the dwarf Brahmin arrived at his court asking for three paces of land, Mahabali's guru Shukracharya saw the trap immediately and said so. Mahabali gave anyway. Not out of naivety. Out of pride in his own virtue. He was certain that his goodness was large enough to contain any consequence.
