Vamana Avatar

Vamana was the first of Vishnu’s incarnations to be born during the Treta Yuga. He is also the first of Vishnu’s incarnations to be fully human. The story goes that a great king grew in power and extend his kingdom over all the three worlds. To restore order, Vishnu was born as Vamana, a gentle dwarf of incredible intelligence and power. He approached the king during a great festival when he could not refuse a request, and respectfully asked him if he could have three paces of land. The king humored him and granted his request. At that moment, Vamana grew to the size of the world and took three giant steps. He stepped over heaven on his first step, and hell on his second step. The king realized Vamana was Vishnu and out of respect and honor offered his head as the third place for Vamana to place his foot. Vamana did just that and in doing so granted the king immortality.