SB 1.3.19
पदत्रयं याचमानः प्रत्यादित्सुस्त्रिपिष्टपम् ॥ १९ ॥
pada-trayaṁ yācamānaḥ pratyāditsus tri-piṣṭapam
Synonyms
pañcadaśam — [in] the fifteenth advent [avatāram92]; [the Puruṣa]; kṛtvā — having assumed [dhṛtvā93]; vāmanakam — the form of a dwarf [or one who “dwarfs” the pride of the miscreants (duṣṭānāṁ madaṁ vāmayatīti vāmanakam),94 as Vāmanadeva]; agāt — proceeded [jagāma]; adhvaram — to the sacrificial arena [yajña-vāṭam]; baleḥ — of King Bali; yācamānaḥ — [and] requested; pada-trayam — three steps of land [meaning that He requested the three worlds on the pretext of asking for three steps of land (pada-traya-vyājena tri-lokīṁ yācamānaḥ)]; pratyāditsuḥ — with the covert intention of recovering from him [tasmād ācchidya grahītum icchuḥ95]; tri-piṣṭapam — the kingdom of heaven [(svargam);96 or the kingdom of the three worlds (trai-lokyam)97].
Translation
In the fifteenth avatāra, the Puruṣa, having assumed the form of a dwarf [Vāmanadeva], proceeded to the sacrificial arena of King Bali and requested three steps of land with the covert intention of recovering from him the kingdom of heaven.