Dispossessed of his heavenly kingdom, Indra came to the hermitage of Aditi Devi situated at the bottom of the Meru mountain. Aditi was the mother of Indra. Aditi took pity on her children. Kashyapa, the father of the Devas, was also moved by their condition. All of them together came to Brahma.

Brahma said : "Devas, worship Vishnu. Let Kashyapa and Aditi also worship Vishnu and please Vishnu by their tapas and pray to Vishnu that he is born as their son. Only Vishnu can vanquish Bali and bless you." Kashyapa and Aditi went to perform tapas to please Vishnu.

Aditi's tapas were extraordinary. Lord Narayana appeared before her and said, "Mother of the Devas, I shall grant your 'request. Ask what you want."

Aditi said, "0 Lord of Gods, there is nothing that you do not know. The Danavas have occupied he kingdom of my son Indra with the help of Bali. They have taken away all the powers from my children. You gave my son Indra his position as the Lord of the Devas. I grieve that my children have lost their kingdom and power. But I grieve more because the Danavas have transgressed your law and have been behaving with pride and insolence. It pains me to see that you too are doing nothing to set matters right. You should be born as my son and defeat Bali. Go to the assistance of the defeated Devas and help restore the heavenly kingdom to the Devas."