SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a new column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: As the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, Vamana is highly regarded in Hindu mythology. The first Avatar to be entirely human, although a dwarf brahmin, Vamana descends from Aditi, the mother of the gods, and Kashyapa, a great sage. Indra, King of the Gods, is one of Vamana’s siblings.
It was aiding his brother that Vamana’s most famous Bhagavata legend descends. The Asura king Mahabali claimed the realm of heavens for himself, leaving Indra without a home. In the guise of a dwarf Brahman carrying an umbrella, Vamana entered the King’s home and made a simple request, three steps of land. Bali agrees to the request quickly without realizing the dwarf’s ability.
Upon receiving the promise, Vamana enlarged himself to epic proportions. Large enough to cover the Earth with one foot, he places his second on the heavens. With no territory left for the third foot promised, Bali bows his head and offers it to Vamana. Vamana accepts, granting Mahabali immortality for his benevolence and bestowed Pátála, the netherworld, to the king.
In-Game: Taking “pick on your own size” to new extremes, Vamana is fully capable of luring unaware players to attack his diminutive figure before growing to the size of a tower. A tank that becomes a ticking time bomb in dwarf form, Vamana specializes in absorbing incredible amounts of damage when he morphs into his colossal form. His physical abilities enable his teammates to bring down opposing champions through a tandem of disables as Vamana entertains them with his umbrella.
Increasing Vamana’s health pool and adding physical protection are a must to maximize his tanking capability. Adding damage will make Visnu’s fifth guise a destructive force nearly impossible to bring down. If there’s one tank were focusing attacks early is completely pointless, it’s Vamana.
Further reading:
- Vamana on Wikipedia
- Hindu Mythology on Wikipedia
- Vamana Avataram
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for access to details for all of the playable characters.