https://mavelinaducollective.com/the-story-of-maveli/
Maveli or Mahabali or Bali is a mythical figure and a folk hero across Maharashtra and Kerala. He is mentioned as the “King of Asuras” in several Hindu scriptures, from the Vedas to the Puranas. Once the ruler of the three realms (the sky, the earth and the netherworld), he was tricked and defeated by Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu.
“It is obvious that Vamana’s triumph over Bali signifies the defeat of Buddhism by Vaishnavite Brahmanism in the early Middle Ages throughout India. The thousand names or “Sahasra Nama” of Vishnu and Shiva also testify to the conquest and erasure of numerous Jain and Buddhist shrines and their localized deities by proponents of Brahmanism, using their two chief masks, the popularized Bhakti cults of Vaishnavism and Saivism.
Maveli is an important symbol of the rejection of brahmanism by the avarna peoples of Kerala, and is a clear marker of the deep dissonance that underlies Hindu myths...