Drik Panchang
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Drik Panchang
Lord Vishnu, with His divine power, incarnates in various forms. Among them, Mohini Avatara is His only female Avatara. He assumed the form of Devi Mohini to feed Amrita to Gods during the Samudra Manthana.
As the name suggests, the Mohini Avatara is the form that enchants mind. In this form, Lord Vishnu charmed the demons and took the pot of Amrita from them and feed it to the Gods. According to another tale, Lord Vishnu once more assumed the form of Mohini to save Lord Shiva from a demon named Bhasmasura.
According to an episode related to the Mohini Avatara in Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, Shukracharya, the preceptor of demons, once performed intense penance to propitiate Lord Shiva and obtained Sanjivani Vidya as boon. The Sanjivani Vidya has the power to revive the dead and heal any illness. Just as Shukracharya was granted the boon of Sanjivani Vidya, the demon King Bali and his mighty army attacked the Gods. A fierce war broke out between the Gods and the demons. During the war, whenever a demon was injured or killed, Shukracharya would revive him with the power of his Sanjivani Vidya. As a result, the Indra and other Gods lost the war against the demons.
In the wake of such crisis, the Gods went to Lord Brahma seeking a solution to their plight. Lord Brahma, along with Gods, appeared before Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu said, "There is only one power that can save us from the effects of Sanjivani Vidya, the divine elixir of immortality, Amrita. To obtain it, we will have to perform Samudra Manthana." Lord Vishnu continued, "To perform the Samudra Manthana, we will need the help of demons as well." This troubled the Gods. They wondered why would the demons help us churn the ocean? So first, at the behest of Lord Vishnu, Indra went to request the demons to participate in Samudra Manthana, but they refused his plea. In the end, sage Narada cleverly persuaded King Bali to join Gods in performing the Samudra Manthana.
To carry out the Samudra Manthana, the Mount Mandarachal was used as the churning rod and the great serpent Vasuki served as the rope. However, in absence of a base to support Mount Mandarachal, it began to sink into the ocean. To solve this problem, Lord Vishnu took the form of tortoise in His Kurma Avatara and supported the mountain on His back. As the churning of the milky ocean began, a pot of poison was first to emerge, which Lord Shiva consumed to protect the universe. Following this, several divine beings and treasures emerged from the ocean, including the celestial cow Kamadhenu, the horse Uchchaihshravas, the elephant Airavata, the gem Kaustubha Mani, the Kalpavriksha, Apsaras and Goddess Lakshmi.
After the emergence of Goddess Lakshmi from the ocean, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Lord Dhanvantari, carrying the pot of elixir in his hands. Upon seeing the pot, demons immediately snatched it and tried to flee. At that moment, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of an exquisitely beautiful woman, Mohini. Mohini was an enchanting embodiment of feminine grace, radiant like a blue lotus. Her allure was such that even the countless Kamdeva would look humble in front of Her.
Upon seeing Mohini, the demons were enchanted by her graceful beauty. Mohini offered to feed Amrita to both the Gods and the demons with Her delicate hands, a proposal which the demons readily accepted, handing the pot of elixir to Her. She seated the Gods and the demons in two separate rows and began feeding the elixir to Gods while demons waited, dazzled by Her charm.
Among demons, there was an extremely clever Daitya named Swarbhanu. When Swarbhanu grew suspicious of Mohini, he changed his form and quietly sat in the row of Gods. As Mohini, Lord Vishnu in disguise, made Her way towards Swarbhanu and was about to feed him the elixir, Lord Surya and Lord Chandra recognised the true identity of Swarbhanu and alerted Mohini. Lord Vishnu immediately revealed His original Chaturbhuja form and beheaded Swarbhanu with His Sudarshana Chakra. However, by that time, Amrita had already reached Swarbhanu's throat. As a result, his head and torso became immortalised as two distinct demons. His head became known in the world as Rahu, and his headless torso as Ketu. Thus, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Mohini to feed Amrita to Gods.
According to descriptions found in religious texts, a demon named Bhasmasura lived in ancient times. He propitiated Lord Shiva with intense penance and received a boon that whenever he would put his hand on someone's head, the person would burn to ashes. After receiving the boon, Bhasmasura became relentless and started tormenting the poor and helpless.
Once, Bhasmasura became so intoxicated by his powers that he reached Mount Kailasha with an intent to burn Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva fled, Bhasmasura chased Him in every direction. The boon that Lord Shiva Himself had granted to Bhasmasura threatened His own existence. In the end, he invoked Lord Vishnu and sought His help to resolve the crisis.
Upon being invoked by Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu appeared there in the form of an exceptionally beautiful woman, named Mohini. With Mohini's unparalleled beauty and charm, Bhasmasura got overwhelmed with desire and started chasing after Her. Mohini gave an offer to Bhasmasura to dance with Her. Overcame with sexual urge for Mohini, he imitated every dance move that Mohini performed. During the dance, he made poses and stances as Mohini did. After some time, Lord Vishnu, disguised as Mohini, began dancing by placing his hand on his head. Bhasmasura, hypnotised with Mohini's allurement, did exactly what she did, and put his hand on his head, and with Lord Shiva's boon, burned to ashes at the very moment. Thus, Lord Vishnu in His Mohini Avatara killed Bhasmasura and saved Lord Shiva's life.
No description regarding the parentage of Lord Vishnu's Mohini Avatara is found in religious texts. But some Puranic stories indicate that Lord Shiva begat a son, Ayyappan, by Mohini. Lord Ayyappan is primarily worshipped in South India.
Devi Mohini is depicted as an exceptionally beautiful woman, adorned with delicate features, lotus shaped eyes and a possessor of great artistic skills. She is bedecked with precious jewels and golden ornaments. The power of innumerable Kamdevas becomes diminished in front of the dazzling beauty of Devi Mohini. She is radiant as a blue lotus. Beautiful jasmine flowers are woven in Her lustrous hair. Devi Mohini is shown wearing a beautiful necklace, armlets in Her slender arms, a chain around Her waist and jingling anklets.
Devi Mohini Beeja Mantra -
ॐ मोहिनीराजाय नमः।
Om Mohinirajaya Namah।
The given Shri Vishnu Dashavatara Stotram is a very melodious and effective Stotram dedicated to the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
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