The Mohini-Attam is a traditional
dance form that narrates the various fables and stories of Mohini, the
enchantress. Possessing an ethereal charm and beauty, she used her considerable
talents to help the Gods and demi-gods.
Apart from the ten main 'avatars' or
incarnations of Vishnu, known as 'dash-avatar', there have been other
times when he has appeared on earth in some form to solve a specific problem.
One of the better-known occasions is when he transformed himself into the
female enchantress, Mohini.
After the demi-gods and demons had churned the
oceans to extract the nectar that would give them immortality, a fight over the
possession of the urn containing the nectar ensued between them. Vishnu
realised that if the squabble continued for long then the nectar would spill
out and be lost forever. He also did not want the demons to drink any of the
nectar, as that would firmly entrench the forces of evil in the world. So he
appeared on the scene as Mohini, a woman of breath-taking beauty and allure.
Both the demi-gods and the demons stopped fighting and began to ogle at her.
Flaunting her charms, Mohini convinced both the demi-gods and the demons that
she would distribute the nectar equally.
She asked the demi-gods to form one line and
asked the demons to stand in another. She first gave a drop of the nectar to
the demi-god who was foremost in the queue. Then she turned around to serve the
demon standing first in line. But as she turned around, she replaced the urn of
nectar with a similar urn of water, and gave a drop of water to the demon. The
demon was so excited by the oozing sultriness of Mohini, that he did not notice
the switch. When Mohini turned to serve the second demi-god, she again divined
the urn with the nectar. This way, she fooled the demons into believing that
they were drinking the nectar.
However a demon named Rahu saw through the
trick and he quietly went and stood in the queue of the demi-gods. Thus he was
given a drop of the nectar. But the Sun and Moon Gods recognized him and warned
Mohini. Mohini then assumed her true form, that of Vishnu, and before the drop
of nectar could go down Rahu's throat, he set loose his Sudarshan chakra (a
divine weapon in the form of a disc) and cut off Rahu's head.
When they saw Mohini turn into Vishnu, the
demons realised that they had been conned. But by then the demi-gods had
partaken of the nectar and had become immortal and were able to defeat the
demons. Meanwhile, Rahu's bodiless head which had taken the nectar remained
immortal and was destined to roam around the heavens forever. Because the Sun
and Moon Gods had ratted on him, he would from time to time bite off a part of
the sun and the moon thus causing the solar and lunar eclipses.
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When Shiva heard this tale he expressed his
desire to see Vishnu in the form of Mohini, but Vishnu put him off by saying
that he would again incarnate himself as Mohini at an appropriate time. The
time did come sooner than expected...
Shiva, who was easily pleased, granted a boon
to the demon Bhasmasur, bestowing on him the power to reduce to ashes anyone
whom he touched on the head. The evil demon decided to test the effect of the
boon on Shiva himself. Shiva panicked and turned to Vishnu for help and
protection. After chastising Shiva for being overly generous with his boons, he
once again assumed the form of the beautiful and bewitching Mohini. The demon
was totally captivated by Mohini's sexuality and forgot about Shiva. He desired
nothing but to take Mohini to bed. Mohini agreed on condition that Bhasmasur
replicate her dance steps. In the ensuing competition between the two, Mohini
placed her hands on her head. The demon did likewise, thus reducing himself to
ashes.
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Shiva was totally enamoured
of Mohini and allowed her to seduce him. As a result of their union Mohini gave
birth to a child, known as Ayyappa (or Hariharaputra, a name derived from the
other names of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara)). Shiva and Vishnu left the baby
in a forest and return to their heavenly abode. The baby was found by the
childless King of Pandalam, who brought him up as his son.
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