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.
Mohini, the Enchantress
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.
