Mohini

Mohini
Enchantress
A sculpture of an eight-armed dancing Mohini at the Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu.
Devanagari	मोहिनी
Sanskrit transliteration	Mohinī
Affiliation	Avatar of Vishnu, Devi
Weapon	Mohini-astra (seduction), Sudarshana Chakra
Consort	Shiva
Children	Ayyappan

nameman

Mohini (Devnagari:मोहिनी, Mohinī) is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythology in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata. Here, she appears as a form of Vishnu, acquires the pot of Amrita (an elixir of immortality) from thieving asuras (demons), and gives it back to the devas (gods), helping them retain their immortality.

Many different legends tell of her various exploits and marriages, including union with Shiva. These tales relate, among other things, the birth of the god Shasta and the destruction of Bhasmasura, the ash-demon. Mohini's main modus operandi is to trick or beguile those she encounters. She is worshipped throughout Indian culture, but mainly in Western India, where temples are devoted to her depicted as Mahalasa, the consort of Khandoba, a regional avatar of Shiva.

The name Mohini comes from the verb root moha, meaning "to enchant, perplex, or disillusion," and literally means "delusion personified." In the Baiga culture of Central India, the word mohini means "erotic magic or spell." The name also has an implied connotation of "the essence of female beauty and allurement."

The earliest reference to a Mohini-type goddess appears in the Samudra manthan episode of the 5th century BCE Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Amrita, or nectar of immortality, is produced by the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The Deva and the Asura fight over its possession. The Asuras contrive to keep the Amrita for themselves, angering the Devas. Vishnu, wise to their plan, assumes the form of an "enchanting damsel". She uses her allure to trick the Asuras into giving her the Amrita, and then distributes it amongst the Devas. Rahu, an Asura, disguises himself as a god and tries to drink some Amrita himself. Surya (the sun-god) and Chandra (the moon-god) quickly inform Vishnu, and he uses the Sudarshana Chakra (the divine discus) to decapitate Rahu, leaving the head immortal. The decapitated body becomes Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are both regarded as celestial bodies that assume one's destiny. The other major Hindu epic, Ramayana (4th century BCE), narrates the Mohini story briefly in the Bala Kanda chapter. This same tale is also recounted in the Vishnu Purana four centuries later.