The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: hearing that the Lord, in the form of a woman, captivated the demons and enabled the devatās to drink the nectar Lord Śiva, accompanied by his wife and his attendants, went to where the Lord was performing his pastimes to see this.

In the Twelfth Chapter, in order to bewilder Śiva’s intelligence to the utmost since he did not think much of the Lord’s bewilderment of demons who were by nature overcome by illusion and were stupid, the Lord makes Śiva and his wife realize the extraordinary power of bewilderment of Mohinī, when he bewildered Śiva as his wife watched.

Sommayā means “with Uma.”

O Lord who performs pastimes among the devatās (deva-deva). “But Śiva, you also perform pastimes among the devatās.” O pervader of the universe! Though I also exist within the universe, you are spread everywhere. “You should control the universe along with me.” O Lord of the universe! “But you are also called the lord of the universe by people.” O Lord who personifies the universe! Though I am purely spiritual, I am also intimately mixed with the universe, and thus influenced by that. I am not the controller. You are the controller. I am called the lord by Brahmā and others secondarily. “You say that I am the primary form. That form is well known as the universe itself, made of the matter of the universe.” You are the producer of consciousness in all things and the cause of all things. Thus you are called the Supreme Lord.

“You say that I am the material of the universe, but the universe has a beginning, is temporary and unconscious. Are you saying I am temporary and unconscious?” No. From whom arise birth and death in this world, and living (madhyam) as well, anything you see in this world (asya), and other things you cannot see—I (aham) and possessiveness (bahiḥ)—that Brahman with spiritual form is you. You, the indestructible Brahman, do not have beginning, middle and end (etāni).

The conduct of the great souls proves that you have this nature. The sages worship your lotus feet, not mine. People with material desires worship me. Śreyas-kāmāḥ here means “those who desire bhakti.” Just as your devotee has no material desire, you also have no material desire. You are not like me, with a desire for power, who am dependent on my worshippers.

This is because your form is distinct from this universe. Brahman is spiritual and the universe is material. The other words are adjectives describing Brahman. You are full and the universe is incomplete. The universe has material elements, guṇas, lamentation, happiness and distress, and is subject to change. You do not have these faults. There is nothing except Brahman (ananyat) because Brahman is the cause of everything. Thus it is different (anyat) from the universe. Because the universe is not even conscious, the Brahman is different from the universe, and the universe is different because it is the effect of Brahman. The universe is clearly defined as the effect of Brahman: Brahman is the cause of the appearance, maintenance and destruction of the world. You are the Lord of the jīvas conditioned by the universe and the giver of results to them. “Am I like a king who gives results to those who serve, with some dependence on them?” Not at all. They depend on you. That is all you expect. You give results according to their dependency. You do not depend on them. They are dependent on you in order to attain their results. But you do not dependent on them for fulfilling your own goals.

Because the jīvas are the product of your taṭasṭha-śakti, and because the universe, a covering on the jīva, is a product of your māyā-śakti, this universe composed of spiritual and material elements is you alone. You are this universe, made of effect and cause (sad-asat). Dvayam refers to the product, the virāṭ-rūpa, the material universe. Advayam refers to mahat-tattva and other elements, the cause. This is like gold and things made of gold like earrings. That which is made of effect and cause, virāt and mahat-tattva, is not different from you, the supreme cause, since it is understood that there is no difference between cause and effect. The virāṭ is an effect of the maha-tattva. Mahat-tattva is an effect of māyā-śakti. . Māyā-śakti is your form. Thus people have many misconceptions about you out of ignorance, since you are beyond the guṇas but you possess the guṇas, and your world has many misfortunes (vyatikaraḥ) through the guṇas. They think variously that the cause of the universe is Brahman, or māyā, or ignorance, or karma. Vyatikara means calamity or connection according to Medinī.

Different sages speak of you according to their opinions. The Vedantists think of you, the Supreme Lord, as Brahman. The Mīmāṣakas think of you as dharma. The Sāḍkhya philosophers think of you as superior to prakṛti and puruṣa. Others, the followers of Pañcarātraka, think of you, superior to māyā-śakti, and endowed with your nine śaktis Vimala, Utkarṣiṇī, Jñāna, Kriyā, Yogā, Prahvī, Satyā, Īśānā, and Anugrahā. The followers of Patañjali think of you as the great puruṣa.

Among these philosophies, that of Pañcarātra is accepted by the Lord. Pañcarātrasya kṛtsnasya vaktā tu bhagavān svayam: the speak of all the Pañcarātra scriptures is the Lord himself.

tubhyaṁ ca nārada bhṛśaṁ bhagavān vivṛddha-

bhāvena sādhu parituṣṭa uvāca yogam

jñānaṁ ca bhāgavatam ātma-satattva-dīpaṁ

yad vāsudeva-śaraṇā vidur añjasaiva

O Nārada! The Lord, greatly pleased with your prema, spoke about bhakti, knowledge about the Lord and that knowledge which removes ignorance in the jīva¸ and which the pure devotees understand with joy. SB 2.7.19

That philosophy is also the philosophy of the great devotee Śiva. But those who say “I know that” do not know. This is what Śiva expresses in this verse. Not only do I not know, but Brahmā who lives for two parārdhas, created in sattva-guṇa, does not know this universe created by you, what to speak of knowing you. O Lord! Persons with inauspicious tendencies of rajas and tamas certainly do not know you. And the philosophers previously mentioned certainly do not know you.

“Then who knows the Lord?” You alone know. You, that famous person (saḥ), know everything and pervade everything. You know everything created by you (samīhitam), the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe, the actions of all living beings, the method of bondage and liberation. An example is given to show how the Lord pervades everything. Just as the air enters the great ether, its basis, and all bodies moving and non-moving, so you, situated in your abode in Vaikuṇṭha, enter everything, since everything is part of yourself.

“Please say what you desire.” In response, Śiva speaks this verse. The Lord enjoys through his qualities such as affection for his devotees.

The Lord smiled. “If you desire to see the form of Mohinī in order to announce to the people your own power of yoga, all this will certainly be revealed to you.” He then spoke words which even Śiva could not understand.

I took this very astonishing form of a woman which would bewilder the demons. But this is insignificant for you. It cannot bewilder you, who have powers of yoga. It is not possible for a deer to harm a hunter. This would be bewildering to the demons but not to the devatās, since the devatās were situated in sattva. “What was your intention in doing this to the insignificant demons?” I saw the interest of the devatās. I had no other motive.

Whatever may be, your purpose in coming so far should not be wasted. Since you want to see it, I will show it. If I do not, your curiosity will not go away. This form gives rise to lust (saḍklapa-prabhava-udayam). Therefore this form is respected by lusty people. However, it cannot produce lust in you, who are the enemy of lust. But if you are curious, then please see it. That is the external meaning. There is however an inner meaning. This desire of you, who are the conqueror of lust and a great yogī, will cause you to fall in the whirlpool of lust. It will not be my fault.

She had a belt around her hips which could not been at all (paryasta) because of the bright cloth.

By the heavy weight of her necklace and breasts which shook with her upward and downward movements in catching the ball, she seemed to break at the waist. She wandered about with feet like moving red coral.

She had wide, restless eyes with pupils which became alarmed by the fickle movements of the ball bouncing in all directions.

Sannahyatīm means “binding.” The Lord bewilders the world by the external energy. Now he bewildered even Śiva who was ātmārāma and in control of māyā, by his form.

Śiva (devaḥ) lost all sense, his yoga, power and discrimination having been stolen (muṣṭaḥ) by the glance released along with her definite smile indicating her lust and her slight shyness, because of thinking “Some handsome man is looking at me” as she played with the ball in this way (iti). His mind became agitated by gazing at Mohinī and by the glances from her.

The wind raised up her fine dress and belt as she followed the ball.

She indicated her attraction to him by her slightly glance indicating “Does he see me or not?”

Tat-padam means “the place where she was standing.”

Vivastrā means that the top portion of her dress had slipped down. She did not stand still, but ran away.

Embraced by Śiva like a female elephant embraced by a male, the woman, whose hair was scattered, squirmed. O King, this woman, with large hips, who had appeared by yogamāyā of the Lord, freed herself from his embrace and ran away.

This woman was made to appear by the Lord through his yoga-māyā.

The word “as if” indicate that in reality Śiva was not conquered by lust.

Śuṣmiṇaḥ means a mad elephant. Śiva’s semen does not go in vain, since it transforms into gold.

These mines appeared by the grace of Śiva. Thus persons desiring gold first please Śiva.

Following her, Śiva went near rivers, lakes, mountains and forests, in order to show the sages that Śiva had fallen from his practice of yoga. This taught the perfected yogīs that their controlled minds should not put faith in a young woman.

He had been completely dumbfounded the moment he saw Mohinī. Now, when he had fully discharged semen, he realized that he had been completely befooled. He gave up pursuing Mohinī further (kaśmalāt).

At the moment of regaining his discriminating power, he saw that Mohinī had disappeared. He then understood that his own bewilderment and discrimination depended on the Lord. He understood the greatness of the Lord (ātmanaḥ). Or, he understood his own power of yoga. He was not surprised that he had been befooled and given discrimination, since the Lord resides everywhere within the universe, and thus is capable of bewildering or enlightening even Śiva.

Śiva was not agitated with guilt, thinking “What calamity! I, the lord of great yoga, have been blinded by material enjoyment.” He was without shame, since the Lord is his antaryāmī, witnessing everything. The meaning is this. I cannot be bewildered by anyone, and bewilderment caused by my Lord is not a fault, but an ornament. Without causing my bewilderment, how could one say my Lord has extraordinary power? That display of power nourishes the quality of bhakti of me, his servant.

Though you have been bewildered by māyā arising from my svarūpa in the form of a woman Mohinī, you are situated in your position of being humble and without pride, which arises from bhakti.

You cannot be bewildered by my external energy which bewilders the world. What person, attached to material enjoyment (viṣaktaḥ), can surpass māyā except you? This means that though Śiva became attracted to māyā, he overcame māyā. That māyā creates various states of rajas and tamas (bhāvān) in the form of desire.

Who is māyā? With his finger he points out Durgā (Umā) standing close by. She creates the world with me as the cause (kālena). How do I do it? By time, in a male form, by my portion (bhāgaśaḥ), by my glance, I accept her.

When Śiva bowed down, the Lord raised him up and embraced him, touching him with his chest marked by the Śrīvatsa.

Śaṁsatām1 means “being praised.” While sages praised him, which he ignored, Śiva spoke to his wife.

Time enters everywhere, to influence everything. But it cannot influence the Lord. Though the Vedas know everything, they do not know the Lord. He is not approachable by time or the Vedas.

Na riṣyate means “is not destroyed.”

The Lord fed the nectar arising from the churning of the ocean to the best devatās who had surrendered to his feet.

Thus ends the commentary on the Twelfth Chapter of the Eighth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.