Mohini
Mohini (Sanskrit: “enchantress”) is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, who took on the form of an irresistibly beautiful woman to defeat asuras (demons), and afterwards seduced the god Shiva into having sex with her in order to fend off a future catastrophe. Mohini is also the god Krishna, who transformed himself into a woman so he could marry and have sex with the tragic hero, Aravan. As a Hindu god/dess who changes sex and gender, Mohini is a notable figure in Hindu LGBTQ folklife and the global study of Gay-related religious folklife.
Mohini, Belur, India. Photo: Gopal Venkatesan (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mohini_Belur.jpg, May 2012) Top image: Lila Mohini by paramak
Mohini plays an important part in the mythology behind the annual Kundhavar-Aravan Festival for India’s Hijras (a folk made up of intersex people and males who traditionally emasculate themselves in honor of the goddess Bahuchara Mata). During the festival, Hijras re-enact Mohini’s one-day marriage to Aravan.
The Myths
Vishnu, who represents justice, is considered by Vaishnavas (Vishnu’s followers) to be the most excellent representation of Brahman, the Godhead or Universal Principle. Vishnu takes on various incarnations at various times to establish cosmic order when things become too corrupt. Those incarnations are his avatars, which include two principle ones: Rama and Krishna. Vishnu’s incarnations are male except for Mohini.
Mohini with the Nectar of immortality (vedicstoriesofindia.blogspot.com/2010/10/mohini.html,May 2012)
After the victory over the demons, Vishnu was talking with Shiva (whose followers,Shaivas, believe that Shiva is superior to Vishnu) and Shiva’s wife, Parvati, Shiva asked Vishnu to appear as Mohini. When Vishnu did so, Shiva lost control and abandoned Parvati to pursue Mohini.
Shiva’s uncontrollable lust led to premature ejaculation. In one version of the story, he ejaculated while in pursuit of Mohini. The sperm was gathered, and from it Ayyappa (also known as Hariharaputra, or alternatively Skanda, whose name means “spilled substance”), the boy-child of Shiva and Mohini/Vishnu, would be born. In another account, Shiva’s sperm was released while he was clutching Mohini but without penetrating her, so their son would be the result of sexual desire but not intercourse. The boy was then born from Mohini’s thigh (alternate: a son named Shasta was born from Shiva’s thigh). Yet another version says that, during their lovemaking, Mohini reverted back to a male form as Vishnu. Shiva, however, did not stop making love to him.
Mohini and Shiva (kshetrapuranas.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/ to-kill-a-rogue-elephant-vazhuvoor, May 2012)
A separate myth describes a situation in which Aravan, a young unmarried man, was to be sacrificed in order for his side to win a battle. Aravan wanted to enjoy a wedding night with his wife, but no woman wanted him since he would be dead the next day. Krishna became Mohini and married Aravan the day before his appointed death. They had sex that night.
Mohini as God
There are few examples in world religions in which the Highest Being or a universal savior is portrayed as a woman, such as Waaq (Orono, northeast Africa), Mallinath (Svetambar Jain), Mary Baker Eddy (for some Christian Scientists), Ellen G. White (Seventh-Day Adventist), Jesus-as-Mother (Julian of Norwich, England), Xiwangmu (Taoism), and the all-encompassing Goddess (Hinduism, Wicca). In some cases, the feminine gender or goddess/savior status is contested. But with Mohini, her status as a woman and as an incarnation of God is accepted and even celebrated by Vaishnavites in the Hindu community.
Vishnu as Mohini.Needle painting: Rajrani Sisodia (kshetrapurana.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/legend-of-samudra-manthan, May 2012)
This status must be understood within context. Vishnu, who is masculine, becomes Mohini while still remaining Vishnu. Since Vishnu is God incarnate, he can appear in any form he chooses. The feminine form (Mohini) is secondary and subordinate to the masculine form (Vishnu), which in turn is a manifestation of Brahman (neither male nor female). Regardless, Mohini is still God incarnate since Vishnu is God.
Transgression and Subversion
The story of Mohini and Shiva is balanced in multiple ways so that neither Shiva nor Vishnu is clearly superior, which would be one reason why the myth is popular with Hindus, many of whom are Vaishnava or Shaiva. Shiva pursues Mohini without her verbal consent, but Vishnu knows this will happen when he transforms into Mohini. It is something Vishnu/Mohini desires from the start since the primary reason he changes into Mohini a second time was to bring a son of Vishnu and Shiva into the world.
Mohini. Painting: Raja Ravi Varma (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mohini_on_a_swing.jpg, May 2012)
In the context of the myth, men are superior to women, so Shiva is superior in that he is the man and Vishnu/Mohini is the woman. But Shiva is inferior in that he loses control due to Mohini’s beauty, hence attesting to the superiority of Vishnu, who Shiva cannot resist. Within the careful balance of status preserved in the myth, there is a subversion of heteronormal sexual mores: man-on-man sex, gender/sexual transformation, infidelity to one’s spouse, and rape (or at least the appearance of it). In terms of its homoerotic content, the Mohini-Shiva myth is an example of same-sex romance between men as an act that saves the universe. The alternative story in which Shiva does not stop even when Mohini has reverted to the masculine Vishnu suggests that Hindu mythology does not categorically condemn homoerotic behavior between men. There are also accounts in the Mohini-Shiva story where Agni, the God of Fire, takes Shiva’s semen into his mouth.
The story of Mohini and Aravan is interesting in that Mohini is an avatar of an avatar of Vishnu, thus taking on more of a mask-like quality donned by Krishna/Vishnu rather than independent existence of her own. But this does not mean Mohini is simply a mask. She is the physical manifestation of Krishna’s role as personal savior to his devotees, and an expression of Krishna’s compassion and devotion to those who love God. Since the love of God for humanity transcends sex and gender, it can manifest itself in multiple ways that include the subversion of sexual and gendered mores, thus allowing room in Hindu theology for LGBTQ people as legitimate identities.
Mohini in Hindu Folklife Performance
The stories of Mohini/Shiva and Mohini/Aravan are told in song, dance, and dramatic performances. The Mohini Attam (Sanskrit: “dance of the enchantress”) is a women’s solo dance from the southwest Indian state of Kerala. Hijras use the story of Mohini/Aravan to celebrate their own identities within the sacred context of cherished myth during Kuthandavar-Aravan Festival, which includes marriage rites, beauty contests, and mourning.
Namesake: model and Bharat nayam dancer Lila Mohini. Photo: paramak (paramak.deviantart.com/art/Lila-Mohini-173713990?q=&qo=, May 2012)
The name “Mohini” is a popular name for Hindu women. The independent film, Bollywood and Vine, is based loosely on the myth of Mohini and Shiva.
– Mickey Weems
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QEGF Authors and Articles
QEGF Introduction
Comments? Post them on our Encyclopedia facebook page.
Further reading:
Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1999.
Gupta, Shobhna. Dances of India. New Delhi: Har-Anand, 2002.
Massey, Reginald. India’s Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire. New Delhi: Abhinav, 2004.
Pattanaik, Devdutt. The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore. New York: Harrington Park, 2002.