Sunday Special : Lord Vishnu's Mohini Avatar & Temples dedicated to her

Paintings of Goddess Mohini by Raja Ravi Verma.
Left: Mohini on a swing. Right: Mohini Trapping Bhasmasur

In the Sanātan tradition, the greatest paramātma is Jagadishwar which refers to Lord Vishnu, who with his charming smile & nature guards the entire world. It is said to be his duty as well as work.

As Hindus celebrate the Mohini Ekadashi on May 22-23 this year, we at the Su-Niti News present to you about some important but lesser known temples – dedicated to Lord Vishnu's female avatar Mohini.

What is Mohini avatar?

Mohini cuts off Swarbhanu's (an asur disguised as dev) head after giving Amrit to Devas.

Mohini means seductive and charming. Srihari Vishnu protected the earth with 24 avatars out of which Mohini avatar is one among the 10 main avatars. It is Srihari himself who takes Mohini avatar everytime in order to save Mahadev from Bhasmasur or to take "Amrit" (holy nectar) from Asuras and feed the Devas.

An important but lesser-known temple, which bears the glory of this incarnation, is established in a settlement on the banks of the river Godavari in the part of South India. The famous Shri Jagan Mohini (Sri Maha Vishnu) temple is located here. Despite being a temple of Lord Vishnu, it is called Mohini Mata's temple.

Hoysaleswara temple

Sri Jagan Mohini Keshav Swamy idol

Once a part of the Hoysala Empire of Karnataka, this temple situated in the township called Helived or Halebidu is also known as Hoysaleshwar. The beautiful idol of Shri Jagan Mohini Keshava Swamy is made of Shaligram rock and is of 5 feet height - 3 feet width.

Belur-Helibid was founded by a people's foster King Cama. The Hoysala rulers were the patrons of arts and crafts.

Devpratima in a similar temple

They built magnificent temples in Belur and Helibid, which stands still in the same glory. Its construction period is of 12th-13th century. The statue has 8 hands which Vishnu symbols like Shankh-Chakra, Gada-Padma on the right hand whereas Amrit Kalash, Varuni Kalash, Pushpmala (flower necklace) and Rhinestone on the left hand side.

The idol of the Goddess is in the dance posture, which is an attempt to tell the same story after the Samudra Manthan (churning of the sea), in which Mohini fed nectar to the Devas by luring the Asuras.

Jagan Mohini Keshav Swamy Temple

Apart from these, there's also a Mohini temple in Andhra Pradesh's Riyali, which is also known as Jagat Mohini. This place was a forest during the 11th century. The temple was built by the Chola king, Sri Raja Vikram Dev during the 11th century.

The front part of the statue shows Lord Vishnu in the male form and the back part is of the female form. This is how Jagan Mohini is. The idol is in the form of a typical woman whose hair is adorned with flowers and has ornaments on her feet.

Religious events are held throughout the year

Many religious events are also organized in the Jagan Mohini temple from time to time. In this, Shri Jaganmohini Keshav Swami Kalyanam is the chief, which is from Chaitra Shukla Navami to Purnima. Shri Ram Satyanarayana Swami Kalyanam is from Vaishakh Shukla Ekadashi to Poornama.

Sri Venugopala Swami Kalyanam is held from Jyesht Shukla Ekadashi till the full moon in the month of June. Shravan Bahula Ashtami Shri Krishna Ashtami (August). Apart from this, the festivals of Mukoti Ekadashi and Bhishma Ekadashi are mainly celebrated.

Curated & Written by Arth Chakraborty