Why did Krishna let the Draupadi vastaharan sequence happen when he knew what happened everywhere?

 Good Question. There is a reason why Krishna let the Draupadi Vastraharan sequence happen. He knew what happened everywhere because He is the all-knowing, all-pervading Lord Vishnu Himself. This answer is based on the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya of SriMadhvacharya. The few reasons why Krishna allowed the Draupadi Vastraharan to happen are:

TO EXPOSE THE EVIL NATURE OF DURYODHANA AND THE KAURAVAS
From the beginning itself, Duryodhana and his brothers had been troubling the Pandavas. Their major aim was to kill Bheemasena because He was the strongest among all the Pandavas and was their backbone. So, Duryodhana thought to kill Bheemasena first, and then he would look for the other Pandava brothers. For that, Duryodhana tried a lot to kill Bheemasena by feeding him a laddoo that had halahala visha in it. Shakuni had pleased Shukracharya and had gotten some poison from him. That didn’t work on Bheemasena. Then he tried to put snakes on Bheemasena to kill him. But Bheemasena broke the fangs of the snakes and killed the owner of the snake.

He even threw Bheemasena into the Pramaanakoti, a deep place within the Ganga River. From there, Bheemasena also came out unaffected. These were some incidents that weren’t very famous at that time. He even sent and tried to kill the Pandavas in the Vaaranavata Laakshaagraha, but nothing happened. Then, people also cursed Duryodhana and all. But now, when they tried to do Draupadi Vastraharana, it was not just the vastraharana of the princess of Panchala, or the daughter of Drupada, but the queen of the whole Aryavarta or Bhaaratadesha.

Krishna let that happen because He wanted to expose the evil and deceitful nature of Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna, and Shakuni. Why? So that people would know how evil they were. This was necessary because, in the future, the way in which the Kauravas, Bhishma, Drona, and Karna died should not be disputed and should be clear to the people as to why these people were killed unjustly. Actually, what Krishna did in the Mahabharata yuddha is completely correct because Adharmik people must be killed by using Adharma, and that is Dharma. If you kill Adharmis by Dharma, it is a sin. The Paingi Shruti itself says this.

TO DISTRIBUTE THE PUNYA OF THE RAAJASUYA YAGYA TO THE PAANDAVAS
Dharmaraja did the Raajasuya yagya. But the fruit of the Raajasuya yagya was such that Dharmaraja was not capable of sustaining that much punya. Therefore, to distribute it among the Pandavas, Krishna made this happen. SriMadhvacharya says that the fruit of the Raajasuya Yagya is Brahma Padavi. Also, Bheemasena is Vayu avatara. The Garuda Purana itself says:

अतो रोचननामासौ मरुदंशः प्रकीर्तितः ।
रामावतारे हनुमान्रामकार्यार्थसाधकः ॥
स एव भीमसेनस्तु जातो भूम्यां महाबलः ॥
He (the cosmic soul) is known as the amsha (portion/incarnation) of Marut (Vayu). In the Rama avatara, he became Hanuman to accomplish the divine tasks of Shri Rama. The very same entity was later born on Earth as the highly powerful Bheemasena.
[Garuda Purana]

So, here it was Bheemasena Himself who was Hanuman in His previous birth (as stated in the Garuda Purana). Yes, Hanuman is the elder brother to Bheemasena in one sense, because both are known as the sons of Vayu. But both are also incarnations of Vayudeva. Plus, there is no difference between Vayudeva and His avatars. So, Hanuma is the same as Vayudeva; Bheemasena is the same as Vayudeva. So, this Vayudeva is eligible for Brahma Padavi. For this, the Valmiki Ramayana is itself the proof. It says:

सर्वासु विद्यासु तपोविधाने प्रस्पर्धते ऽयो हि गुरुं सुराणाम् ।
सो ऽयं नवव्याकरणार्थवेत्ता ब्रह्मा भविष्यत्यपि ते प्रसादात् ॥

Indeed, in all branches of learning and in the performance of austerities, this Hanuman rivals even Brihaspati, the preceptor of the Gods. This very person, who is the knower of the deep meaning of the nine systems of grammar, will definitely become Brahma in the future by your grace.

[Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda, Sarga 36, Verse 48]

Thus, it is Vayudeva who is eligible for the Brahma Padavi. The previous Brahma will attain Moksha. And Bheemasena is Vayudeva’s incarnation. Even the Vayu Purana also states that Bheemasena is Vayudeva’s avatara. So, the Raajasuya yagya’s maximum punya should reach Bheemasena and Draupadi, because Draupadi is the incarnation of Bhaarati Devi, the wife of Vayudeva. So, She will be the future Sarasvati Devi. So, therefore, for the transfer of the maximum punya to Bheemasena and Draupadi, Krishna made that happen. That’s why Dharmaraja was silent during the Draupadi Vastraharana episode, and because he was silent, the punya got transferred to the other Pandavas.

Therefore, it was Bheemasena who thoroughly criticized the Kauravas. He even criticized Dharmaraja by asking Sahadeva to bring fire to burn Dharmaraja’s hands. Arjuna stops Bheemasena and calms Him down. Bheemasena says to Arjuna, “I won’t do this literally, but I am doing this because, even though elders commit anything bad, we must not keep silent but should criticize them. I am just criticizing him, but won’t do that literally.” At this, Duryodhana says, “If you accept that everything which is going on here happened due to Dharmaraja, then I will leave all of you.” At this, Bheemasena said, “Nobody is as Dharmatma as my elder brother Dharmaraja. Plus, I am the elder brother to all of you. If you have guts, then come, fight me.”

He even vowed to break the thighs of Duryodhana and tear the chest of Dushasana very aptly (not as a fanatic, but I felt it was very apt). He did criticize the Kauravas. Plus, Draupadi was thoroughly devoted to Krishna and remembered Krishna throughout the Vastraharana episode. Therefore, the maximum punya was given to Bheemasena and Draupadi. Plus, the Pandavas had remained silent out of respect for Dharmaraja. The Pandavas, led by Bheemasena and Arjuna, could have destroyed the Kauravas, but Dharmaraja, with his eye-coordination, had stopped them and asked them to sit down. Because previously he had vowed that he wouldn’t scold anyone, wouldn’t abuse anyone, wouldn’t refuse anyone, and wouldn’t criticize anyone.

TO TRANSFER THE TAPAS SHAKTI OF THE KURU VRUDDHAS TO THE PANDAVAS:
The Kuruvruddhas like Bhishma, Drona, Krupa, Dhritarashtra, etc. had remained silent during the Draupadi Vastraharana. Why was it like that? Because SriMadhvacharya explains that Kali Purusha had entered all of them. Only a few people were there who were not affected by Kali Purusha. These were the Pandavas (except Dharmaraja), Draupadi, Kunti, and Vidura. Rest all were full of Kali Purusha’s Avesha. SriMadhvacharya mentions this in the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya. But why could Kali Purusha enter people except some people? Because all these, like Kunti, the rest of the Pandavas, Draupadi, and Vidura, had Nishthura Dharma. Nishthura Dharma means, Adharmi must be punished, and Dharma must be followed at any time. But Dharmaraja had Daakshinya Dharma, which means his heart used to melt at anyone’s plea or cry.

So, because Kunti, Vidura, etc. had perfect Kathina/ Nishthura Dharma nishtha, they were not affected by Kali Purusha baadha. So, due to this, others except these people were affected by Kali Purusha Avesha and hence remained silent. Duryodhana himself was Kali Purusha. The Mahabharata itself mentions it. So, he was now controlling the whole dyuta sabha except these few people. So, since these elders or kuruvruddhas were silent, for that reason, the tapas shakti had transferred to the Pandavas. These Kuruvruddhas were great tapasvis and knowledgeable personalities. But due to this one mistake, their punya or tapas shakti was transferred to the Pandavas.

Thus, the Pandavas had their own tapas shakti and punya, plus they had the Kuruvruddhas ’ punya with them, plus they too had the Rajasuya’s yagya’s punya (maximum to Bheemasena and Draupadi). So, that’s another reason why Krishna let the Draupadi Vastraharan episode happen. Plus, Krishna Himself protected Draupadi by giving Her Akshayavastra.

TO INCREASE THE SINS OF DURYODHANA AND KAURAVAS:
There is a rule that, until a fixed number of papas are done, they aren’t killed. So, Duryodhana was already a sinner. At birth, the Mahabharata mentions that he cried like a donkey. The other donkeys from the surroundings had gathered and were braying aloud on hearing Duryodhana’s cry. And at that time, Vidura himself tells Dhritarashtra to kill that baby because it can lead to the destruction of the whole Kuruvamsha. But Dhritarashtra wanted to be reputed as the father of 100 sons. So, he didn’t kill him at that time. From the beginning, Duryodhana was jealous and was a sinner.

Because of this act of Duryodhana, he should not just go to hell and come back, but he should receive eternal hell itself, where he stays for an unlimited period of time, experiencing eternal sorrow. So, that many sins he must incur. So, since they incurred a lot of sin by their acts, they were sent to hell. Though Duryodhana first attained heaven because he had some sukha prarabdha, he was pushed to Andha Tamas hell afterwards. Plus, by this, Krishna wanted to warn us that, ‘Now that you have seen the cruel acts of these sinners, don’t accuse me of what I did in the Mahabharata Yuddha. Because Adharmis must be killed by using Adharma and not Dharma. So, what I (Krishna) did in the Mahabharata yuddha was completely correct.’

NOTE: Thus, we must not just read the Mahabharata as a political history of the fight between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. But we should see the spiritual meaning behind it, because it is not just a normal history book, but our divine history, which is real. The Puranas are for the support the incidents that are not mentioned in the Itihasas. They help in connecting the dots if we get any confusion in the Itihasas. Therefore, I also used the Puranas. SriMadhvacharya, had read the Mahabharata granthas across India, and had identified the corrections and interpolations, and then wrote the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya. Therefore, understanding the spiritual meaning behind every incident is important.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Who is more powerful, Rama or Krishna based on their avatars? Why do you think so?

 They are pretty much the same and we should not distinguish between the avatars.

Rama proved his superiority over the world by liberating Taraka from the curse of Agatsya. Vishwamitra clearly mentions that only Rama is capable of dispelling her curse from three worlds.

• O descendant of the Raghu lineage! She is so enveloped in the curse that in the three worlds, no man except you is capable of standing up to her.

Similarly, Rama displayed the superiority over other gods when he punished Jayantha.

Indra’s son roamed around all the three worlds and couldn't find a protector.

• You picked up a blade of darbha grass and invoked brahmastra on it. It blazed like the flaming fire of destruction and headed in the direction of the bird. You flung the blazing darbha towards the crow. The blazing darbha followed the crow. It was abandoned by its father and by all the gods and the maharshis. It circled around the three worlds, but could not find a protector. O one who is a refuge! It fell down on the ground and sought refuge with you. O Kakutstha! Though it deserved to be killed, because of your compassion, you saved it

Granted moksha to jatayu

• There are destinations for those who do not return and for those who donate land. O great-spirited king of the eagles! With the rites of purification performed by me, take my leave and go to those supreme worlds.’ Saying this, he placed the lord of the birds on that blazing pyre.

Rama lived in an era where people had higher spirtual power and they could easily recognise him as god Narayana.

Kishna on the other hand more often needs to display more of his divinity such as universal form.

They are both one and the same . We should not do stupid comparison by comparing their achievements.

What is the story of Udupi Krishna?

 The story of Udupi SriKrishna is very interesting. Before Udupi Krishna, let’s learn how Udupi got the name ‘Udupi.’ Long ago, Chandra had 27 nakshatras as His wives. Among them, Rohini was Chandra's favorite wife. Because Krishna appeared in the Rohini Nakshatra, Rohini was His favorite wife. So, the other wives of Chandra were very disappointed by this and came to their father, Daksha Prajapati. Daksha Prajapati threatened Chandra to curse Him. Frightened, Chandra came to this kshetra and did penance to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, pleased by Chandra’s penance, appeared there and blessed Him, and assured Him that Daksha would not do anything to Him. Saying thus, Lord Shiva took Chandra and put him on His jataa. That’s why He came to be known as Chandramauleshwara and got installed there as Sri Chandramouleshwara Linga. And Udupa means ‘The husband of the nakshatras’. Since the husband of the nakshatras had done penance there, this kshetra was known as Udupi.

There is another temple in Udupi, which is SriAnanteshwara Temple. There, it is Srihari’s Parashurama roopa in the form of a Linga.

Now, coming to the story of Udupi SriKrishna. After killing Kamsa, Krishna was in Mathura. But Jarasandha attacked Mathura 18 times, and 18 times he was defeated by Krishna. Krishna, for the security of the people of Mathura, instructed Vishvakarma to construct Dwaraka in the middle of the ocean. Now, after that, Krishna married Rukmini, Satyabhama, and all 16,108 queens. Once, Devaki said to Krishna, “O Krishna! I couldn’t see your baalaleelas, as I was in the capture of Kamsa. Now that I am free, could you please show me your baalaleelas?” At this SriKrishna agreed and transformed into His baalaroopa. He sat on Devaki’s lap and played with Her, and gave Her joy. Rukmini was seeing all this.

Rukmini was very attracted to this beautiful form of Lord Krishna. She requested Krishna to give Her a vigraha of the same Krishna, as He looked in His childhood. Krishna immediately called Vishvakarma and instructed Him to make an idol of Krishna. The idol must look exactly as Krishna used to look during His childhood. Following Krishna’s instructions, Vishvakarma created a Saligrama idol of Krishna. It was a very beautiful idol. Krishna, in His baalaroopa as a 5-year-old boy, was holding the milk-churning stick (it is known as Kadagolu in Kannada) in one hand and the other hand on His thigh, holding the rope tied to Him by Yashoda Devi during His Vrindavana pastimes. He was standing and had three jatas on His head. He had curly hair falling on His forehead, giving Him a very handsome look.

This idol was worshipped by Rukmini Devi in Dwaraka. After the Krishnavatara ended, this idol, along with another idol, was covered in a big lump of Gopi Chandana. Now, in Kaliyuga, SriMukhyaprana Vayudeva, in order to spread the true purport of the Vedas, incarnated on this earth as SriMadhvacharya, was once coming for a samudra snaana. After the snaana, He saw a ship coming. The ship was in trouble due to the storms and all. SriMadhvacharya waved His hand once, and the ship reached the shore. The captain of the ship was very happy and thanked SriMadhvacharya for helping Him. He asked SriMadhvacharya to ask for anything, because he was highly impressed and was happy with Him. SriMadhvacharya saw the two rocks of sandalwood on the ship. He said, “I want those two rocks of sandalwood.”

When those rocks of sandalwood were broken, SriMadhvacharya saw the idol of Lord Janardana in the first rock, and in the other rock, He found the Krishna worshipped by Rukmini Devi in Dwaraka. SriMadhvacharya brought it to Udupi and did the pratishtha of the idol of Krishna in Udupi. He worshipped Krishna as Omkaara Shabdavaachya Krishna, or the Krishna whose name is Omkaara. Thus, pleased by the utmost devotion of SriMadhvacharya, Krishna from Dwaraka came through the samudramaarga to SriMadhvacharya. This is the Bhakti of SriMadhvacharya. While doing pooja of Krishna, SriMadhvacharya used to do the chintana of the Paramatma, who is known by the syllable ‘Om’, and the Paramatma, who is all-pervading and is everywhere and in everyone.

In Udupi, there is the presence of the trinity itself. SriMadhvacharya, being Hanuman Himself, who is the future Brahmaji. Then, Lord Vishnu is Krishna and Ananteshwara Himself. And Lord Shiva is the Chandramouleshwara Himself. That’s the speciality of Udupi Kshetra.

The Udupi Krishna’s dhyaana shloka says:

कृष्णं वन्दे मन्थपाशधरं दिव्यार्भकाकृतिम् ।
शिखाबन्धत्रयोपेतं भैष्मी मध्व करार्चितम् ॥

I bow to Lord Krishna, who holds the churning rod and rope, who possesses the form of a divine child, who has three tufts of hair (shikhas), and who is worshipped by Rukmini (Bhaishmi) and Sri Madhvacharya.

Even today in Udupi, just as in Puri Lakshmidevi Herself cooks, in the same way in Udupi, it is Bheemasena who is cooking the food. Even today, during the time of Naivedya to Krishna, Swamiji comes out of the main shrine, or the Garbhagruha, and does japa outside. In the Garbhagruha, Rukmini Devi Herself comes and shows the bhog to Lord Krishna, and disappears.

Now, why is Krishna holding a churning rod and a rope? There is a message in it. The message is: When you are churning the milk known as the Vedas, Vedanta, Puranas, and Itihasas, only one butter comes out as a result, and that is Krishna, who is the Supreme Parabrahman. Or another thing is, like the samudra manthana, how there was Mandarparvata; in the same way, there is the churning of the big parvata named Vedanta. The Brahma Sutras are ropes for churning. The correct shaastras are the devatas, whereas the duragamas or agyaana are the raakshasas. Both the correct knowledge (devatas) and the false knowledge (asuras) are churning the milky ocean named Krishna. And from that milky ocean comes the Amrita, by the name of Krishna’s supremacy.

Another thing is that Krishna holds the rope in the other hand. This shows that if you worship Him, He will remove the rope of Samsara and free you from it and will take you to His abode, Vaikuntha. So, this is why Krishna is holding the churning rod and the rope in His hands. Here, only the Swamijis of the Ashtamathas are allowed to do the pooja of Krishna inside the main shrine. Swamiji from each Matha comes to Udupi and performs Krishna pooja for 2 years. This period is known as Paryaayaa. Currently, the Shiroor Matha seer SriVedavardhana Tirtha Sripadangalavaru is performing the pooja of Krishna in Udupi.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Is Draupadi attracted towards Krishna and wanted to marry him?

Sakhya rasa – Divine friendship

Relationship between Draupadi and Krishna is termed as SakhaSakhi that had NO romance in any manner. Draupadi treated Krishna as Sakha, while Krishna treated Draupadi as Sakhi. Hence, they had Sakhya rasa – Divine friendship beyond suspicious. She never attracted towards him.

Here, I remember the scene in which their discussion called for divine friendship, to clear the cloud of wrong to right.

Draupadi was of the opinion about Kurukshetra War that caused loss of many lives both sides. This could have been prevented by Krishna; had he acted at right time and therefore she felt Krishna was wrong. Clarity given by Krishna made Draupadi to feel what was wrong was right. Here is their discussion goes:

Draupadi – Good that you have helped us at the end in the Kurukshetra War. It could have been better if you could have helped us in the beginning.

Krishna – Beginning in the sense, which beginning?

Draupadi – If you could have helped in the Dice Game, we could have prevented war, saved many lives.

Krishna – Dice game?

Draupadi – You could have helped during the Dice game that led to this war

Krishna –Who invited for Dice game?

Draupadi – Duryodhana only invited

Krishna – Whom he invited?

Draupadi – He invited Yudhishthira (Dharma)

Krishna – Who are all played

Draupadi – Shakuni and Dharma

Krishna – When Duryodhana invited for the game, inviter has to play. how come Shakuni played?

Draupadi – You are right! While taking position, Duryodhana said my uncle Shakuni will play for me.

Krishna – When Duryodhana said about Shakuni, your husband Dharma must have told in my place, my cousin Krishna would play. Then I could have played won the game. But Dharma didn’t call me, when Shakuni came in. Confidence Duryodhana had on Shakuni, Dharma didn’t have on me – Evil had confidence on another evil but Good didn’t have confidence on another good.

Draupadi realise now what she felt wrong was NOT right after the clarity given by Krishna.

What are the similarities between Karna and lord Krishna?

 There are many!

(a) (i) Karna was abandoned by his mother when he was born due to the Social stigma she would have had to bear, had she raised him before marriage!

(ii) Lord Krishna had to be abandoned by his parents for his protection from his uncle Kamsa who was going to kill him the moment he was born.

So both of them were abandoned by their parents when they were born due to the certain acceptable reasons.

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(b) (i) Karna had two mothers, namely ‘Kunti’ and ‘Radha’.

(ii) Lord Krishna too had two mothers, namely ‘Devaki’ and ‘Yashoda’.

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(c) (i) Despite being a Kshatriya from birth and blood, Karna had to face discrimination on the basis of caste all his Life. He was always called ‘Suta Putra’ because he was brought up in a charioteer’s family.

(ii) Lord Krishna too had to face discrimination all his Life despite being a Prince and Kshatriya. He was always called ‘Gwala’ because he was brought up in Yadava family.

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(d) (i) Karna was a great Friend. He knew how to fulfil friendship and what it means to be a real friend. He was a Loyal Friend to Duryodhana all his Life. He even rejected the offer of becoming ‘Chakravarti Samrat’ of Aryavarta for Duryodhana.

(ii) Lord Krishna was a great Friend too. He knew what it means to be a real and genuine Friend. He completely changed the definition of Friendship when he ran towards his best friend ‘Sudhama’ barefoot and without his crown to bring him to his palace.

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(e) Even though they are revered as Great personalities, both of them are often criticized for many things despite doing great deeds.

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Image Source: Google Images

How did Krishna save Draupadi from being humiliated in public?

 During the game of dice, the Pandavas lost the game and Yudhishtir staked his wife Draupadi. Dushyasan on the orders of his elder brother Duryodhan, dragged Draupadi who was then menstruating and clad in a single cloth into the assembly full of Kauravas and the Kuru elders and began to disrobe her. Draupadi initially relied on the wise elders of the assembly, and her 5 strong husbands for help. But they all disappointed her by their silence and inability to stop the heinous act.

Being in this pitiful condition, she cried to Lord Krishna for help; Her prayers moved Lord Krishna’s heart and he thwarted Dushyasana’s attempt to undress her by providing her an endless supply of sarees which covered her continuously, thus preserving her dignity.

A true friend and brother who rushed to his sister-friend’s aid in the hour of need!

This kind gentleman’s act of saving a woman from public humiliation has stolen many women’s hearts!

Jai Shree Krishna!

What are the favourite things of Lord Krishna?

 Milk products. He loves cows In the modern context say all Indian sweets- Gujarati,Rajasthani,Bengali,U.P, Krishna sweet of Chennai !

It is not a thing but Krishna liked Dharma along with Satya the Truth.

Krishna is a unique God whom even if we put before us All religions we do not have his Equal.

His baby stage literally from hours period after birth his being dropped at Gokul is the beginning of a very very adventurous life to show path of Moksha to the world through his Gita.

His childhood through Putana,Bakasur ( the Crane demon),Trunavart ( Grass demon) all sponsored by his own uncle Kansa were good suspense thriller entertainers to Parents Yashoda and Nanda and the whole of Goku dwellers.

Kaliy in Kalindi was killed.Govardhan lifting saved the residents from the wrath of Indrawho rained stones.Chanur and Mustik the laureates in Wrestling in the court of Kansa were finished by Krishna and Balarama.

His playful life with enchanting Flute along with Radha and other Gopikas is considered the climax of Bhakti

His associate membership with Pandavas family takes ALL to his Viswarupa through HIS great divine teaching the Bhagavatgita.

CAN WE SAY NOW THAT HIS FLUTE AND THE PEACOCK IN HIS CROWN ARE THE THINGS THAT THROW A SPELL ON US!

Is there any other God whose whole life span is known to even a child like it is known in the case of Krishna.

That is what makes Krishna - Unique.

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum !

आदौ देवकिदेविगर्भजननं गोपीगृहे वर्धनम्
मायापूतनजीवितापहरणं गोवर्धनोद्धारणम् ।
कंसच्छेदनकौरवादिहननं कुंतीसुतां पालनम्
एतद्भागवतं पुराणकथितं श्रीकृष्णलीलामृतम् ॥

Lord Krishna is not only good and unique at showering benefits on those he loves he is also very tricky and selective while volunteering.

In the Rajsuya Yaga of Yudhistir he is asked to select what and where he can lend his service. He chooses the task of serving meals to Rishis.

Yudhistir says he ( Krishna) has to select another duty. Krishna says: I shall lift those Banana leaves in which Rishis had their lunch and set right

the place clean and tidy.

Why did Lord Shiva lust after Mohini - how can he be the supreme and worthy of devotion if he did such a thing?

 Valid question but the actual meaning of the story needs to be understood rather than reading it just on surface level. I will answer the question by accepting the story without calling it fake or interpolation.

I have already explained the so called mistakes done by God (people think it in that way) as the lila via Maya.

That Lila of Shiva and Mohini mentioned in multiple Puranas are not to downgrade Mahadeva and there’s nothing controversial in it unless some Anti-Hindu deliberately misuses the story to put false allegations on Sanatan Dharma.

In the story where Shiva gets attracted towards Mohini (the female form or the illusionary form, i.e. Vishnu Maya), the word 'Maya’ is used quite often. So the lila was done to show the power of Maya and not lack of self control of Shiva. Ordinary beings are under the control of Maya but Shiva is not under the control of Maya, he can engage in such lila where he appears or portrays himself to be overpowered by it but in his original state, he is unaffected and absolutely still.

It is very much like a film in which a character does a scene where he acts in the same manner as mentioned in script, in the same way Shiva being the Supreme Consciousness is completely aware of everything but he engages himself in a lila which might not sound very pleasing but it would still had a greater purpose.

There is a very deep meaning in that story. and all the so called controversial acts by God (like these sensual and intimate stories) in Puranas they are nothing but the acts performed by God not out of ordinary lust like human beings and animals but using Kama to generate a new form (either a powerful deity or some element).

So in Puranas, we have two most famous stories of Shiva associated with Kama (lust). First is when he burns Kama with his third eye and Kama actually turns into ashes. This was when Shiva was in deep samadhi and Kama shot his cupid 💘 on Shiva so that he can have a union with Goddess Parvati which would lead to the birth of Kartikeya who will destroy the Asuras including their King Tarakasura who got the boon from Brahma that only the son of Shiva would slay him. Even in that particular event, Bhagwan Shiva did admire Maa Parvati'a beauty in a poetic manner comparing her face with moon and calling her the store house of beauty but the very next moment he opened his third eye and burnt down Kamadeva, proving that he can simultaneously be Maa Parvati’s lover as well as the destroyer of unwanted lust.

Second is this Mohini story where he gets awestuck.. in simple words, he gets attracted towards Goddess Mohini and chases her. Now here the context was different, in the story where he burnt Kama, it was the proof that without his own will, Kama cannot cause any desire in him like it can do with others.

So definitely that act had a divine purpose, it is not to be considered literally as the loss of control but rather a deliberate lila where he emits his semen. Now that seed again is not to be considered as some sticky fluid of a man but the “Tej” of Ishwara because it clearly describes what actually is the result of that act. The entire creation itself is said to be his seed (he is described as Bijavan).

According to Shiva Purana, Shiva emits that seed and it later results in the incarnation of Bajrangabali Hanuman. According to Bhagavat Purana where is described in such way, the drops of his seed forms the gold and silver ores. According to Agni Purana, those drops form Shiva Lingas. And most important story about the union of Shiva and Mohini is mentioned in Brahmanda Purana because the lila was specifically done for that.

As per Brahmanda Purana, Mahishi the sister of Mahishasur had a boon that she can be killed only by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. Now Shiva and Vishnu being the male forms of Ultimate Consciousness, it was important for one of them to become Goddess. Since this “Maya” is the medium, it was Mahamaya (Maheshwari), i.e., Goddess Parvati who gave her own form to God Vishnu who is described meditating on her. Vishnu then turns into Mohini, Shiva gets enchanted (out of his own will) and Aiyyapan is born who then slays Mahishi.

That was the main purpose of the Shiva Mohini Lila.

Now here comes to most important factor that the name “Mohini” is actually mentioned in Lalita Saharasanama (1000 names of Goddess Lalita Tripurasundari, the Ultimate form of Parvati). Mohini as the name of Lalita is at number 562. It means Vishnu assumes the form of Mohini (enchanting feminine) while Lalita/Parvati is Mohini, the enchanting divine feminine.

Further Lalita Tripurasundari is described as Shambhu Mohini which means “the one who enchanted Shambhu i.e. Shiva”. It confirms it further that any form which attracts Shiva is that Shakti only.

So it was Parvati herself who enchanted Shiva through Vishnu as she is the Feminine side of the Ultimate Power. Even Bhagavata Purana describes Goddess Durga as Vishnu’s Maya, so Maya itself is her own aspect and she would enchant everyone. Even Madhu and Kaitabha were deluded by her.

So Mohini definitely is the same Supreme Shakti Lalita Tripurasundari.

If it is Lalita herself who attracts Shiva then why do Bhagavat Purana and Brahmanda Purana etc. describe Parvati getting embarrassed or envious seeing that act?

The answer itself lies in her name “Lalita” which means playful. It again goes back to the concept of divine cosmic play (lila) where the Prakriti is playful and Purusha is associated with the stillness. Even Brahma Vaivarta Purana describes Radha showing the same feeling when Krishna does Rasa lila with the other Gopi. So it is nothing but the divine act of God and his power.

Did Bhagwan Shiva cheat Maa Bhavani?

Definitely not, because neither Vishnu nor the Mohini avatar is a separate entity. All the Puranas including Shiva Purana and Bhagavat Purana describe Shiva and Vishnu as completely one truth in different forms. The scriptures further described Vishnu and Parvati as the male and female forms of the same Supreme Power (Ya Uma Sa Swayam Vishnu) which means the one who is Uma is herself Vishnu or vice versa, she is described as Narayani, the female version of Narayan. Shakti herself too is described as both Shiva (Shambhu Rupini) and Vishnu (Govind Rupini)

Ardhanarishwar showing the oneness of Shiva and Shakti.

Hari Hara showing the oneness of Shiva and Vishnu.

Shiva is Vairagi while Krishna/Lalita is the playful side of the same Supreme. In fact, Devi Purana also explains it beautifully that it is not even about gender, it’s much beyond it as the Chapter 49 of Devi Purana mentions Shiva incarnating in a female form (Radha) and Parvati incarnating in a male form (Krishna).

So it is not even about Shiva being Vishnu/Krishna and Parvati being Lakshmi/Radha, it can also inter-change as it is not gender based and The Supreme Consciousness is beyond any restriction.

So it is wrongly interpreted by some people who try to find controversy in such lilas.

Shiva is described as the observer side of the Supreme while the other side is the playful aspect of the Supreme. Bhagwan Shiva sees the lilas of Maa Parvati be it her devotion or Tapasya or her playful side.

In the same way, Radharani sees the lilas of Shri Krishna playing the flute 🪈

Even in the Viyog lila or the Virah (separation act), Sati self immolated and Shiva thinks about her and goes in Samadhi.

In the exact way when Krishna goes back to Mathura, Radha misses him and always thinks about Krishna.

So it is about the meditative side of the Supreme engaging with its own playful projection and not a separate entity.

Is Shiva still worthy of devotion if he did such a thing?

Anything you worship is Shiva only, you don't even need to use the name Shiva or the specific form, you can use any name, any form or even the formless to worship the eternal truth, it's one only.

Even if you specifically talk about that one form of being worthy of devotion and worship, don't forget he is the one who consumed the deadliest Halahal Poison to save the world, it could destroyed everything.

Conclusion:

The Mohini story is nothing but Shiva’s attraction towards his own feminine side. Shiva and Mohini are not two but one essence in the actual reality.

Jai Shiv Shakti 🙏 Jai Hari Hara 🙏 Jai Radhe Krishna 🙏