Did Lord Shiva know Mohini was Vishnu?

 Yes, Lord Shiva knew that Mohini was Lord Vishnu only, but due to Bhagavan’s maya, He temporarily forgot that Mohini was Bhagavan. After the Samudra Manthana, Lord Shiva approached Lord Vishnu. Because when Lord Shiva had drunk the Halahala poison, His throat was hurting, so He did the japa of the Achyuta, Ananta, and Govinda mantras and then finally got rid of that pain.

So, Lord Shiva wasn’t able to see the Mohini roopa of Bhagavan. Therefore, He approached Bhagavan in Vaikuntha, along with Umadevi, and asked Him to show His Mohini roopa. Bhagavan said, “O Shiva! My Mohini roopa was for deluding the demons and not for anything else. I recommend that you not see that roopa, because it is a very bewildering form of mine.”

But then, Lord Shiva still insisted upon it. Lord Vishnu finally agreed and said, “Wait a minute. I would come.” And went away. Suddenly, the environment changed. There was a beautiful garden. Lord Shiva saw a beautiful girl playing along with a ball, tapping and bouncing the ball and catching it. Her laughter was itself too much bewildering that it may capture anyone.

Her anklets in the Her feet made a ‘Ghiluk’ sound. She wore neat and bright clothes, and was decorated with all sorts of ornaments. She had hair that was rich black and had a hairbun which was decorated with different flowers. Some curls of Her hair spread over Her forehead. She had a braid that was decorated beautifully. Her belly was slender, making Her even more enchanting.

Her eyes were as long as the petals of a lotus. She wore kumkuma tilaka on Her forehead, and Her lips were red like bimba fruit, and Her teeth shone like pearls. She was the color of rain-filled clouds. She had bangles in Her hands, and Her skin was so soft that even if you took a lotus petal and touched it on Her skin, it would create a scratch.

But one must note that Bhagavan is softer than the softest and harder than the hardest. Such an enchanting form was the Mohini form of Lord Vishnu. As Her name itself suggests, it was a form taken for bewildering (Mohana) the demons. Lord Shiva saw this form of Lord Vishnu and ran towards Her. He ran behind Mohini and grabbed Her by Her braid and hugged Her. But then, Mohini turned into Bhagavan Vishnu.

Lord Shiva realized that this girl was none other than the Mohini roopa of Bhagavan Vishnu. Means, that form is so bewildering that, it even bewildered Mahadeva, who is known to be as Vairagya Shikhamani, and has a very peak level Vairagya. Lord Shiva is Vairagya Shikhamani, and there is no doubt about this, but this was to show how powerful Bhagavan’s maya is.

As Krishna Himself says in the Bhagavad Gita:

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ 14॥
My divine energy Maya, consisting of the three modes of nature, is very difficult to overcome. But those who surrender unto Me cross over it easily.
[Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, Verse 14]

Lord Shiva, being the greatest devotee of the Supreme Bhagavan Vishnu, was free from all kinds of attachments and materialistic things, but to show Him Bhagavan’s Mohini roopa, and to show how powerful Bhagavan’s maaya was, all this happened.

Although Lord Shiva knew that Bhagavan Vishnu had assumed the Mohini form, upon seeing that extraordinarily enchanting form, He became bewildered by Bhagavan's Maya. This demonstrates the inconceivable power of Bhagavan Vishnu's Maya, not any deficiency in Mahadeva's greatness or vairagya.

But one must note that Lord Shiva is infinitely superior to us and is the greatest devotee of Bhagavan Vishnu, thus known by the name Vaishnavottama or Bhaagavatottama. He is the one who gives the Shaastra paatha to the devatas along with Umadevi.

He is the niyamaka for the bodies of the devatas like Indra, Chandra, etc. and is the head for them. He is the controller of the mind, and because of His blessings only can we gain control over our minds. He, along with Umadevi, handles the department of the mind. So, Lord Shiva is definitely and infinitely higher than us, and we are nothing in front of Him.

We cannot control Mahadeva by mohana or sammohana, because He is beyond that, and can only be pleased by pure devotion. Without Bhakti, Lord Shiva won’t even look at you. Umadevi too attained Lord Shiva through devotion only. But this was the Supreme Bhagavan’s maaya, in front of which nobody can survive, neither Lord Brahma, nor Lord Shiva.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Why is Mohini not considered in the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu?

 Mohini is not included in the standard Dashavatara (the ten principal incarnations of Bhagwan Vishnu) because she is the illusory form (maya-roop). Wherever Goddess Mohini is mentioned, the word Maya is always mentioned there and Maya is actually a key aspect of Shakti and hence Mohini’s emergence is explained broadly in Shaktism which is that branch of Sanatan Dharma which revolves around the female forms of the Divine.

Unlike other Vishnu avatars, Bhagwan Vishnu takes Mohini avatar any time. Also, since it is a female form it has a link with Devi. In other avatars, Narayan directly appears as a male being. So they are the main 10 avatars of Vishnu (Dashavataras). However, Mohini avatar is mentioned in the 24 avatars of Bhagwan Vishnu which is a broader list of incarnations.

It is interesting that Mohini is very often associated with Shakti because every female has been considered as the manifestation of Shakti and more importantly Shakti is Mahamaya, which strengthens Mohini’s connection with Devi further as Mohini is indeed describe as the manifestation of Maya. As per Brahmanda Purana, it is said Vishnu acquired the Mohini form from Goddess Maheshwari. So it actually Mahadevi manifesting through Bhagwan Vishnu as Mohini is completely female not that Shri Hari does some makeup to look feminine, that avatar is properly female and whatever is female, it comes under the domain of Devi. Further it establishes the oneness of Vishnu and Uma in a sense that the Ultimate Power which is Vishnu in male form, the female version of the same Ultimate Power is Uma as per multiple Puranic texts as well Upanishads that revolve around Advaita philosophy. That means all the deities we worship are actually the same Supreme Reality appearing in different forms. So it's like A=B, A=C so B=C and hence A=B=C.

Hayagriva avatar of Shri Hari Vishnu explains about Mahadevi Lalita Tripurasundari. From there comes, Lalitopakhyana, Lalita Sahasranama etc.

In Lalita Saharasanama, Mohini directly appears as the 562nd name of Lalita Devi which confirms that Mohini does have a connection with Lalita, the third among the ten Mahavidyas.

The way I see it is that other forms of Shakti represent the motherly nature of the divine (Parvati, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati etc.) or the faithful wife or the daughter. All of those forms are gentle and benevolent. Mohini on the other hand is a different version of Shakti, bold and the enchanting energy. Hence, the Mother Goddesses do not take up that form to deal with the Asuras but rather destroy them directly in battlefield. In Shaktism, all the Goddesses are considered as the form of Lalita, so Mother Goddesses are also her form and the enchanting Mohini is also her form, the only difference is that Mother Goddesses don’t transform into the enchanting Mohini for dealing with Asuras, so that form against Asuras is taken by Bhagwan Vishnu.

Thus, Mohini connects really well with God Vishnu as he is the one who tricks the Asuras.

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 🙏