Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 8 Chapter 12 Verse 15

Canto 8: Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations | Chapter 12: The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.12.15

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kautūhalāya daityānāḿ

yoṣid-veṣo mayā dhṛtaḥ

paśyatā sura-kāryāṇi

gate pīyūṣa-bhājane

SYNONYMS

śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; kautūhalāya — for the bewildering; daityānām — of the demons; yoṣit-veṣaḥ — the form of a beautiful woman; mayā — by Me; dhṛtaḥ — assumed; paśyatā — seeing that it is necessary for Me; sura-kāryāṇi — for executing the interests of the demigods; gate — having been taken away; pīyūṣa-bhājane — the jug of nectar.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: When the demons took away the jug of nectar, I assumed the form of a beautiful woman to bewilder them by directly cheating them and thus to act in the interest of the demigods.

PURPORT

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead assumed the form of the beautiful woman Mohinī-mūrti, the demons were certainly captivated, but the demigods present were not. In other words, those who maintain a demoniac mentality are bewildered by the beauty of a woman, but those who are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or even those on the platform of goodness, are not bewildered. The Supreme Personality of Godhead knew that because Lord Śiva is not an ordinary person, he cannot be bewildered even by the most beautiful woman. Cupid himself tried to invoke Lord Śiva's lusty desires in the presence of Pārvatī, but Lord Śiva was never agitated. Rather, the blazing fire from Lord Śiva's eyes turned Cupid to ashes. Therefore, Lord Viṣṇu had to think twice about what kind of beautiful form would bewilder even Lord Śiva. Consequently He was smiling gravely, as stated in the previous verse (prahasya bhāva-gambhīram). A beautiful woman generally cannot induce Lord Śiva to be lusty, but Lord Viṣṇu was considering whether there was any form of woman who could enchant him.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness