CHAPTER TWELVE
The Mohini-mirti Incarnation
Bewilders Lord Siva
This chapter describes how Lord Siva was bewildered upon seeing the
beautiful Mohini-mirti incarnation of the Supreme Personality of God-
head and how he later came to his senses. When Lord Siva heard about
the pastimes performed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, in
the form of an attractive woman, he mounted his bull and went to see the
Lord. Accompanied by his wife, Uma, and his servants, the bhita-gana,
or ghosts, he approached the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Siva offered
obeisances to the Supreme Lord as the all-pervading Lord, the universal
form, the supreme controller of creation, the Supersoul, the resting place
for everyone, and the completely independent cause of all causes. Thus
he offered prayers giving truthful descriptions of the Lord. Then he ex-
pressed his desire. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is very kind to
His devotees. Therefore, to fulfill the desire of His devotee Lord Siva, He
expanded His energy and manifested Himself in the form of a very
beautiful and attractive woman. Upon seeing this form, even Lord Siva
was captivated. Later, by the grace of the Lord, he controlled himself.
This demonstrates that by the power of the Lord’s external energy,
everyone is captivated by the form of woman in this material world.
Again, however, by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
one can overcome the influence of maya. This was evinced by Lord Siva,
the topmost devotee of the Lord. First he was captivated, but later, by the
grace of the Lord, he restrained himself. It is declared in this connection
that only a pure devotee can restrain himself from the attractive feature
of méyd. Otherwise, once a living entity is trapped by the external
feature of maya, he cannot overcome it. After Lord Siva was graced by
the Supreme Lord, he circumambulated the Lord along with his wife,
Bhavani, and his companions, the ghosts. Then he left for his own abode.
Sukadeva Gosvami concludes this chapter by describing the transcenden-
tal qualities of Uttamasloka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by
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