Ayyappan 12 - Vishnu In The Guise Of Mohini Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

As the story goes,
Asura is stunned by
The breathtaking beauty of
The beautiful figure before him.
Asura forgets the purpose of his search,
Asura's purpose was to chase Siva and kill him.
Instead, when he came face to face with Mohini,
He melted!
His purpose changed.
The thought reigning supreme in his mind now,
As to how to please Mohini,
And win her heart!

Mohini pretending to be a shy maiden
Employs all her tactics to enchant the Asura.
The Asura is so besotted by the beauty,
That he is blinded by the dazzling vision.
He readily agrees to do anything for her.
For all he wanted was
To make Mohini his bride.
In the ensuing conversation
Between Asura and Mohini,
He asks Mohini for her hand in marriage.
Mohini looking through the corner of her eyes
Nods her head, as if to agree.

Then, Mohini with a charming smile says:
"O Asura! I would be so pleased to be your wife!
But there is a condition!
I am going to dance.
You should dance just like me.
If you can dance better than me,
And win the dance competition between us,
Then, most certainly, I shall marry you."
Asura looked perplexed,
For he had never learnt to dance.
But then he thought, he can imitate Mohini.
Follow her and imitate her gestures.

The Dance Competition began!
Mohini danced with Mudras
With rhythmic variations and hand gestures,
With complicated pattern of footwork,
Like one possessed!
The birds sang with sweet melody, while
The animals clapped, tapped and played drums.
The trees stood watching in stunned silence.
The stupid Asura tried his very best to dance
He danced awkwardly not able to imitate properly
The swift dancing gestures of the Mohini
Were beyond his grasp.

Finally, when Mohini halted her dance
She stood in a dance posture
With her hand placed on her head.
The foolish Asura imitated Mohini,
By placing his hand on his head.
And Lo! What happened?
Asura was burnt to ashes!
The boon he had acquired from Siva
To destroy others, reacted on himself.
Lesson learnt!
When you dig a grave for others, beware!
There is a possibility that you will slip and fall into the grave!