Maragatavalli - Mohini Avatara Continued

The Devas and Asuras churned the milk ocean with Mandramalai & Vaasuki, the snake. When the amirtham appeared, the Asuras greedily grabbed the Amirtham pot and vanished. In order to retrieve the Amirtha kalasam, Lord Vishnu took the form of a dazzling beauty (Mohini Avataram). Lord Siva was enamoured by the beauty of the maiden. and Lord Sastha was born out of this union.

A small town called Ryali at Andhra Pradesh, has a connection with this Shiva - Mohini Union .

Lord Brahma who witnessed the above incident created a Lingam here & performed abhishekam with water from his kamandalam & hence Lord Siva is worshipped here as Sri Umakamandaleswaraswami. Opposite this temple is the Sri Jaganmohini Kesava Swami temple.

The Kesava temple here is popularly known as `Jaganmohini Keshavaswamy temple`. The unique feature of this temple is the image of the presiding deity.

The front side of it portrays Keshava or Vishnu, a male and the reverse portion outlines Jaganmohini, a lovely and attractive female figure assumed by Vishnu.

Both the front and the back of the presiding deity are gracefully made out of a single saligrama stone.  Vishnu, who is known here as Keshava is shown with four hands. He is shown holding the usual `shanka` and `chakra` in two hands, while in the other two hands he holds the `gadha` and the `Mandhara` mountain. 

The back portion of the idol, which displays the lovely female form of Jaganmohini and this figure, displays fine and flowing hair, perfectly combed and knit with flowers. The waist and arms of this female figure is decorated with various jewels. The ornaments can be seen on her legs also. Her body is covered with a sari and the lovely lines and curves of her shapely figure lend additional charm to her grace.

Mohini Sutham Ashrayeham