Elements of Hindu Iconography v4.c30.4

v4.c30.4

This deity which is very peculiar to the Drāviḍa country does not appear to have been known to the region north of the Gōdāvarī. In no early Sanskrit work is the deity mentioned. Even the dictionaries do not record this name and give its origin. In the Viṣṇupurāṇa we hear that, Viṣṇu, seeing that there ensued a quarrel between the Dēvas and Asuras over the distribution of the amṛita (ambrosia) obtained by churning the ocean of milk, assumed the form of a charming damsel, distributed the precious article among the Dēvas, the Asuras being all the while dazed by the enchanting beauty of the maiden and oblivious of the cause of their quarrel. It is in the Śrī Bhāgavata that we learn, for the first time that Hara fell in love with Viṣṇu in his form of Mōhinī. From