Beauty Parlor needed?

 Beauty Parlor needed? 

Śloka 18, Śivananda Lahari 

हरिस् त्वाम् आराध्य प्रणतजन सौभाग्य जननीं 
पुरा नारी भूत्वा पुररिपुम् अपि क्षोभम् अनयत् । 
स्मरोपि त्वां नत्वा रति नयन लेह्येन वपुषा 
मुनीनाम् अप्यन्तः प्रभवति हि मोहाय महताम् ॥ 

 

Translation 

Viṣṇu worshipped You, O Divine Mother —  
You, who are the source of beauty and fortune for all who surrender to You. 
Through Your grace, Viṣṇu was blessed with such radiant beauty 
that He took the form of Mohinī, the enchantress, 
and stirred even the great Śiva — the ascetic, 
the destroyer of all passion, the conqueror of the senses. 

So potent is Your power, O Devi, 
that even Smara (Kāma, the god of love), having once bowed before You, 
was endowed with a body so delightful 
that even Rati’s eyes, merely glancing upon it, 
would drink of it in silent ecstasy. 
Such beauty, born of Your blessing, 
bewilders even the greatest of sages. 

 

Commentary 

This verse overflows with playful grace — a leela of Divine Feminine power. 
It shows how Devi’s anugraha (grace) transcends gender, asceticism, and even the gods themselves. 

 

1. Vishnu and the Grace of Feminine Power 

“Purā nārī bhūtvā puraripum api kṣobham anayata” 

The poet recalls the myth where Viṣṇu, by Devi’s grace, assumed the form of Mohinī, 
the most alluring of women, who even enchanted Śiva —  
Pura-ripu, the “enemy of the cities” or the Tripurāsura-destroyer, 
symbol of ascetic detachment and masculine restraint. 

The word “purā” holds layered meanings: 

• “Long ago” — a temporal hint at the Ayyappan episode, 
  where the Mohinī form led to the birth of Harihara-putra. 

• “By the body” — suggesting that Viṣṇu’s transformation was not illusionary but embodied. 

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• It also hints that Hari, though male, could manifest perfect strī-tattva, 
  charming the supreme ascetic himself. 

Thus, Devi’s grace does not feminize; it harmonizes —  
uniting the polarities of masculine and feminine within divinity itself. 

 

2. The Redemption of Manmatha 

The second half balances the image of Viṣṇu’s effeminacy with Manmatha’s restoration. 

When Kāma, the god of desire, once angered Śiva and was burnt to ashes by his third eye, 
he lost both form and potency. Yet, after bowing to the Divine Mother, 
he was granted a body again — a form so irresistibly beautiful 
that even the chaste Rati could not withhold her gaze. 

Thus, the verse clarifies: 
Devi’s grace does not make men effeminate or weak. 
She restores harmony — giving beauty to the strong and strength to the beautiful. 
Her blessing completes, not contradicts. 

 

3. Why Not Become Shiva? 

One may ask: Why did Viṣṇu become Mohinī and Kāma become radiant — why not become Śiva himself? 
Because the bhakta’s relationship with Devi here is filial — that of the child to the Mother. 
To claim to become Śiva (the consort) would invert the sacred roles. 
Hence, even when graced with supreme power, 
the devotee remains Her child, never Her counterpart. 

 

4. The Meaning of Saubhāgya 

Devi is hailed as “Pranata-jana-saubhāgya-jananī” —  
the Mother who bestows saubhāgya (beauty, fortune, blessedness) upon those who bow to Her. 

Yet saubhāgya itself is a word of wonder — it means: 

• Auspicious grace — combining both beauty (sau) and strength (bhāgya). 

• Reddish-pink hue — the glow that flushes the faces of those touched by love and devotion. 

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Saubhāgya also contains the bīja syllable “Sau” (or “Saum”), 
the seed sound of Lakṣmī, the goddess of wealth, charm, and splendor. 
This connects to other divine bīja mantras: 

• Sau / Saum – Lakṣmī (Śrī, Sāvitrī) 

• Klīm – Kālī / Kṛṣṇa 

• Hrīm – Pārvatī (Hara’s consort, Śakti) 

• Aim – Sarasvatī (Vāk, the Word, the counterpart of Om) 

• Trīm – Tārā (of the Buddhist Tantras) 

Thus, saubhāgya is not mere physical beauty or luck —  
it is the luminous vitality that arises when grace infuses being. 

 

5. Essence of the Verse 

This verse celebrates Devi’s absolute sovereignty over polarity: 
She grants masculinity or femininity, beauty or valor, grace or glory —  
according to the need of the soul She touches. 

Under Her touch, 

• a god becomes a goddess, 

• a disembodied desire regains its form, 

• the weak become radiant, 

• and the strong become tender. 

She is both the source and the resolution of duality —  
the very heart of Śrī Vidyā. 

 

In Summary 

• Viṣṇu worships Her → gains perfect beauty (Mohinī). 

• Kāma worships Her → gains irresistible form. 

• The bhakta worships Her → gains both — beauty and power, 
  tenderness and might, Śrī and Śakti. 

Devi’s grace is not bound by gender or hierarchy —  
She completes whatever is incomplete. 
In Her presence, every polarity finds its home.