Bhasmaasur

Once there was a Raakshas named Bhasmaasur. He was busy in intense penance in Himaalayas. He was a great devotee of Shiv and was doing this penance for him only. When many ages had passed Shiv thought to bless him with boons, so he appeared before him and asked him to ask for boons. He said - "I am very pleased with your penance, ask for any Var." Bhasmaasur said - "I wish to have the power that whichever thing I touch with my hand, it should reduce to ashes." Even after doing such an intense penance, he still had Aasuree mind, that is why he asked for such a boon. Shiv said "So be it."

But Bhasmaasur immediately asked Shiv - "Bhagavan, How to test your boon whether it is true or not. After you have disappeared, I will not be able to check it, so let me see if your boon works or not. Let me check it first on you." In fact he thought, if I burn Shiv then there will be nobody greater than me. And saying this he ran away towards Shiv.

Shiv knew that his boon will come true, and if he will reduce to ashes, the whole world will come to an end. So as Shiv saw him coming, he also ran away to save himself. Now Shiv was in front and Bhasmaasur was at his heel. Shiv was running as fast as his feet were carrying him. What a strange sight it was. Shiv soon realized that if he did not find some way to save himself, the Raakshas will take him over and he will have to die. He was getting out of breath.

He found some way, he turned towards Vaikunth where Vishnu lived. As Shiv approached Vaikunth, Vishnu saw him coming towards Vaikunth. Vishnu had seen that Shiv was in trouble, so He immediately transformed Himself into a very beautiful woman, Mohinee, and appeared in front of Bhasmaasur. As Bhasmaasur was passing by, She caught his attention and asked him - "Mahaaraaj, You look so tired, why are you running so fast? Come here, my father's Aashram is near, rest a bit, and then go."

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Bhasmaasur said to Her angrily - "Don't disturb me. If I will rest here wretched Shiv will get away. I want to touch his head with my right hand. By doing this he will be burnt to ashes and I will become the Lord of all three worlds." Till now he had not seen Mohinee, but as he finished his sentence, he looked at her. She was very beautiful. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before in his life time. He looked at Her second time, third time, and then he left the idea of putting his hand on Shiv's head.

He said to Her - "O Mohinee, You are so beautiful, will you marry me?" Mohinee said - "How can I marry you? I will marry only him who has never had any wife nor he will marry any other woman after he has married me. But you are a Raakshas, you must be having many wives, so I cannot marry you." Bhasmaasur said - "I swear, I will not marry any other woman, just you marry me." Mohinee said - "I cannot trust you until you swear putting your hand on your head." Now Bhasmaasur was so mesmerized by the beauty of Mohinee that he forgot about his boon and he immediately kept his hand on his head to swear but he could not complete his sentence and by then he was turned into ashes.

Shiv was looking back over his shoulder to see how far was Bhasmaasur, but for quite a distance he did not see him, so he returned to check on him as what had happened to him. After a while he saw a heap of ashes and a most beautiful girl standing beside it. He was grateful for her timely assistance, she praised him also - "Lord, I saw you running and tired, so I tricked this demon and made him put his own hand on his own head. Thus he himself burnt to ashes."

Shiv was very happy to hear this and as he wanted to embrace her, she slipped from his arms. Shiv tried to look for her as where did she go, instead he saw 4-armed Vishnu standing there. He understood that once more Vishnu has saved his life.

Bhasmaasur said - "I was following Shiv to test his boon, and you disturbed me. Who are you?" Mohinee asked - "What kind of boon?" Bhasmaasur said - "I did severe penance for Shiv. Pleased by my penance he gave me a boon that on whoever's head I will put my hand he will burn to ashes." I wanted to test that boon by putting my hand on his head only and you let him go."

Mohinee said - "But what is the need of Shiv to test this Boon? You can test this by yourself." "But how?"

Bhasmaasur was so mesmerized seeing Her that he would do anything for Her. She started dancing in front of him and and asked him also to dance with Her. Both started dancing. During the course of dance Mohinee made such a posture that Her hand was on Her head, since Bhasmaasur was copying Mohinee, he also put his hand on his head and as he did so, he burnt into ashes.

Thus Vishnu saved Shiv from his own boon given to that Raakshas.

[The moral of this story is that power, without self-control and self-poise leads to one’s own destruction]