Gardhabhasura who was waiting to battle Vishnu remained stupefied seeing the astonishing beauty standing in front of him. Forgetting himself he just stared at her in awe. Her sensuous charms and movements left him infatuated. He now began to follow her. The sensuous female spoke alluringly and with her enticing ways trapped him fully.

Maddened with love for her, Gardhabhasura began to obey her commands. She placed a pot of liquor in his hand which he drank completely. The totally intoxicated demon now could not even stand or walk. Liquor caused him to further lose cognisance of what was happening. He fell on the ground and began to scream incoherently and meaninglessly.

At this juncture, Srihari transformed into a gigantic wolf and pounced upon the demon who was in the form of an ass (Gardhabha). Even before the demon could regain his alertness, the wolf ripped him apart and gobbled him without leaving even a trace of his body.

What to say of Vishnu’s illusion! An enchanting damsel transformed into a wild ferocious wolf!

In great ecstasy, the Devatas who were witnessing this magnificent incident, wherein the Lord in a novel way had destroyed the vile demon, rained flowers upon Him. Even as all of them were watching, Lord Vishnu manifested there in His auspicious form that had four long arms. ‘Neither am I the enchanting damsel, nor am I a ferocious wolf’ as if implying this, the Lord blessed them with his divine darshan.

Exactly that that moment, Lord Shiva manifested there. Prostrating at Lord Vishnu’s feet, he said, ‘O Lord, I am your servant. In accordance to my promise I have arrived here’.

Lord Vishnu replied, ‘O Lord, you are the Lord for the entire universe. I was able to kill this demon purely on the strength of my devotion towards you. As your devotee, I am your servant. However, as your vow must not go for a waste, when for the purposes of killing demon Ravana I incarnate as Srirama, you incarnate as Hanuman and render service to me’.

This is the story of Hanuman’s birth. Thinking of Shiva is equivalent of thinking of Hanuman. Chanting ‘Om namo Hanumate namah’- implies chanting Shiva’s mantra. Shiva is Hanuman. Hanuman is Shiva. Now we understand the significance behind the altercation that initially took place between the two Gods.

Jaya Guru Datta.