The Tale of Bhasmasura: Greed, Power, and Divine Justice

Bhasmasura, seeks ultimate power from Shiva but meets his end through his own greed and Vishnu's clever intervention. A timeless tale of divine justice.

Once upon a time, there was a greedy demon named Bhasmasura. He wanted immense power and decided to worship Lord Shiva to get it. Each day, he collected ashes from funeral pyres and offered them to Shiva. Because of this, people started calling him Bhasmasura, which means the demon of ashes.

Shiva, seeing Bhasmasura’s devotion, decided to grant him a boon. He appeared before Bhasmasura and said, 'Ask for any boon.'

Bhasmasura, with a wicked grin, said, 'Lord, I want the power that if I touch anybody's head, that person should turn to ashes.'

Shiva, bound by his nature, granted the boon. Bhasmasura was overjoyed. He felt invincible and became arrogant. The gods were worried about the chaos he could cause.

Feeling powerful, Bhasmasura decided to test his boon on Shiva himself. He approached Shiva and said, 'I will test this power on you first.'

Shiva tried to reason with him. 'This power is dangerous. Use it wisely,' he said, but Bhasmasura was deaf to his words. He had evil thoughts about Devi Parvati also and wanted to get rid of Shiva.

Realizing that Bhasmasura wouldn’t listen, Shiva pretended to flee. Bhasmasura chased him with wicked intent. The gods watched, helpless, as Shiva ran.

Lord Vishnu, seeing the danger, decided to help. He couldn’t confront Bhasmasura directly because of Shiva’s boon. So, Vishnu transformed into Mohini, the beautiful enchantress.

As Bhasmasura chased Shiva, he suddenly saw Mohini. He stopped, captivated by her beauty. 'Who are you?' he asked, forgetting about Shiva.

'I am Mohini,' she said with a sweet smile. 'Why do you chase Shiva? He is too powerful for you.'

Bhasmasura, distracted and intrigued, said, 'Show me your talent then, if you are so great.'

Mohini began to dance. Her movements were graceful and mesmerizing. Bhasmasura, completely enchanted, started to imitate her dance.

As they danced, Mohini placed her hand on her head. Bhasmasura, lost in the dance, did the same. The moment he touched his head, flames erupted from his body. He burned to ashes, destroyed by his own greed.

The gods sighed in relief. Shiva and Parvati watched from afar, grateful for Vishnu’s clever intervention. The tale of Bhasmasura became a lesson for all.

It taught that selfish desires lead to downfall. Even the most powerful respect their promises. Evil intentions harm the doer. Divine wisdom protects the righteous. Being ungrateful brings severe consequences.

And so, the story of Bhasmasura lived on, reminding everyone of the dangers of greed and also the power of divine justice.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi