Such analyses have caused disagreements about the true meaning of the ancient stories. Shiva and Parvati in the form of Ardhanarisvara Many deities in Hinduism and Indian mythology are represented as both male and female at different times and in different incarnations or may manifest with characteristics of both genders at once, such as Ardhanarishvara, created by the merging of the god Shiva and his consort Parvati whose half right body is male while the left half is female.
The name Ardhanarishvara means "The Lord whose half is a woman". This form of Shiva represents the "totality that lies beyond duality", and is associated with communication between mortals and gods and between men and women. Alain Danielou says that "The hermaphrodite, the homosexual and the transvestite have a symbolic value and are considered privileged beings, images of the Ardhararishvara.". A similar merger occurs between the beauty and prosperity goddess Lakshmi and her husband Vishnu, forming the hermaphroditic or androgynous Lakshmi-Narayana. In the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu takes the form of the enchantress, Mohini, in order to trick the demons into giving up Amrita, the elixir of life. Shiva later becomes attracted to Mohini and their relationship results in the birth of a son. In the Brahmanda Purana, Shiva's wife Parvati "hangs her head in shame" when she sees her husband's pursuit of Mohini. In some stories Shiva asks Vishnu to take on the Mohini form again so he can see the actual transformation for himself. Stories in which Shiva knows of Mohini's true nature have been interpreted to "suggest the fluidity of gender in sexual attraction".
Pattanik writes that those focusing only on homoeroticism miss the narrative's deeper metaphysical significance: Mohini's femininity represents the material aspect of reality, and Mohini's seduction is another attempt to induce Shiva into taking an interest in worldly matters. He cites another story to show that only Vishnu has the power to "enchant" Shiva: a demon tries to kill Shiva by taking the form of a woman (placing sharp teeth in "his" vagina). Shiva recognizes the impostor and kills the demon by the placing a "thunderbolt" on his "manhood" during their act of "lovemaking". In the later, non-Puranic story of the origin of God Ayyappa, Vishnu as Mohini becomes pregnant from Shiva, and gives birth to Ayyappa, who she abandons in shame. Pattanaik writes that rather than Mohini becoming pregnant, Ayyappa sprang from Shiva's semen, which he ejaculated upon embracing Mohini. In another version, the Pandyan king Rajasekhara of Pandalam adopts the baby. In this version, Ayyappa is referred to as ayoni jata, "born of a non-vagina", and later Hariharaputra, "the son of Vishnu and Shiva", and grows up to be a great hero. Īccording to Tamil versions of the Mahabharata, the god Krishna – an avatar of Vishnu – also took the form of Mohini and married Aravan.
This was in order to give Aravan the chance to experience love before his death, as he had volunteered to be sacrificed. Krishna remained in mourning in the Mohini form for some time after Aravan's death.