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The current work investigates the transition of a swirling jet between two flow states, namely, columnar-jet (CJ) and wall-jet (WJ) states, under the influence of external transverse acoustic forcing. Here, we have performed simultaneous time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and dynamic pressure measurements to understand the structure and dynamics of these swirling jets under external forcing. It is observed that at low Reynolds number (Re), the swirl flow transitions from CJ to WJ state due to transverse forcing. And the flow returns to the CJ state when the acoustic is turned OFF. However, above a critical flow Re, the swirl flow does transition from CJ to WJ state when subjected to transverse forcing, but upon turning OFF the acoustics, the flow stays in the WJ state. Thus, the swirling flow demonstrates bistability in the flow states only above a critical flow Re. It is observed that upon forcing, there is an increase in the streamwise velocity fluctuations (u ′ x ) near the centerline and in the radial velocity fluctuations (u ′ r ) near the injector lip. This finding is also confirmed through spectral proper orthogonal decomposition analysis. In addition, it is observed that as the flow transitions from CJ to WJ state, the relative contribution of the convective term U r ¯ ∂ U r ¯ ∂ r toward the radial pressure gradient ( ∂ P ¯ ∂ r ) increases in comparison to the centrifugal force term ( U ¯ θ 2 r ). The study highlights the effect of acoustic-induced velocity fluctuations on the bistability of swirl flows over a range of flow Re. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]