Text 312]
The Lord Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī
175
TEXT 3111
‘‘मित्र’—मायामलिकन्नौ, उमागुणात्रेमम ।।
-মায়াতীত, গুণাতীত ‘বিষ্ণু’ – পরমেশ ॥ ৩১১ ॥
‘śiva’ —māyā-śakti-saṅgī, tamo-guṇāveśa māyātīta, guṇātīta ‘viṣṇu’ —parameśa
SYNONYMS
śiva  —Lord Śiva;  māyā-śakti-saṅgī  —an associate of the external energy;  tamaḥ-guṇa-āveśa  —absorbed by the quality of ignorance;  māyā-atīta  —transcendental to the external energy;  guṇa-atīta  —transcendental to the qualities of matter;  viṣṇu  —Viṣṇu;  parama-īśa  —the Supreme Lord.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Śiva is an associate of the external energy; therefore he is absorbed in the material quality of darkness. Lord Viṣṇu is transcendental to māyā and the qualities of māyā. Therefore He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
Viṣṇu is beyond the range of the material manifestation, and He is not within the control of the material energy. He is the supreme independent Personality of Godhead. This is even admitted by Śaṅkarācārya:  nārāyaṇaḥ paro ‘vyaktāt  ( Gīta-bhāṣya ). In his constitutional form, Śiva is a  mahā-bhāgavata , a supreme devotee of the Lord, but because he accepts  māyā’s  association—especially the quality of ignorance—he is not free from  māyā’s  influence. Such an intimate association is completely absent in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Lord Śiva accepts  māyā , but in the presence of Lord Viṣṇu,  māyā  does not exist. Consequently Lord Śiva has to be considered a product of  māyā . When Lord Śiva is free from  māyā’s  influence, he is in the position of a  mahā-bhāgavata , a supreme devotee of Lord Viṣṇu.  Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ .
TEXT 312
শিব: শক্তিযুদ্ধ: শঙ্খ ত্রিলিঙ্গে গুণসংস্কৃত:।।
বৈকারিকস্তম্ভসূচ ভামসূচেভারং ত্রিধা ॥ ৩১২ ॥
śivaḥ śakti-yuktaḥ śaśvat triliṅgo guṇa-saṁvṛtaḥ vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tridhā