Text 24]
Divinity and Divine Service
117
destroyed, Lord Śiva does it by  tāṇḍava-nṛtya . The materialists and the foolish human beings worship Brahmā and Śiva respectively. But the pure transcendentalists worship the form of goodness, Viṣṇu, in His various integrated forms and separated forms. The integrated forms are called Godhead, and the separated forms are called the living entities or the  jīvas . Both the  jīvas  and Godhead have their original spiritual forms.  Jīvas  are sometimes subjected to the control of material energy, but the Viṣṇu forms are always controllers of energy. When Viṣṇu, the Personality of Godhead, appears in the material world, He comes to deliver the conditioned living beings who are under the material energy. Such living beings appear in the material world with intentions of being lords, and thus they become entrapped by the three modes of nature. As such, the living entities have to change the material coverings for undergoing different terms of imprisonment. The prison house of the material world is created by Brahmā under instruction of the Personality of Godhead, and at the conclusion of a  kalpa  the whole thing is destroyed by Śiva. But as far as maintenance of the prison house is concerned, it is done by Viṣṇu, as much as the state prison house is maintained by the state. Anyone, therefore, who wishes to get out of this prison house of material existence, which is full of miseries like repetition of birth, death, disease and old age, must please Lord Viṣṇu for such liberation. Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped by devotional service only, and if anyone has to continue prison life in the material world, he may ask for relative facilities from the different demigods like Śiva, Brahmā, Indra, Varuṇa, etc., for temporary relief. No demigod can, however, release the imprisoned living being from the conditioned life of material existence except Viṣṇu. Therefore, the ultimate benefit may be derived from Viṣṇu, the Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 24
पार्थिवादारुणो धूमस्तसादग्निस्वयीमयः । तमसस्तु रजस्तसात्सत्त्वं यद्वत्सदर्शनम् ॥२४॥
pārthivād dāruṇo dhūmas tasmād agnis trayīmayaḥ tamasas tu rajas tasmāt sattvaṁ yad brahma-darśanam
pārthivāt—from earth; dāruṇaḥ—firewood; dhūmaḥ—smoke; tasmāt—from that; agniḥ—fire; trayī—Vedic sacrifices; mayaḥ—made of; tamasaḥ—