Texts 14-15]
Dakṣa Curses Lord Śiva
59
matto matta-jana-priyaḥ patiḥ pramatha-nāthānāṁ tamo-mātrātmakātmanām
preta-āvāseṣu—at the burning places of dead bodies; ghoreṣu—horrible; pretaiḥ—by the pretas; bhūta-gaṇaiḥ—by the bhūtas; vṛtaḥ—accompanied by; aṭati—he wanders; unmattavat—like a madman; nagnaḥ—naked; vyupta-keśaḥ—having scattered hair; hasan—laughing; rudan—crying; citā—of the funeral pyre; bhasma—with the ashes; kṛta-snānaḥ—taking bath; preta—of the skulls of dead bodies; srak—having a garland; nṛ-asthi-bhūṣaṇaḥ—ornamented with dead men's bones; śiva-apadeśaḥ—who is śiva, or auspicious, only in name; hi—for; aśivaḥ—in-auspicious; mattaḥ—crazy; matta-jana-priyaḥ—very dear to the crazy beings; patiḥ—the leader; pramatha-nāthānāṁ—of the lords of the pramathas; tamaḥ-mātra-ātmaka-ātmanām—of those grossly in the modes of ignorance.
TRANSLATION
He lives in filthy places like crematoriums, and his companions are the ghosts and demons. Naked like a madman, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, he smears crematorium ashes all over his body. He does not bathe regularly, and he ornaments his body with a garland of skulls and bones. Therefore only in name is he Śiva, or auspicious; actually, he is the most mad and inauspicious creature. Thus he is very dear to crazy beings who are in the gross mode of ignorance, and he is their leader.
PURPORT
Those who do not regularly bathe are supposed to be in association with ghosts and crazy creatures. Lord Śiva appeared to be like that, but his name, Śiva, is actually fitting, for he is very kind to persons who are in the darkness of the mode of ignorance, such as unclean drunkards who do not regularly bathe. Lord Śiva is so kind that he gives shelter to such creatures and gradually elevates them to spiritual consciousness. Although it is very difficult to raise such creatures to spiritual understanding, Lord Śiva takes charge of them, and therefore, as stated in the  Vedas , Lord Śiva is all-auspicious. Thus by his association even such fallen souls can be elevated. Sometimes it is seen that great personalities meet with fallen souls, not for any personal interest but for the benefit of those souls. In the creation of the Lord there are different kinds of living creatures. Some of them are in the mode of goodness, some are in the mode of passion, and