Text 22
tāṁ vīkṣya deva iti kanduka-līlayeṣad-
vrīḍāsphuṭa-smita-visṛṣṭa-kaṭākṣa-muṣṭaḥ
strī-prekṣaṇa-pratisamīkṣaṇa-vihvalātmā
nātmānam antika umāṁ sva-gaṇāṁś ca veda
tām — Her; vīkṣya — after observing; devaḥ — Lord Śambhu; iti — in this way; kanduka-līlayā — by playing with the ball; īṣat — slight; vrīḍā — by bashfulness; asphuṭa — not very distinct; smita — with smiling; visṛṣṭa — sent; kaṭākṣa-muṣṭaḥ — defeated by the glances; strī-prekṣaṇa — by glancing at that beautiful woman; pratisamīkṣaṇa — and by constantly being watched by Her; vihvala-ātmā — whose mind was agitated; na — not; ātmānam — himself; antike — (situated) nearby; umām — his wife, mother Umā; sva-gaṇān ca — and his associates; veda — Lord Śiva could understand.
While Lord Śiva observed the beautiful woman playing with the ball, She sometimes glanced at him and slightly smiled in bashfulness. As he looked at the beautiful woman and She watched him, he forgot both himself and Umā, his most beautiful wife, as well as his associates nearby.
The material bondage of this world is that a beautiful woman can captivate a handsome man and that a handsome man can captivate a beautiful woman. Such are the affairs that began when Lord Śiva observed the beautiful girl playing with the ball. In such activities, the influence of Cupid is very prominent. As both parties move their eyebrows and glance at one another, their lusty desires increase more and more. Such reciprocations of lusty desire took place between Lord Śiva and the beautiful woman, even though Umā and Lord Śiva’s associates were by Lord Śiva’s side. Such is the attraction between man and woman in the material world. Lord Śiva was supposed to be above all this attraction, but he was victimized by the captivating power of Lord Viṣṇu. Ṛṣabhadeva thus explains the nature of lusty attraction:
puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ
tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ
ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair
janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti
“The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’” (Bhāg. 5.5.8) When a man and woman exchange feelings of lust, both of them are victimized, and thus they are bound to this material world in various ways.