Devanagari
तां वीक्ष्य देव इति कन्दुकलीलयेषद्-व्रीडास्फुटस्मितविसृष्टकटाक्षमुष्ट:
स्त्रीप्रेक्षणप्रतिसमीक्षणविह्वलात्मानात्मानमन्तिक उमां स्वगणांश्च वेद ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
tāṁ vīkṣya deva iti kanduka-līlayeṣad-
vrīḍāsphuṭa-smita-visṛṣṭa-kaṭākṣa-muṣṭaḥ
strī-prekṣaṇa-pratisamīkṣaṇa-vihvalātmā
nātmānam antika umāṁ sva-gaṇāṁś ca veda
Synonyms
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 .
Translation
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.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As Śiva observed her, he was defeated by the glances she cast and her distinct smile mixed with a slight shyness as she played with the ball. He became fully agitated from gazing at her and from the glances of the woman. He was not even aware of himself, his associates or his wife next to him.
Śiva (devaḥ) lost all sense, his yoga, power and discrimination having been stolen (muṣṭaḥ) by the glance released along with her definite smile indicating her lust and her slight shyness, because of thinking “Some handsome man is looking at me” as she played with the ball in this way (iti). His mind became agitated by gazing at Mohinī and by the glances from her.
Purport
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.