Devanagari
तस्यासौ पदवीं रुद्रो विष्णोरद्भुतकर्मण:
प्रत्यपद्यत कामेन वैरिणेव विनिर्जित: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
tasyāsau padavīṁ rudro
viṣṇor adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ
pratyapadyata kāmena
vairiṇeva vinirjitaḥ
Synonyms
tasya
—
of He who is the Supreme Lord
;
asau
—
Lord Śiva
;
padavīm
—
the place
;
rudraḥ
—
Lord Śiva
;
viṣṇoḥ
—
of Lord Viṣṇu
;
adbhuta
—
karmaṇaḥ — of He who acts very wonderfully
;
pratyapadyata
—
began to follow
;
kāmena
—
by lusty desire
;
vairiṇā iva
—
as if by an enemy
;
vinirjitaḥ
—
being harassed .
Translation
As if harassed by an enemy in the form of lusty desires, Lord Śiva followed the path of Lord Viṣṇu, who acts very wonderfully and who had taken the form of Mohinī.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As if harassed by an enemy in the form of lust, Lord Śiva followed after Viṣṇu, who acts in an astonishing way.
The word “as if” indicate that in reality Śiva was not conquered by lust.
Purport
Lord Śiva cannot be victimized by
māyā.
Therefore it is to be understood that Lord Śiva was being thus harassed by Lord Viṣṇu’s internal potency. Lord Viṣṇu can perform many wonderful activities through His various potencies.
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svābhāvikī jṣāna-bala-kriyā ca
(
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8
)
The Supreme Lord has various potencies, by which He can act very efficiently. To do anything expertly, He doesn’t even need to contemplate. Since Lord Śiva was being harassed by the woman, it is to be understood that this was being done not by a woman but by Lord Viṣṇu Himself.