SHIVA & PARVATI
Artist: Dhriti
Dasi
Lord Shiva is one of the guna avatars, who
is in charge of the mode of ignorance. Lord Vishnu is in charge of the mode of goodness, and Lord Brahma is in charge of the
mode of passion. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 12th canto he is referred to as the greatest
vaishnava. His instructions to the Pracetas in the fourth canto of the Bhagavatam helped them achieve perfection in Krishna consciousness. When Lord Vishnu glances over material
nature and impregnates the living entities, that glance is Lord Shiva. Shiva is not a jiva
nor is he Vishnu tattva. He is in a category of his own. His wife, Parvati, is the
personification of the material energy. She keeps the living entities in this world bewildered by her powerful energy. Only
those who take shelter of Lord Krishna can transcend her grasp. As stated in the Gita,
"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who
have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." (B.g. 7.14)