rudra-rÅ«pa dhari' kare jagat saá¹hÄra
sṛṣá¹i-sthiti-pralaya — icchÄya yÄá¹…hÄra
rudra-rÅ«pa - the form of Lord Åšiva; dhari' - accepting; kare - does; jagat saá¹hÄra - annihilation of the material world; sṛṣá¹i-sthiti-pralaya - creation, maintenance and annihilation; icchÄya - by the will; yÄá¹…hÄra - of whom.
Assuming the form of Rudra, He destroys the creation. Thus creation, maintenance and dissolution are created by His will.
MaheÅ›vara, or Lord Åšiva, is not an ordinary living being, nor is he equal to Lord Viṣṇu. Effectively comparing Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Åšiva, the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ says that Viṣṇu is like milk, whereas Åšiva is like yogurt. Yogurt is nothing like milk, but nevertheless it is milk also.
