देवदेव महादेव भूतात्मन् भूतभावन ।
त्राहि नः शरणापन्नांस्त्रैलोक्यदहनाद् विषात् ॥२१॥
Å›rÄ«-prajÄpataya Å«cuḥ
deva-deva mahÄ-deva
bhÅ«tÄtman bhÅ«ta-bhÄvana
trÄhi naḥ Å›araṇÄpannÄá¹s
trailokya-dahanÄd viá¹£Ät
Å›rÄ«-prajÄpatayaḥ Å«cuḥ - the prajÄpatis said; deva-deva - O Lord MahÄdeva, best of the demigods; mahÄ-deva - O great demigod; bhÅ«ta-Ätman - O life and soul of everyone in this world; bhÅ«ta-bhÄvana - O the cause of the happiness and flourishing of all of them; trÄhi - deliver; naḥ - us; Å›araṇa-ÄpannÄn - who have taken shelter at your lotus feet; trailokya - of the three worlds; dahanÄt - which is causing the burning; viá¹£Ät - from this poison.
The prajÄpatis said: O greatest of all demigods, MahÄdeva, Supersoul of all living entities and cause of their happiness and prosperity, we have come to the shelter of your lotus feet. Now please save us from this fiery poison, which is spreading all over the three worlds.
Since Lord Åšiva is in charge of annihilation, why should he be approached for protection, which is given by Lord Viṣṇu? Lord BrahmÄ creates, and Lord Åšiva annihilates, but both Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Åšiva are incarnations of Lord Viṣṇu and are known as Å›aktyÄveÅ›a-avatÄras. They are endowed with a special power like that of Lord Viṣṇu, who is actually all-pervading in their activities. Therefore whenever prayers for protection are offered to Lord Åšiva, actually Lord Viṣṇu is indicated, for otherwise Lord Åšiva is meant for destruction. Lord Åšiva is one of the Ä«Å›varas, or the controllers known as Å›aktyÄveÅ›a-avatÄras. Therefore he can be addressed as having the qualities of Lord Viṣṇu.
