Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.14.27

yasyānavadyācaritaḿ manīṣiṇo

gṛṇanty avidyā-paṭalaḿ bibhitsavaḥ

nirasta-sāmyātiśayo 'pi yat svayaḿ

piśāca-caryām acarad gatiḥ satām

SYNONYMS

yasya — whose; anavadya — unimpeachable; ācaritam — character; manīṣiṇaḥ — great sages; gṛṇanti — follow; avidyā — nescience; paṭalam — mass; bibhitsavaḥ — desiring to dismantle; nirasta — nullified; sāmya — equality; atiśayaḥ — greatness; api — in spite of; yat — as; svayam — personally; piśāca — devil; caryām — activities; acarat — performed; gatiḥ — destination; satām — of the devotees of the Lord.

TRANSLATION

Although no one in the material world is equal to or greater than Lord Śiva, and although his unimpeachable character is followed by great souls to dismantle the mass of nescience, he nevertheless remains as if a devil to give salvation to all devotees of the Lord.

PURPORT

Lord Śiva's uncivilized, devilish characteristics are never abominable because he teaches the sincere devotees of the Lord how to practice detachment from material enjoyment. He is called Mahādeva, or the greatest of all demigods, and no one is equal to or greater than him in the material world. He is almost equal with Lord Viṣṇu. Although he always associates with Māyā, Durgā, he is above the reactionary stage of the three modes of material nature, and although he is in charge of devilish characters in the mode of ignorance, he is not affected by such association.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness