भवानीनाथैः स्त्रीगणार्बुदसहस्रैरवरुध्यमानो भगवतश्चतुर्मूर्तेर्महापुरुषस्य तुरीयां तामसीं मूर्तिं प्रकृतिमात्मनः सङ्कर्षणसंज्ञामात्मसमाधिरूपेण सन्निधाप्यैतदभिगृणन्भव उपधावति. ॥ १६ ॥
bhavani-nathaih stri-ganarbuda-sahasrair avarudhyamano bhagavatas
catur-murter maha-purusasya turiyam tamasim murtim prakrtim
atmanah saṅkarsana-samjnam atma-samadhi-rupena sannidhapyaitad
abhigrnan bhava upadhavati.
bhavani-nathaih-by the company of Bhavani; stri-gana-of females; arbuda-sahasraih-by ten billion; avarudhyamanah-always being served; bhagavatah catuh-murteh-the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is expanded in four; maha-purusasya-of the Supreme Person; turiyam-the fourth expansion; tamasim-related to the mode of ignorance; murtim-the form; prakrtim-as the source; atmanah-of himself (Lord Siva); saṅkarsana-samjnam-known as Saṅkarsana; atma-samadhi-rupena-by meditating upon Him in trance; sannidhapya-bringing Him near; etat-this; abhigrnan-clearly chanting; bhavah-Lord Siva; upadhavati-worships.
In Ilavrta-varsa, Lord Siva is always encircled by ten billion maidservants of goddess Durga, who minister to him. The quadruple expansion of the Supreme Lord is composed of Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarsana. Saṅkarsana, the fourth expansion, is certainly transcendental, but because his activities of destruction in the material world are in the mode of ignorance, He is known as tamasi, the Lord's form in the mode of ignorance. Lord Siva knows that Saṅkarsana is the original cause of his own existence, and thus he always meditates upon Him in trance by chanting the following mantra.
Sometimes we see a picture of Lord Siva engaged in meditation. This verse explains that Lord Siva is always meditating upon Lord Saṅkarsana in trance. Lord Siva is in charge of the destruction of the material world. Lord Brahma creates the material world, Lord Visnu maintains it, and Lord Siva destroys it. Because destruction is in the mode of ignorance, Lord Siva and his worshipable Deity, Saṅkarsana, are technically called tamasi. Lord Siva is the incarnation of tamo-guna. Since both Lord Siva and Saṅkarsana are always enlightened and situated in the transcendental position, they have nothing to do with the modes of material nature-goodness, passion and ignorance-but because their activities involve them with the mode of ignorance, they are sometimes called tamasi.