Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
तत्र स्थाने पुरा पार्थ देवदेवेन शूलिना । उद्धूलनं कृतं गात्रे तेन भूतीश्वरं तु तत्
tatra sthāne purā pārtha devadevena śūlinā | uddhūlanaṃ kṛtaṃ gātre tena bhūtīśvaraṃ tu tat
«في ذلك الموضع بعينه قديمًا، يا بارثا، قام ربّ الأرباب، حاملُ الشُّولة (الرمح الثلاثي)، بتلطيخ جسده بالرماد المقدّس؛ لذلك سُمّي ذلك المكان حقًّا بُهوتيشڤارا».
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Bhūtīśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārtha-addressed interlocutor (as per vocative) / king in the frame narrative
Scene: Śiva, trident-bearing, performs uddhūlana—smearing sacred ash across His body—at the very spot that becomes Bhūtīśvara; the ground glows with sanctity as sages witness the act.
FAQs
Śaiva practices like bhasma (sacred ash) are sanctified by divine precedent, making the place and the ritual mutually glorifying.
The Bhūtīśvara site, whose sanctity is tied to Śiva’s act of applying sacred ash.
Uddhūlana—applying sacred ash (bhasma) to the body—presented as a consecrated Śaiva observance.