Shloka 17
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तेन मे सर्ववासानां श्मशाने रमते मन: । न्यग्रोधशाखासंछन्ने निर्भुग्नस्रग्विभूषिते
tena me sarvavāsānāṁ śmaśāne ramate manaḥ | nyagrodhaśākhāsaṁchannē nirbhugnasragvibhūṣite ||
Darum erfreut sich mein Geist unter allen Wohnstätten am meisten am Verbrennungsplatz. Jener Ort ist vom Geäst eines Banyanbaumes beschattet und geschmückt mit Kränzen, die von den Leibern der Toten herabgefallen und zerbrochen sind — ein Sinnbild der Loslösung und der Wahrheit der Vergänglichkeit.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights vairāgya (dispassion): the cremation-ground, with its stark reminders of death and decay, becomes a preferred place for contemplation because it exposes the impermanence of beauty, status, and bodily identity.
Maheśvara speaks about his own inclination: among all residences, his mind rests most in the śmaśāna, described as shaded by banyan branches and ornamented by broken garlands fallen from corpses—imagery that underscores his ascetic, world-transcending nature.