Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 7
हिरण्यनेत्रस्य तपः — Hiraṇyanetra’s Austerity and the Boon
स्नाय्वस्थिशेषं कुणपं तदासौ क्षयं गतं शोणितमेव सर्वम् । यदास्य मांसानि न संति देहं प्रक्षेप्तुकामस्तु हुताशनाय
snāyvasthiśeṣaṃ kuṇapaṃ tadāsau kṣayaṃ gataṃ śoṇitameva sarvam | yadāsya māṃsāni na saṃti dehaṃ prakṣeptukāmastu hutāśanāya
Then that corpse became nothing but sinews and bones; all its blood had been exhausted. When no flesh remained on his body, he desired to cast the body into the sacrificial fire.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Bhairava
FAQs
It stresses the perishability of the physical body—reduced to bones and sinews—encouraging vairāgya (detachment) and turning the mind toward Pati (Śiva) rather than the transient body (paśu).
By contrasting the decaying body with the ever-present Lord, it supports Linga-worship as contemplation of Śiva’s enduring reality (Saguna support for the mind) leading toward realization beyond bodily identification.
A practical takeaway is śmaśāna-smṛti (reflection on death) paired with japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and, where appropriate, the use of bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder of impermanence and devotion to Śiva.