Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 73
श्मशानं चापि संसारस्तद्वासी कृपयार्थिनाम् । भूतयः कथिता भूतिस्तां बिभर्ति स भूतिभृत्
śmaśānaṃ cāpi saṃsārastadvāsī kṛpayārthinām | bhūtayaḥ kathitā bhūtistāṃ bibharti sa bhūtibhṛt
Ce monde errant du saṃsāra est lui-même un champ de crémation ; là, Il demeure pour ceux qui implorent la compassion. On dit que « Bhūti » est la multitude des êtres ; Il porte cette bhūti, c’est pourquoi on Le nomme Bhūtibhṛt, le Porteur de Bhūti.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), deduced for Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration
Tirtha: Śmaśāna (archetypal) / Bhūtapati-sthāna (conceptual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Brāhmaṇa (bhāṣiṣṭha)
Scene: A cremation-ground that subtly morphs into the whole world: pyres become city lights, skulls become mountains, smoke becomes clouds. Śiva sits in compassionate stillness, ash-smeared, surrounded by bhūta-gaṇas who appear as redeemed attendants; a seeker approaches in sorrow and finds refuge.
FAQs
Seeing saṃsāra as impermanent like a cremation-ground turns the mind toward Śiva, who grants refuge and compassion.
No named tīrtha appears; the verse uses the śmaśāna motif associated broadly with Śaiva sacred culture.
None directly; the verse explains the epithet Bhūtibhṛt through symbolic theology.