Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तत्र चैव रमन्तीमे भूतसंघा: शुचिस्मिते । न च भूतगणैर्देवि विनाहं वस्तुमुत्सहे,पवित्र मुसकानवाली देवि! ये मेरे भूतगण श्मशानमें ही रमते हैं। इन भूतगणोंके बिना मैं कहीं भी रह नहीं सकता
tatra caiva ramantī me bhūtasaṅghāḥ śucismite | na ca bhūtagaṇair devi vināhaṃ vastum utsahe ||
ພຣະມະເຫສະວະຣະກ່າວວ່າ: “ຢູ່ທີ່ນັ້ນແຕ່ຜູ້ດຽວ—ໂອ ເທວີຜູ້ມີຮອຍຍິ້ມບໍລິສຸດອ່ອນໂຍນ—ຝູງສັດພູດຂອງຂ້າພະເຈົ້າຈຶ່ງຍິນດີຢູ່ອາໄສ. ແລະ ໂອ ເທວີ, ຖ້າຂາດຝູງວິນຍານເຫຼົ່ານີ້ ຂ້າພະເຈົ້າບໍ່ມີໃຈຈະຢູ່ທີ່ໃດເລີຍ.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights Śiva’s inseparability from his bhūta-gaṇas—beings associated with liminal, fearsome spaces—suggesting an ethic of inclusion and transcendence of social notions of purity/impurity: the divine embraces even those on the margins.
Śiva addresses Devī with the epithet “śucismitā” and explains that his attendant hosts delight in that particular place (implied by context as a cremation-ground/liminal abode), and that he is unwilling to dwell elsewhere without them.