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 ||
म्हणून सर्व निवासस्थानांमध्ये माझे मन सर्वाधिक स्मशानातच रमते. ते स्मशान वडाच्या फांद्यांनी आच्छादित असते आणि मृतांच्या देहावरून तुटून पडलेल्या, भग्न पुष्पमाळांनी विभूषित असते.
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.