Shloka 20
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
(अस्माच्छमशानमेध्यं तु नास्ति किंचिदनिन्दिते । निस्सम्पातान्मनुष्याणां तस्माच्छुचितमं स्मृतम् ।।
nārada uvāca |
asmāc chmaśānam edhyaṃ tu nāsti kiñcid anindite |
niḥsampātān manuṣyāṇāṃ tasmāc chucitamaṃ smṛtam ||
sthānaṃ me tatra vihitaṃ vīrasthānam iti priye |
kapālaśatasampūrṇam amabhirūpaṃ bhayānakam ||
madhyāhne sandhyayor vāpi nakṣatre rudradaivate |
āyuṣkāmair aśuddhair vā na gantavyam iti sthitiḥ ||
madanyena na śakyaṃ hi nihantuṃ bhūtajaṃ bhayam |
tatrastho 'haṃ prajāḥ sarvāḥ pālayāmi dine dine ||
manniyogād bhūtasaṅghā na ca ghnantīha kañcana |
tāṃs tu lokahitārthāya śmaśāne ramayāmy aham ||
etat te sarvam ākhyātaṃ kiṃ bhūyaḥ śrotum icchasi ||
अस्माच्छ्मशानमेध्यं तु नास्ति किञ्चिदनिन्दिते । निःस्सम्पातान्मनुष्याणां तस्माच्छुचितमं स्मृतम् ॥ स्थानं मे तत्र विहितं वीरस्थानमिति प्रिये । कपालशतसम्पूर्णममभिरूपं भयानकम् ॥ मध्याह्ने संध्ययोस्तत्र नक्षत्रे रुद्रदैवते । आयुष्कामैरशुद्धैर्वा न गन्तव्यमिति स्थितिः ॥ मदन्येन न शक्यं हि निहन्तुं भूतजं भयम् । तत्रस्थोऽहं प्रजाः सर्वाः पालयामि दिने दिने ॥ मन्नियोगाद्भूतसंघा न च घ्नन्तीह कञ्चन । तांस्तु लोकहितार्थाय श्मशाने रमयाम्यहम् ॥ एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं किं भूयः श्रोतुमिच्छसि ॥
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage reframes the cremation-ground as a paradoxically supreme purifier: because it is shunned and free from worldly traffic, it becomes a locus of austerity and truth. It also presents a protective ethic—spirit-forces are not denied, but regulated by divine command so that the world remains safe and ordered.
Nārada reports a discourse in which the deity explains why he abides in the cremation-ground, why it is called a ‘heroes’ place, and what restrictions apply to visiting it (midday, twilights, and during Ārdrā). He asserts that only he can neutralize spirit-born fear and that, by his ordinance, the hosts of spirits are kept from harming people and are confined there for the world’s welfare.