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
یہ بھٹکتا ہوا سنسار ہی شمشان ہے؛ وہ کرپا کے طالبوں کے لیے وہیں وِہارتا ہے۔ ‘بھوتی’ سے مراد بھوت گن ہیں؛ وہ اسی بھوتی کو دھارتا ہے، اسی لیے وہ ‘بھوتِبھرت’ کہلاتا ہے۔
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.