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 ||
那罗陀说道：“无瑕者啊，没有比火葬场更清净的地方。因为人们不常出入其间，所以它被记为最清净之所。 爱者啊，我把居处安置在那里，因为它被称为‘勇士之地’。虽是可怖之处，充满数百骷髅，于我却显得美丽。 有既定之规：求长寿者，或在仪轨上不净者，不应在正午、两次暮晓之际，或当由鲁陀罗主宰的阿尔德拉（Ārdrā）星宿当令时前往。 除我之外，无人能摧灭由鬼灵所生的恐惧。因此我住于火葬场，日复一日护持一切众生。 凭我的命令，诸鬼众在此世不得杀害任何人。为世间福祉，我使他们欢喜而受约束，安住于火葬场之内。 我已将这一切告知于你——你还想听什么？”
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.