Shmashana
A śmaśāna is a Hindu crematory ground, where dead bodies are brought to be burnt on a pyre. It is usually located near a river or body of water on the outskirts of a village or town; as they are usually located near river ghats they are also called "smashan ghat". The word has its origin from Sanskrit language: "shma" refers to "shava" ("corpse"), while "shana" refers to "shanya" ("bed"). The other Indian religions like Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism also use "śmaśāna" for the last rites of the dead. Hinduism. As per Hindu rites, the dead body is brought  to śmaśāna for "Antim Sanskar" (last rites). At the cremation ground, the chief mourner has to obtain the sacred fire from the Dom caste, who reside by the śmaśāna and light funeral pyres ("chita") for a fee. Various Hindu scriptures also give details of how to select the site of śmaśāna: it should be on the northern side of the village with land sloping towards the south, it should be near a river or a source of water and should not be visible from a distance. Dead bodies are traditionally cremated on a funeral pyre usually made of wood. However , nowadays in many cities of India there are electric or gas based furnaces used in indoor crematoria. Early Buddhism. In the Pali Canon discourses, Gautama Buddha frequently instructs his disciples to seek out a secluded dwelling (in a forest, under the shade of a tree, mountain, glen, hillside cave, charnel ground, jungle grove, in the open, or on a heap of straw). The Vinaya and Sutrayana tradition of the "Nine Cemetery Contemplations" (Pali: "nava sīvathikā-manasikāra") described in the "Satipatthana Sutta" demonstrate that charnel ground and cemetery meditations were part of the ascetic practices in Early Buddhism. 'Cemetery contemplations', as  described in "Mahasatipatthana Sutta" (DN: 22) and the "Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta" (MN: 10): Spiritual role. The śmaśāna is said to be abode of ghosts, evil spirits, fierce deities, tantrics. Therefore, people in general prefer to avoid going near śmaśāna at night. Per Hindu rituals women do not go to śmaśāna, only males go to śmaśāna to perform last rites. Only the Doms and Chandalas reside in or near śmaśāna. Śmaśāna is a place, where followers of Vamamarga like Aghori, Kapalika, Kashmiri Shaivism, Kaula of now scarce Indian tantric traditions do sadahna (for example Shava sadhana) and rituals to worship Kali, Tara , Bhairav, Bhairavi, Dakini, Vetal, etc. invoke occult powers within them. Śmaśāna is also used for similar purpose by followers of Tibetan Buddhist traditions of Vajrayana, Dzogchen for sadhna of Chöd, Phowa, Zhitro, etc. The deity called Shmashana Adhipati is usually considered to be lord of Śmaśāna. There are also cases of sattvic worship on śmaśān. For example, Shailendra Sharma, a realized yogin, has been living on a śmaśān near the Govardhan hill since 1993. He found and installed a natural shivalingam there and began to perform daily puja of Shiva worshipping.