Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42
कुशस्थली यथा काशी शूलपाणिश्च भैरवः । यथा वै मुक्तिदो राम धर्मारण्यं तथोत्तमम्
kuśasthalī yathā kāśī śūlapāṇiśca bhairavaḥ | yathā vai muktido rāma dharmāraṇyaṃ tathottamam
كما أنّ كوشَسْثَلي ككاشي، وكما أنّ شُولَپاني حاضرٌ فيها بهيئة بهايرافا؛ وكما أنّ ذلك الموضع حقًّا واهبٌ للمُكْشا، كذلك يا راما فإنّ دارمارانيا أسمى المواضع.
Vasiṣṭha (deduced from context of instruction to Rāma)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Rāma
Scene: A hymn-like tableau: Dharmāraṇya visualized as a forest-kshetra with a shrine of Śūlapāṇi-Bhairava guarding the sacred precinct; the aura evokes Kāśī—liberation, lamps, and solemn guardianship.
FAQs
The Purāṇas establish hierarchies of sacred places to inspire pilgrimage; Dharmāraṇya is praised as mokṣa-bestowing like Kāśī.
Dharmāraṇya, explicitly compared with Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) and Kuśasthalī.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a māhātmya statement asserting the site’s liberating potency.