Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23
युधिष्ठिर उवाच । धर्मारण्येति त्रिदशैः कदा नाम प्रतिष्ठितम् । पावनं भूतले जातं कस्मात्तेन विनिर्मितम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | dharmāraṇyeti tridaśaiḥ kadā nāma pratiṣṭhitam | pāvanaṃ bhūtale jātaṃ kasmāttena vinirmitam
যুধিষ্ঠিৰে ক’লে: “ত্রিদশ দেৱতাসকলে ‘ধৰ্মাৰণ্য’ নামে কেতিয়া প্ৰতিষ্ঠা কৰিলে? পৃথিৱীত এই পাৱন স্থান কিয় জন্মিল, আৰু কিহৰ বাবে ই নিৰ্মিত হ’ল?”
Yudhiṣṭhira
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Court/āśrama dialogue: Yudhiṣṭhira seated respectfully, hands in añjali, asking a sage/narrator about Dharmāraṇya’s founding; behind them, a symbolic vision of devas establishing a forest-kshetra on earth.
FAQs
Sacred geography is rooted in divine establishment and purpose; understanding a tīrtha’s origin deepens faith and right practice.
Dharmāraṇya—specifically its divine naming, establishment, and origin on earth.
None; this verse introduces an inquiry that typically precedes the tīrtha’s origin narrative and associated rites.