Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 69
विवाहं तत्र कुर्वंतो मिलितास्ते द्विजोत्तमाः । कोटिकन्याकुलं तत्र एकत्रासीन्महोत्सवे । धर्मारण्ये महाप्राज्ञ सत्यं सत्यं वदाम्यहम्
vivāhaṃ tatra kurvaṃto militāste dvijottamāḥ | koṭikanyākulaṃ tatra ekatrāsīnmahotsave | dharmāraṇye mahāprājña satyaṃ satyaṃ vadāmyaham
Tandis que les meilleurs des deux-fois-nés s’y rassemblaient pour célébrer des mariages, lors de la grande fête à Dharmāraṇya, il y avait en un seul lieu une multitude de jeunes filles, par crores. Ô grand sage, je dis la vérité, la vérité.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) [deduced; emphatic ‘satyaṃ satyaṃ vadāmyaham’ is typical narrator emphasis]
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: mahāprajña (addressed) / Bhārata-context
Scene: A panoramic festival scene in Dharmāraṇya: rows of marriage pavilions, priests chanting, lamps and banners, and an immense assembly of maidens and families; the narrator’s emphatic ‘truth, truth’ frames the spectacle.
FAQs
The tīrtha’s greatness is shown through extraordinary auspicious gatherings, where dharmic sacraments flourish on a vast scale.
Dharmāraṇya, depicted as a place capable of hosting immense sacred assemblies and rites.
Vivāha-saṃskāra (marriage sacrament) is explicitly mentioned as being performed there during a mahotsava.