Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 12
हर उवाच । धर्मारण्ये सुरपते ब्रह्महत्या न पीडयेत् । हत्या गवां द्विजातीनां बालस्य योषितामपि
hara uvāca | dharmāraṇye surapate brahmahatyā na pīḍayet | hatyā gavāṃ dvijātīnāṃ bālasya yoṣitāmapi
Hara dit : «Ô seigneur des dieux, dans Dharmāraṇya l’affliction de Brahmahatyā n’opprime point. Même le péché né du meurtre des vaches, des dvija (deux-fois-nés), d’un enfant ou d’une femme n’y demeure pas».
Śiva (Hara)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Listener: Surapति/Devendra (Indra)
Scene: Śiva declares the extraordinary power of Dharmāraṇya; the forest seems luminous—trees, waters, and air subtly radiate sanctity; Indra’s face shifts from fear to relief.
FAQs
A sanctified place (kṣetra) empowered by divine will can neutralize even grave karmic burdens when approached with reverence and purity.
Dharmāraṇya is explicitly glorified as a kṣetra where severe sins do not afflict the devotee.
Implicitly, seeking refuge in the kṣetra; the explicit instruction to enter and bathe is given in the next verse.