Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16
यम उवाच । यदि तुष्टोऽसि देवेश वांछितं कुरुषे यदि । धर्मारण्ये महापुण्ये ऋषीणामाश्रमान्कुरु
yama uvāca | yadi tuṣṭo'si deveśa vāṃchitaṃ kuruṣe yadi | dharmāraṇye mahāpuṇye ṛṣīṇāmāśramānkuru
ಯಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ನೀನು ತೃಪ್ತನಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ, ಹೇ ದೇವೇಶ, ನನ್ನ ವಾಂಛೆಯನ್ನು ನೆರವೇರಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ, ಈ ಮಹಾಪುಣ್ಯ ಧರ್ಮಾರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಋಷಿಗಳ ಆಶ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸು.
Yama
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Scene: Yama requests Viṣṇu: if pleased, establish hermitages for sages in the supremely meritorious Dharmāraṇya—an appeal for dharmic infrastructure.
FAQs
A tīrtha’s glory is sustained by the presence of sages, whose āśramas preserve dharma and sanctify the land.
Dharmāraṇya, described as “mahāpuṇya” and worthy of being adorned with ṛṣi-āśramas.
The prescription is institutional: establish sages’ hermitages (āśramas), enabling Vedic life, yajña, and dharma-practice.