Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 72
नारद उवाच । श्रुता व्यासमुखाद्धर्म्म धर्मारण्यकथा शुभा । तत्सर्वं हि कथय मे विस्तीर्णं च यथातथम्
nārada uvāca | śrutā vyāsamukhāddharmma dharmāraṇyakathā śubhā | tatsarvaṃ hi kathaya me vistīrṇaṃ ca yathātatham
നാരദൻ പറഞ്ഞു—വ്യാസമുനിയുടെ മുഖത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ധർമാരണ്യത്തിന്റെ ശുഭകഥ ഞാൻ ശ്രവിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. അതെല്ലാം യഥാതഥമായി, വിശദമായി എനിക്ക് പറയുക.
Nārada
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya
Type: kshetra
Scene: Nārada, vīṇā in hand, respectfully addresses the narrator, recalling that he heard the Dharmāraṇya account from Vyāsa and requesting a complete retelling.
FAQs
Sincere inquiry and faithful transmission of sacred history (kathā) are themselves dharmic acts that preserve and spread merit.
Dharmāraṇya (the “Forest of Dharma”), introduced as an auspicious sacred landscape whose greatness will be narrated.
No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse frames the request for a complete, accurate recounting of the māhātmya.