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
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ദേവന്മാർ ‘ധർമ്മാരണ്യം’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ ഇതിനെ എപ്പോൾ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിച്ചു? ഈ പാവനസ്ഥലം ഭൂതലത്തിൽ ഏതു കാരണത്താൽ ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചു, ഏതു ഹേതുവാൽ നിർമ്മിക്കപ്പെട്ടു?
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.