Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 155
तस्मिन्वने सप्तमहाद्रुमास्तु सप्तैव नद्यश्च फलानि सप्त । सप्ताश्रमाः सप्त समाधयश्च दीक्षाश्च सप्तैतदरण्यरूपम्
tasminvane saptamahādrumāstu saptaiva nadyaśca phalāni sapta | saptāśramāḥ sapta samādhayaśca dīkṣāśca saptaitadaraṇyarūpam
त्या वनात सात महावृक्ष आहेत, सात नद्या आणि सात प्रकारची फळे आहेत. सात आश्रम, सात समाधी आणि सात दीक्षा—हेच या पवित्र अरण्याचे स्वरूप आहे.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Tirtha: Sapta-araṇya (implied)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sacred forest laid out like a mandala: seven towering trees in a heptagonal arrangement; seven rivers flowing outward; seven fruit-bearing groves; seven hermitages with sages; above them, seven luminous ‘samādhi’ halos; seven initiation fires/altars marking dīkṣā stations.
FAQs
A holy place is mapped as a complete spiritual ecosystem—nature, practice, and initiation together shape liberation-oriented life.
Vidyāvana, portrayed as a sanctified forest whose inner ‘topography’ is defined by sacred sevens.
Dīkṣā (initiation) and samādhi (deep meditation) are highlighted as integral to the forest’s dharmic character.