Places

Across Bhārata the Purāṇas and Itihāsas name tīrthas and kshetras where devas, ṛshis and kings did tapas, where Bhagavān Śiva, Bhagavān Vishṇu or Devī dwell, and where a bath, a rite or a death brings great merit.

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the city of Bhagavān Śiva, holds a great many tīrthas and liṅgas within its bounds.

The Setu Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa describes the tīrthas around Rāmasetu, on the Gandhamādana mountain and the shore of the southern ocean, where Bhagavān Rāma crossed to Laṅkā.

Veṅkaṭācala, the mountain of Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa, holds many tīrthas.

Kurukshetra and the banks of the Sarasvatī river hold a long line of tīrthas, visited by Balarāma on his pilgrimage in the Śalya Parva and listed in the Saro Māhātmya of the Vāmana Purāṇa.

The Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa praises the Śābhramatī river and the tīrthas and liṅgas along its banks.

Utkala, on the eastern shore, is the land of Purushottama Kshetra, where Bhagavān Jagannātha dwells, and of the kshetras of Ekāmra, Koṇāraka and Virajā.

Guptakshetra is the sacred land around the meeting of the Mahī river and the western sea.

The rivers of Bhārata are devīs as well as waters, and the Purāṇas tell how each came down to earth and what bathing in it gives.

Mountains such as Kailāsa and Govardhana and forests such as Naimiśāraṇya and Daṇḍakāraṇya are the setting of many narratives of the Itihāsas and Purāṇas.

The Itihāsas and Purāṇas tell of the capitals and kingdoms of the great dynasties, the cities of asuras and rākshasas, and the lands the heroes passed through.

Beyond the lands of Bhārata the Purāṇas describe the other varshas of Jambū Dvīpa, the outer dvīpas, and the lokas above and below the earth.