Utpalāvatatīrtha (Utpalavatatirtha) is a sacred woodland and site of pilgrimage, as described in Vanaparva of Mahābhārata (Mahabharata). Since it is a forest, in describing the glory of Tīrtha(s) (Tirthas or sights of pilgrimage) in Anuśāsanaparva (Anusasanaparva), it is referred to as Utpalāvana (Utpalavana).
In Vanaparva it is described that once the great sage Viśvāmitra (Visvamitra) arranged for a yajña (Yajna) with large amount of gifts in Utpalāvana (Utpalavana). The great sage Paraśurāma (Parasurama) attained this yajña (yajna) . He praised Viśvāmitra’s yajñ (Visvamitra’s yajna) a lot. Taking a birth and performing Pitṛtarpaṇa (Pitritarpana), one may achieve the fruit of Aśvamedha yajña (Asvamedha yajna), as described in Anuśasanaparva (Anusasanaparva) of Mahābhārata (Mahabharata).

According to N.L.Dey, the place called Viṭhura, fourteen miles away from Kanpur in Uttarpradesh, is the ancient Utpalāvata (Utpalavarta) or Utpalāraṇya (Utpalaranya). The location of Kanpur matches with that of ancient Southern Pañcāla (Pancala). It is to be noted that ancient Pañcāla (Pancala) also denotes the Upper Gangetic Plain. Thus there is no doubt about the location of Viṭhura as the ancient Utpalāraṇya (Utpalaranya). Considering this, Dey has written that the hermitage of the poet-sage Vālmīki (Valmiki) was in this place. In this hermitage, Sītā (Sita) gave birth to Lava and Kuśa (Kusa). Since in Rāmāyaṇa (Ramayana), it is said that Vālmīki’s (Valmiki’s) hermitage was situated near the rivers, Gaṅgā (Ganga) and Tamasā (Tamasa), but there is no indication whether the place was near Pañcāla (Pancala). But analysing the chain of events in Rāmāyaṇa (Ramayana), we may find the validity of N.L.Dey’s opinion, though there was no direct proof. The river Tamasā (Tamasa) is a sub-flow of the river Gaṅgā (Ganga), on its right side, which joins Gaṅgā (Ganga) at Pratiṣṭhānapura (Pratishthanapura), or near modern Allahabad.This is not  very far from Kanpur. In Rāmāyaṇa (Ramayana) it is said that while taking Sītā (Sita) to vanavāsa (vanavasa), Lakṣmaṇa(Lakshmana) set out from Ayodhyā (Ayodhya) and reached the bank of Gaṅgā (Ganga), and left Sītā (Sita) there in the woodland.The river Tamasā (Tamasa) and Vālmīki’s (Valmiki’s) hermitage were very close by. When Śatrughna (Satrughna) set out to conquer Mathurā (Mathura), he also came to this place, crossing the Gaṅgā (Ganga) . It was the rainy season and the evening had descended. Moreover, there was a dense forest in front of them. So Śatrughna (Satrughna) decided to spend the night in Vālmīki’s (Valmiki’s) hermitage-grove, and heard the news of the birth of Sītā’s (Sita’s) two sons. This woodland was possibly extended up to Pañcāla (Pancala), because Śatrughna (Satrughna) was travelling through the forest from Vālmīki’s (Valmiki’s) hermitage-grove to the bank of Yamunā (Yamuna), and taking shelter at night in the hermitages of several hermits and sages. In Mahābhārata (Mahabharata), this large forest-region is called Utpalāvana (Utpalavana), situated near Pañcāla (Pancala).

In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (Markandeya Purana), the story of the king Uttama was mentioned while describing the birth of Outtama Manu. This Uttama ruled in Pratiṣṭhānapura (Pratishthanapura). Utpalāvana (Utpalavana) was near it. It was very clear from Rāmāyana (Ramayana) that Utpalāvana (Utpalavana) was near Pratiṣṭhānapura (Pratishthanapura) or modern Allahabad. But the problem is that the capital of the King Uttānapāda (Uttanapada), the father of the King Uttama, was indicated as Brahmāvarta (Brahmavarta), as we know that the land between Saraswatī (Saraswati) and Dṛṣdvatī (Drishdvati) or Kurukṣetra (Kurukshetra) is known as Brahmāvarta (Brahmavarta). But the scholar N. L. Dey commented that Brahmāvarta (Brahmavarta) which was the state ruled by Uttānapāda (Uttanapada) and Uttama, was not at all synonymous with Kurukṣetra (Kurukshetra). This is a place near the region of Vithura. One of the banks of the river Gaṅgā (Ganga) is also named by this place.