Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 7
अहो विष्णुरहो तीर्थमयोध्याऽहो महापुरी । अहो माहात्म्यमतुलं किं न श्लाघ्यमिहास्थितम्
aho viṣṇuraho tīrthamayodhyā'ho mahāpurī | aho māhātmyamatulaṃ kiṃ na ślāghyamihāsthitam
آه يا فيشنو! آه يا تيرثا المقدّس! آه يا أيودھيا، يا المدينة العظمى! آه لمجدٍ لا نظير له! ما الذي هنا لا يستحقّ الثناء؟
Agastya (quoting the brāhmaṇa/Dharma in narrative)
Tirtha: Ayodhyā-mahāpurī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee (Dharma) stands in Ayodhyā with uplifted arms, repeatedly exclaiming ‘aho’; the city’s temples and banners respond as if alive, with Viṣṇu symbols shimmering in the air.
FAQs
When a place is permeated by Viṣṇu and tīrtha-power, every aspect of it becomes worthy of reverence and praise.
Ayodhyā as a whole—praised as mahāpurī and tīrtha—is glorified.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse functions as a devotional hymn (stuti) celebrating Ayodhyā’s māhātmya.