Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

कौमोदकीकराः सर्वे पक्षिणो गरुडध्वजाः । शुभे विष्णुपुरे विष्णुर्जायते तत्र मानवाः

Transliteration

kaumodakīkarāḥ sarve pakṣiṇo garuḍadhvajāḥ | śubhe viṣṇupure viṣṇurjāyate tatra mānavāḥ

Translation

Tous deviennent porteurs de la massue Kaumodakī; et les oiseaux portent la marque de l’étendard de Garuḍa. Dans cette cité auspicious de Viṣṇu, les humains naissent avec la nature et la destinée de Viṣṇu.

Word by Word

• kaumodakīkarāḥ: Holding the Kaumodaki mace in hand
• kaumodakīkarāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaumodakīkara (kaumodakī-kara)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• sarve: All
• sarve: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• pakṣiṇaḥ: Birds
• pakṣiṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• garuḍadhvajāḥ: Having Garuda as emblem
• garuḍadhvajāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garuḍadhvaja (garuḍa-dhvaja)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• śubhe: Auspicious
• śubhe: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• viṣṇupure: In the city of Vishnu
• viṣṇupure: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇupura (viṣṇu-pura)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• viṣṇuḥ: Vishnu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• jāyate: Is born/Becomes
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: Lat Lakara (Present), Atmanepada, Prathama Purusha (3rd), Singular

• tatra: There
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of Place

• mānavāḥ: Humans/Men
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa dialogue style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupura (Ayodhyā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Ayodhyā/Viṣṇupura suffused with Viṣṇu’s presence; beings appear with Vaiṣṇava emblems—mace-bearing forms, Garuḍa-banner motifs on birds—suggesting the city’s transfiguring sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Kaumodakī
• Garuḍa
• Viṣṇupura (Ayodhyā context)
• Svargadvāra (context continuation)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with Viṣṇu’s sacred city elevates beings toward Viṣṇu’s attributes, identity, and realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā as Viṣṇupura, in the ongoing praise connected to Svargadvāra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse uses Vaiṣṇava iconography (Kaumodakī, Garuḍa) to describe the fruit of proximity.