![Ayodhya Nagri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Ayodhya_Nagri.jpg)
Ayodhya is a legendary city mentioned in the ancient
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
-language texts, including the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' and the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''. These texts describe it as the capital of the
Ikshvaku kings, including
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
.
The historicity of this legendary city is of concern to the
Ayodhya dispute
The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical, and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The issues revolve around the control of a site traditionally regarded among Hindus to be the ...
. According to one theory, it is same as the present-day
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
city. According to another theory, it is a fictional city, and the present-day Ayodhya (originally called Saketa) was renamed after it around the 4th or 5th century, during the
Gupta period
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...
.
Legendary depictions
According to the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', Ayodhya was founded by
Manu
Manu may refer to:
Geography
* Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region
**Manú National Park, Peru
** Manú River, in southeastern Peru
* Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh
*Manu Tem ...
, the progenitor of mankind, and measured 12x3 ''
yojana
A yojana (Sanskrit: योजन; th, โยชน์; my, ယူဇနာ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Thailand and Myanmar. A yojana is about 12–15 km.
Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE)
Ashoka, in his Major R ...
s'' in area. Both ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'' describe Ayodhya as the capital of the
Ikshvaku dynasty
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...
of
Kosala
The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...
, including
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
and
Dasharatha
Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He ha ...
. The ''Purana-pancha-lakshana'' also describes the city as the capital of Ikshvaku kings, including
Harishchandra
Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these storie ...
.
The ''Ramayana'' states that the city was ruled by king
Dasaratha
Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He had ...
, a descendant of king Ikshvaku. His son Rama was exiled to the forest, and returned to the city after several travails, establishing an ideal rule in the kingdom. According to ''
Uttara Kanda
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
'', a later addition to the ''Ramayana'', Rama divided the kingdom into North and South Kosala at the end of his reign, with respective capitals at
Shravasti
Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
and
Kusavati, and installed his two sons (Lava and Kusa) to rule them. Rama himself entered the waters of the
Sarayu river
The Sarju ( Kumaoni: सरज्यू, Hindi: सरयू), also known as Saryu, is a major river draining Central Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Originating from Sarmul, Sarju flows through the cities of Kapkot, Bageshwar ...
, along with all the inhabitants of the city, and ascended to heaven. The location where they ascended is ''Gopratara Tirtha'', according to the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''. Ayodhya was subsequently repopulated by king Rishabha.
Several other literary works based on the story of Rama also mention Ayodhya. These include the ''Abhisheka'' and ''Pratimanataka'' by the poet
Bhāsa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thir ...
(dated 2nd century CE or earlier), and the ''
Raghuvamsha'' of
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
(c. 5th century CE).
According to the
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
tradition, five ''
tirthankaras
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English language, English: literally a 'Ford (crossing), ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the ...
'' were born at Ayodhya, including
Rishabhanatha
Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...
,
Ajitanatha
Ajitanath (lit. invincible) was the second ''tirthankara'' of the present age, ''avasarpini'' (half time cycle) according to Jainism. He was born to King Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. He was a liberated soul w ...
,
Abhinandananatha
Abhinandananatha or Abhinandana Swami was the fourth ''Tirthankara'' of the present age ( Avasarpini). He is said to have lived for 50 lakh ''purva''. He was born to King Sanvara and Queen Siddhartha at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan. His birth d ...
,
Sumatinatha
Sumatinatha was the fifth Jain Tirthankara of the present age ( Avasarpini). Sumatinatha was born to a Kshatriya King Megha (Megharatha) and Queen Mangalavati (Sumangalavati) at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His Janma Kalyanak (birthday) was ...
, and
Anantanatha
Anantanatha was the fourteenth Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini) of Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma in Jainism, karma.
Biography
Anantanatha was the fourte ...
.
Historicity
Identification with present-day Ayodhya
Many modern scholars, including
B. B. Lal
Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced ...
and
H. D. Sankalia, have identified the legendary Ayodhya with the present-day Ayodhya town, but this theory is not universally accepted.
Arguments cited in favour of this identification include:
* Several ancient texts, including the ''Ramayana'', ''
Bhagavat Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
'', and ''
Padma Purana
The ''Padma Purana'' ( sa, पद्मपुराण or पाद्मपुराण, or ) is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brah ...
'', mention that the legendary Ayodhya was located on the banks of the Sarayu river, just like the modern Ayodhya.
* The Gupta-era texts, such as Kalidasa's ''
Raghuvamsha'' and the ''
Brahmanda Purana
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...
'' use "Ayodhya" as another name for Saketa, which was the ancient name of present-day Ayodhya. This identification also occurs in the later Sanskrit texts, including
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...
's ''Abhidhana-Chintamani'' and Yashodhara's commentary on ''
Kamasutra
The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...
''.
* Several ancient texts, including the ''
Vishnu Smriti
Vishnu Smriti (IAST: ) is one of the latest books of the Dharmaśāstra tradition in Hinduism and the only one which does not deal directly with the means of knowing dharma. The text has a strong bhakti orientation, requiring daily puja to the g ...
'' and the ''
Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
'' mention Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage (''
tirtha''). The 1092 CE Chandrawati inscription of the
Gahadavala
The Gahadavala dynasty (IAST: Gāhaḍavālas), also Gahadavalas of Kanauj, was a Rajput dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, during 11th and 12th centuries. Their capital was located at Varanas ...
king
Chandradeva
Chandradeva ( IAST: Candradeva, r. c. 1089–1103 CE), also known as Chandraditya, was an Indian king from the Gahadavala dynasty. He ruled the Antarvedi country in present-day Uttar Pradesh, including Kanyakubja and Varanasi.
Although the ...
mentions that he took bath on the Svarga-dvara ''tirtha'' situated on the confluence of the Sarayau and the
Ghaghra
Ghaghra is a census town in the Ghaghra CD block in the Gumla subdivision of the Gumla district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Geography
Location
Ghaghra is located at
Area overview
The map alongside present ...
rivers at Ayodhya.
* The epics describe the legendary Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala. A
1st century BCE inscription issued by Dhanadeva, who describes himself as the lord of Kosala, has been found at present-day Ayodhya. Several later inscriptions also mention the city of Ayodhya.
Identification as a legendary city
A section of scholars have argued that the legendary Ayodhya of ''Ramayana'' is a purely mythical city, and is not same as the present-day Ayodhya. These scholars include
M. C. Joshi,
Hans T. Bakker
Hans T. Bakker (born 1948) is a cultural historian and Indologist, who has served as the Professor of the History of Hinduism and Jan Gonda Chair at the University of Groningen. He currently works in the British Museum as a researcher in project ...
, and a group of 25 historians from the
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
(JNU), among others. According to these scholars, the process of identifying the legendary Ayodhya with Saketa (an ancient name of present-day Ayodhya) began in the early centuries CE, and was completed during the
Gupta period
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...
.
The various arguments made in favour of identifying the legendary Ayodhya as a fictional city include the following:
Lack of archaeological evidence
The JNU historians argue that according to the archaeological evidence, the earliest possible settlements at Ayodhya can be dated to c. 8th century BCE, while the ''Ramayana'' is set much earlier. The ''Ramayana'' depicts Ayodhya as an urban centre with palaces and buildings, while the excavations at present-day Ayodhya indicate a primitive life.
Hans T. Bakker notes that no place called Ayodhya is attested by any epigraphic or other archaeological evidence before the 2nd century CE. The earliest extant inscriptions mentioning a place called Ayodhya are from the Gupta period. For example, a 436 CE inscription describes a donation to Brahmins hailing from Ayodhya. A 533–534 CE inscription mentions a nobleman from Ayodhya. The Gaya inscription, said to be issued by
Samudragupta
Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', (c. 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of the dynasty. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Li ...
(4th century CE), but possibly an 8th century fabrication according to modern historians, describes Ayodhya as a garrison town.
Lack of ancient literary evidence
Early Buddhist and Jain texts mention
Shravasti
Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
and Saketa, not Ayodhya, as the major cities of the
Kosala
The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...
region. The later texts such as the
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s, which mention Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, simply follow the legendary ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''.
According to
Hans T. Bakker
Hans T. Bakker (born 1948) is a cultural historian and Indologist, who has served as the Professor of the History of Hinduism and Jan Gonda Chair at the University of Groningen. He currently works in the British Museum as a researcher in project ...
's analysis, the Sanskrit sources that mention Ayodhya but not Saketa are predominantly fictional in nature: these texts include ''Mahabharata'', ''Ramayana'', and ''Purana-pancha-lakshana''. On the other hand, the Sanskrit sources that mention Saketa but not Ayodhya are of "semi-scientific or factual nature". The Buddhist Pali-language texts name a city called Ayojjha or Ayujjha (Pali for Ayodhya), but suggest that it was located on the banks of the Ganges river (
see below). In the early Jain canonical literature, "Aujjha" (a Prakrit form of "Ayodhya") is mentioned only once: the ''Thana Sutta'' describes it as the capital of Gandhilavati, a district of the "largely mythological" Mahavideha country. This indicates that the Ayodhya of Sanskrit epic literature is a fictional city.
Among the Sanskrit sources, the identification of Ayodhya with Saketa first appears in texts from the Gupta period, including the ''
Brahmanda Purana
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...
'' and Kalidasa's ''
Raghuvamsha''. The Jain text Paumachariya (dated before 4th century CE) first incorporates the Rama legend into Jain mythology. During this period, the Jains linked the mythology of the Ikshvaku dynasty with their
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
s and
chakravartins. For example, the first tirthankara
Rishabha
Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...
is said to have been born in Ikkhagabhumi (according to ''Kalpasutra'') or Viniya (according to ''Jambu-dvipa-prajnapati''), which are identified as Ayodhya (Aojhha) or Saketa. In the 19th century,
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
of
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
believed that ''Ramayana'' also identifies Ayodhya with a Saketa, based on a verse that supposedly describes Dasharatha as the king of "Saketa-nagara". However, this verse was fabricated by a
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
of
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
: it is not found in the original ''Ramayana'' text.
Local Vikramaditya legend
A local oral tradition of Ayodhya, first recorded in writing by
Robert Montgomery Martin
Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868), commonly referred to as "Montgomery Martin", was an Anglo-Irish author and civil servant. He served as Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong from 1844 to 1845. He was a founding member of the St ...
in 1838, mentions that the city was deserted after the death of Rama's descendant
Brihadbala
Brihadbala () is a king featured in Hindu mythology. He is a character in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described to be the last king of the Kosala Kingdom. In the Kurukshetra War, Brihadbala fights for the Kauravas and is killed by Ab ...
. It remained deserted for several centuries until King
Vikrama
Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratis ...
(or Vikramaditya) of
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...
came searching for it. On the advice of a sage, Vikrama determined that the site of ancient Ayodhya as the place where the milk would flow from the udder of a calf. He cut down the forests that had covered the ancient ruins, established a new city, erected the Ramgar fort, and built 360 temples.
According to the JNU historians, this myth of "re-discovery" seems to recognize that modern Ayodhya is not same as the ancient Ayodhya, and appears to be an attempt to impart the modern town a religious sanctity that it originally lacked. These historians theorize that the 5th century emperor
Skandagupta
Skandagupta ( Gupta script: ''Ska-nda-gu-pta'', r. c. 455-467) was a Gupta Emperor of India. His Bhitari pillar inscription suggests that he restored the Gupta power by defeating his enemies, who may have been rebels or foreign invaders. He ...
(who adopted the title Vikramditya) moved his residence to Saketa, and renamed it to Ayodhya, probably to associate himself with the legendary
solar dynasty
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...
. According to Bakker, the Guptas moved their capital to Saketa either during the reign of Kumaragupta I or Skandagupta, and this event is possibly alluded to in the ''Raghuvamsha''.
Kishore Kunal
Kishore Kunal (born 1950) is a former officer of the Indian Police Service from the state of Bihar, India. During his police career, he was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (Ayodhya) by the prime minister V. P. Singh to mediate between th ...
argues that there is no historical evidence to support the theory that Saketa was renamed as "Ayodhya" by Skandagupta. He notes that the
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
's ''
Raghuvamsha'' clearly refers to the same city by the names "Saketa" and "Ayodhya", while narrating the legend of Rama. Historian
Gyanendra Pandey argues that Kalidasa's mention of "Saketa" and "Ayodhya" do not prove any connection between the legendary Ayodhya and the present-day Ayodhya, as he lived in the Gupta period (c. 5th century CE), presumably after the Guptas had changed the name of Saketa to "Ayodhya".
Relatively recent association with Rama
The rise of the modern Ayodhya town as a centre of Rama worship is relatively recent, dating back to the 13th century, when the
Ramanandi sect
The Ramanandi ( IAST ), also known as Ramavats ( IAST ), are a branch of the Vaishnava Sri Sampradaya of Hinduism. Ramananda sect is the largest sect of Vaishnavas, out of 52 gates of Vaishnavism, 36 are held by Ramanandi's. They mainly empha ...
started gaining prominence. Several inscriptions dated between 5th and 8th centuries mention the town, but do not mention its association with Rama. The writings of Xuanzang (c. 602–664 CE) associate the town with Buddhism. It has also been an important Jain pilgrimage centre, and an ancient Jain figure (dated 4th-3rd century BCE) has been found here. The 11th century texts refer to Gopataru
tirtha in Ayodhya, but do not refer to the birthplace of Rama.
Bakker notes that the legend of Rama was not always connected with Ayodhya: for example, the Buddhist ''Dasaratha-jataka'' mentions Varanasi, not Ayodhya, as the capital of Dasharatha and Rama. Thus, the association of Rama with Ayodhya may be a result the claim that he was a member of the Ikshvaku family, and this family's association with Ayodhya.
Analysis of Ramayana
According to
M. C. Joshi, "a critical examination of the geographical data available in Valmiki's narratives does not justify the commonly accepted identification of the ancient city with the modern one". For example, in the ''Ayodhya Kanda'' of the Ramayana, Bharata takes a geographically "non-sensical" route while traveling to Ayodhya from the kingdom of his uncle Kekeya (located in the extreme west of the Indian subcontinent). During this journey, he passes through places located in present-day
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
and
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
Location on the banks of the Ganges
According to
Hans T. Bakker
Hans T. Bakker (born 1948) is a cultural historian and Indologist, who has served as the Professor of the History of Hinduism and Jan Gonda Chair at the University of Groningen. He currently works in the British Museum as a researcher in project ...
, the older parts of ''Mahabharata'' and ''Purana-pancha-lakshana'' mention Ayodhya as the capital of the Ikshvaku kings, but do not state that it was situated on the banks of the Sarayu river. The older parts of ''Ramayana'' only ''suggest'' that it was located in the vicinity of the Sarayu river. For example, Ramayana 2.70.19 states that the funeral processions of Dasharatha traveled from the city to Sarayu using
palanquin
The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...
s and chariots, which according to Bakker, suggests that Sarayu was located at some distance from the city. According to Bakker, only the newer (5th century and later) parts of Ramayana explicitly describe Ayodhya as located on the banks of the Sarayu river.
The JNU historians agree that an ancient historical city called "Ayodhya" (Pali: Ayojjha or Ayujjha) existed, but argue that it was not same as the modern Ayodhya, or the legendary city described in the Ramayana. This theory is based on the fact that according to the ancient Buddhist texts, the ancient Ayodhya town was located on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges), not Sarayu. For example, the ''
Samyutta Nikaya'' states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in Ayodhya on the bank of the Ganga river".
Buddhaghosha's commentary on the ''Samyutta Nikaya'' mentions that the citizens of Ayodhya (Ayujjha-pura) built a
vihara for the Buddha "in a curve of the river Ganga".
Kishore Kunal
Kishore Kunal (born 1950) is a former officer of the Indian Police Service from the state of Bihar, India. During his police career, he was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (Ayodhya) by the prime minister V. P. Singh to mediate between th ...
argues that the word "Ganga" is also used as common noun for a holy river in Sanskrit. In his support, he presents another verse from ''Samyutta Nikaya'' (4.35.241.205), which states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in
Kaushambi on the bank of the Ganga river". The ancient city of Kaushambi was actually located on the banks of the river
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
, not Ganga. S. N. Arya similarly points out that the 7th century Chinese Buddhist traveler
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
states that he reached Ayodhya ("A-yu-te") after crossing the Ganga river, while traveling southwards (Ayodhya is actually located to the north of the Ganges river). Xuanzang seems to have used the term Ganga to describe "a long affluent of the great river".
''Taittiriya Aranyaka'' and ''Atharvaveda'' description
M. C. Joshi asserted that Ayodhya is mentioned in a ''
Taittiriya Aranyaka
The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts. ...
'' verse, which is also found with some variations in the ''
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
'':
Joshi argues that the Ayodhya city, as described in the ''Taittiriya Aranyaka'' (and ''Atharvaveda''), is obviously a mythical city, because it is said to be surrounded by a pool of nectar, and is described as the location of "the golden treasure-dome of the celestial world". According to Joshi, this Ayodhya is similar to the mythical places such as Samavasarana and Nandishvaradvipa, which appear in the
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
mythology.
According to other scholars, such as
B. B. Lal
Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced ...
, the word ''ayodhya'' in this context is not a proper noun (the name of a city), but an adjective, meaning "impregnable". The verse describes the human body (''pur'') as having eight
chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
s and nine
orifices
A body orifice is any opening in the body of an animal.
External
In a typical mammalian body such as the human body, the external body orifices are:
* The nostrils, for breathing and the associated sense of smell
* The mouth, for eating, bre ...
:
Lal points out that two cognate forms ''ayodhyena'' and ''ayodhyaḥ'' appear in Atharvaveda 19.13.3 and 19.13.7 respectively, in similar sense of "invincible". The 14th century commentator
Sayana also confirms this meaning of the word. the later text ''
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
'' also describes the human body as a city with nine doors, in which the soul resides. This confirms that the ''Atharvaveda'' uses "ayodhya" as an adjective, not as the name of a city.
References
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Places in the Ramayana
Mythological populated places
Ayodhya