For the city of modern India named Ayodhya, see Ayodhya.
Gold carving depiction of the legendary Ayodhya at the Ajmer Jain temple
Ayodhya is a city mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit-language texts, including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These texts describe it as the capital of the Ikshvaku kings, including Rama.[1]
The historicity of this legendary city is of concern to the Ayodhya dispute. According to one theory, it is same as the present-day Ayodhya 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.[2][3]
Scriptural references
According to the Ramayana, Ayodhya was founded by Manu, the progenitor of mankind, and measured 12x3 yojanas in area.[4] Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata describe Ayodhya as the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty of Kosala, including Rama and Dasharatha. The Purana-pancha-lakshana also describes the city as the capital of Ikshvaku kings, including Harishchandra.[1]
The Ramayana states that the city was ruled by king Dasharatha, 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, 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 and Kushavati, and installed his two sons (Lava and Kusha) to rule them.[5] Rama himself entered the waters of the Sarayu river, along with all the inhabitants of the city, and ascended to heaven. The location where they ascended is Gopratara Tirtha, according to the Mahabharata.[6] Ayodhya was subsequently repopulated by king Rishabha.[1]
Several other literary works based on the story of Rama also mention Ayodhya. These include the Abhisheka and Pratimanataka by the poet Bhāsa (dated 2nd century CE or earlier), and the Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa (c. 5th century CE).[7]
Many modern scholars, including B. B. Lal and H. D. Sankalia, have identified the legendary Ayodhya with the present-day Ayodhya town, but this theory is not universally accepted.[9]
Arguments cited in favour of this identification include:
Several ancient texts, including the Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Padma Purana, mention that the legendary Ayodhya was located on the banks of the Sarayu river, just like the modern Ayodhya.[10]
The Gupta-era texts, such as Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha and the Brahmanda Purana 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's Abhidhana-Chintamani and Yashodhara's commentary on Kamasutra.[1]
Several ancient texts, including the Vishnu Smriti and the Matsya Purana mention Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage (tirtha). The 1092 CE Chandrawati inscription of the Gahadavala king Chandradeva mentions that he took bath on the Svarga-dvara tirtha situated on the confluence of the Sarayau and the Ghaghra rivers at Ayodhya.[11]
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.[12] Several later inscriptions also mention the city of Ayodhya.[11]
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.[2] These scholars include M. C. Joshi, Hans T. Bakker,[13] and a group of 25 historians from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), among others.[2] 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.[14]
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.[15]
Hans T. Bakker notes that no place called Ayodhya is attested by any epigraphic or other archaeological evidence before the 2nd century CE.[16] 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 (4th century CE), but possibly an 8th century fabrication according to modern historians, describes Ayodhya as a garrison town.[17]
Lack of ancient literary evidence
Early Buddhist and Jain texts mention Shravasti and Saketa, not Ayodhya, as the major cities of the Kosala region. The later texts such as the Puranas, which mention Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, simply follow the legendary Ramayana.[15]
According to Hans T. Bakker'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".[18] 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).[19] 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.[20] This indicates that the Ayodhya of Sanskrit epic literature is a fictional city.[18]
Among the Sanskrit sources, the identification of Ayodhya with Saketa first appears in texts from the Gupta period, including the Brahmanda Purana and Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha.[17] 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 tirthankaras and chakravartins. For example, the first tirthankara Rishabha 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.[21] In the 19th century, Alexander Cunningham of Archaeological Survey of India 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 of Lucknow: it is not found in the original Ramayana text.[22]
Local Vikramaditya legend
A local oral tradition of Ayodhya, first recorded in writing by Robert Montgomery Martin in 1838,[23] mentions that the city was deserted after the death of Rama's descendant Brihadbala. It remained deserted for several centuries until King Vikrama (or Vikramaditya) of Ujjain came searching for it.[23] 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.[15] He cut down the forests that had covered the ancient ruins, established a new city, erected the Ramgar fort, and built 360 temples.[23]
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.[15] These historians theorize that the 5th century emperor Skandagupta (who adopted the title Vikramditya) moved his residence to Saketa, and renamed it to Ayodhya, probably to associate himself with the legendary solar dynasty.[15] 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.[17]
Kishore Kunal argues that there is no historical evidence to support the theory that Saketa was renamed as "Ayodhya" by Skandagupta. He notes that the Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha clearly refers to the same city by the names "Saketa" and "Ayodhya", while narrating the legend of Rama.[24] 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".[25]
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 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.[15]
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.[18]
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 and Assam.[13]
Location on the banks of the Ganges
According to Hans T. Bakker, 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 palanquins and chariots, which according to Bakker, suggests that Sarayu was located at some distance from the city.[18] 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.[26]
The JNU historians agree that an ancient historical city called "Ayodhya" (Pali: Ayojjha or Ayujjha[19]) 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".[27]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".[19]
Kishore Kunal argues that the word "Ganga" is also used as common noun for a holy river in Sanskrit.[27] 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, not Ganga.[28] S. N. Arya similarly points out that the 7th century Chinese Buddhist traveler Xuanzang 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".[29]
Taittiriya Aranyaka and Atharvaveda description
M. C. Joshi asserted that Ayodhya is mentioned in a Taittiriya Aranyaka verse, which is also found with some variations in the Atharvaveda:[30]
aṣṭācakrā navadvārā devānāṃ pūrayodhyā tasyāṃ hiraṇyayaḥkośaḥ svargo loko jyotiṣāvṛtaḥ yo vai tāṃ brahmaṇo vedāmṛtenāvṛtāṃ puram tasmai brahma ca brāhmā ca āyuḥ kirtim prajāṃ daduḥ vibhrājamānām hariṇīṃ yaśasā saṃparīvṛtām puraṃ hiraṇyayīṃ brahmā viveśāparājitām
Ayodhya (impregnable), the city of the gods, consists of eight circles (also cycles) and nine entrances; within it there is the golden treasure-dome, the celestial world, ever-illuminated with light (north pole). Whoever knows it as the Creator's city ever surrounded with nectar will have long life, fame, and offspring bestowed on him, by Brahma (the sun), and Brahma (the moon). Into this city ever shining, moving, and pervaded with Yasas (fame and lustre), the Creator has entered.
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 mythology.[31]
According to other scholars, such as B. B. Lal, the word ayodhya in this context is not a proper noun (the name of a city), but an adjective, meaning "impregnable".[32] The verse describes the human body (pur) as having eight chakras and nine orifices:[33]
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.[34] the later text Bhagavad Gita 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.[11]
Related Research Articles
Ayodhya is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became the top tourist destination of Uttar Pradesh with 110 million visitors in the first half of 2024, surpassing Varanasi.
The Ramayana, also known as Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata. The epic narrates the life of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who is a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.
Ram Janmabhoomi is the site that, according to Hindu religious beliefs, is the birthplace of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu river in a city called "Ayodhya". Modern-day Ayodhya is in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is contested whether the Ayodhya mentioned in the Ramayana is the same as the modern city.
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage-based society to a monarchy. By the 6th century BCE, it had consolidated into one of the four great powers of ancient northern India, along with Magadha, Vatsa, and Avanti.
Ikshvaku is a legendary king in Indian religions, particularly Hindu and Jain mythologies. In Hinduism, he is described to be the first king of the Kosala Kingdom, and was one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, the first man on the earth. He was the founder and first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty, also known as the Suryavamsha, in the kingdom of Kosala, which also historically existed in ancient India. He had a hundred sons, among whom the eldest was Vikukshi. Another son of Ikshvaku's, named Nimi, founded the Kingdom of the Videhas. Rama, Mahavira, and the Buddha are also stated to have belonged to the Suryavamsha or Ikshvaku dynasty.
Aśmaka or Assaka was a Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist texts and Puranas. It included areas in present-day Telangana, Maharashtra and possibly Andhra Pradesh. In Gautama Buddha's time, many of the Assakas were located on the banks of the Godavari River. Its capital is variously called Potali or Podana, and is identified as present-day Bodhan in Telangana.
Bharata is the younger brother of Rama in Hindu epic Ramayana, and the regent of Ayodhya during Rama's exile. Bharata is considered as an incarnation of the Panchajanya of god Vishnu, and was married to Mandavi.
Dakshina Kosala is a historical region of central India. It was located in what is now Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh along with parts of Western Odisha. At its greatest extent, it may have also included a part of the Vidarbha region in present-day Maharashtra.
Kusha and his younger twin brother Lava were the children of Rama and Sita. Their story is recounted in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Hindu traditions claim he ruled the entire region of Kashmir, Indus River and Hindu Kush as frontier lands of India known as Hindu Kush Kshetra and founded the city of Kashmir in the valley and Kasur with Lavapuri of Lava in base lands, though local lore contends Kasur was founded in 1525 by Pashtun migrants. His brother Lava is traditionally believed to have founded Lavapuri.
The archaeology of Ayodhya concerns the excavations and findings in the Indian city of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, much of which surrounds the Babri Mosque location.
Ayothiapattinam is a panchayat town located in Vazhapadi taluk of Salem district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This village is called Ayothyapatinam because of famous Kodandaramaswamy Temple, and is called as the. The temple is thought to remain from the time of Ramayana and finds mention in the Valmiki Ramayana.
Malhar is a small town situated in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, India. A historically important site that once was a major city and served as a capital in the 1st millennium, it has been referred to as Mallar, Mallari and Sarabhapur in inscriptions and Indian literature. In contemporary times, it is more village like with mounds and ruins of an ancient fort, two restored Shiva temples and a museum with the ruins of major group of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples. It has archaeological significance. It is about 30 kilometers southeast from Bilaspur in a rural terrain, connected with a feeder road from India's National Highway 49.
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 regarded since at least the 18th century among many Hindus to be the birthplace of their deity Rama, the history and location of the Babri Masjid mosque at the site, and whether a previous Hindu temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque.
The Solar dynasty or Sūryavaṃśa, also called the Ikshvaku dynasty is a legendary Indian dynasty said to have been founded by Ikshvaku. In Hindu literature, it ruled the Kosala Kingdom with their capital at Ayodhya and later at Shravasti. They prayed to their clan deity Surya, after whom the dynasty formed its namesake. Along with the Lunar dynasty, the Solar dynasty comprises one of the main lineages of the Kshatriya varna in Hinduism.
Rama is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man, Rama is the male protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana. His birth is celebrated every year on Rama Navami, which falls on the ninth day of the bright half of the lunar cycle of Chaitra (March–April), the first month in the Hindu calendar.
Raghuvaṃśa or Raghukula is a legendary Indian dynasty, primarily featured in Hindu scriptures such as the Itihasas and the Puranas. It is considered to be an offshoot of the Sūryavaṃśa or the Ikshvaku dynasty lineage of kings, tracing its ancestry to the sun deity Surya. Kings of the Raghuvaṃśa line are referred to as Raghuvaṃśī. The dynasty is named after Raghu, a legendary king who protected the sacrificial horse of ashvamedha from Indra. Raghuvaṃśī kings include Mandhata, Harishchandra, Sagara, Bhagiratha, Dilīpa, Raghu, Aja, Dasharatha and Rama.
The Vishnu Hari inscription is the name given to a Sanskrit language inscription found in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. It records the construction of a temple by Anayachandra, a feudatory of the king named Govindachandra, and also contains a eulogy of Anayachandra's dynasty. Its date portion is missing, and its authenticity has been a matter of controversy.
The Deva dynasty of Saketa, was a dynasty of kings who ruled in the area of the city of Ayodhya, Kosala, in India from the 2nd century BCE until the end of 1st century BCE.
The ancestors of Rama, the protagonist of the Ramayana, are described below according to Vishnu Purana and Valmiki Ramayana. The famous personalities of Suryavamsha as per the Vishnu Purana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ramakatha Rasavahini, Bhagavata Purana, and Raghuvamsha Charitram are Ikshvaku, Vikushi, Kakusta, etc. According to Hinduism, the city of Kosala and Ayodhya were founded by Manu and by his son Ikshvaku, whose descendant was Rama.
S. N. Arya (1990). "Historicity of Ayodhya". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 51. Indian History Congress: 44–48. JSTOR44148186.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
