Ayodhya

Overview

Ayodhya is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, situated on the right bank of the Sarayu (Ghaghara) river. It is the administrative headquarters of Ayodhya district and forms part of the Faizabad–Ayodhya urban agglomeration. The city is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the Indian subcontinent and holds a central place in Hindu tradition as the birthplace of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu in the epic Ramayana. Ayodhya is also of historical importance to Jainism and Buddhism.

Geography

Ayodhya lies in the Awadh region of the Indo-Gangetic plain, at an elevation of roughly 90 metres above sea level. The Sarayu river runs along the northern edge of the city and is a major feature of its religious geography, with several ghats used for ritual bathing and cremation. The city is contiguous with Faizabad, a town developed during the period of the Nawabs of Awadh, and the two were administratively merged into a single municipal entity in subsequent reorganisations.

History and background

In Hindu textual tradition, Ayodhya is identified as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala and the seat of the Ikshvaku dynasty. It is referred to extensively in the Ramayana attributed to Valmiki and in later works such as the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. Jain tradition associates Ayodhya with the birth of five Tirthankaras, including Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara. Buddhist sources mention the area as Saketa, an important city visited by the Buddha.

Archaeological remains in and around the site indicate occupation from the early historic period. During medieval times, Ayodhya came under successive ruling powers, including the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the region became the core of the Awadh state under the Nawabs, who shifted their capital from Ayodhya to nearby Faizabad and later to Lucknow. Following the annexation of Awadh by the British East India Company in 1856, the area became part of the United Provinces, and after independence in 1947, of Uttar Pradesh.

Religious significance

Hinduism

Ayodhya is regarded as one of the seven Mokshadayini Sapta Puris—cities considered to bestow liberation in Hindu tradition, alongside Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwarka. The city contains numerous temples and ghats, including Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhawan, Nageshwarnath Temple, and the ghats along the Sarayu such as Ram Ki Paidi.

Jainism

Jain tradition holds that Rishabhanatha, Ajitanatha, Abhinandananatha, Sumatinatha and Anantanatha were born in Ayodhya, making it an important pilgrimage centre for Jains.

Buddhism

Identified with the ancient Saketa, the area features in Buddhist literature as a place associated with the Buddha and early monastic activity.

Ram Janmabhoomi and the Babri Masjid site

The site known as Ram Janmabhoomi has been the focus of a long-running dispute concerning a 16th-century mosque referred to as the Babri Masjid, which stood at the location until it was demolished on 6 December 1992. The legal dispute over the title of the site was finally decided by the Supreme Court of India in a judgment delivered on 9 November 2019, which awarded the disputed land for the construction of a temple and directed the allotment of an alternative plot for a mosque. The foundation ceremony for the Ram Mandir was held on 5 August 2020, and the consecration (Pran Pratishtha) of the temple took place on 22 January 2024.

Civic administration

Ayodhya is administered as a municipal corporation (Nagar Nigam) covering the merged Ayodhya–Faizabad area. The city forms part of the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. The district of Ayodhya was renamed from Faizabad district in 2018 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Transport

Ayodhya is connected by road via National Highway 27 and other state