About Ayodhya

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Ayodhya is named after King Ayudh, who is mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures as forefathers of Lord Rama. It is the birth place of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu is popular among pilgrims and tourists. This religious town lies on the bank of river Saryu, and is mentioned as one of the seven most sacred places in Skanda Purana. The city holds an important position in the ancient Hindu epic, Ramayana, which describes the story of Lord Rama's birth, his 14 years of exile, and his victory over evil Ravana. The most celebrated festival of India, Diwali is celebrated for the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. Ayodhya is a city of temples and is an important pilgrim place for Hindus in India. The city of temples has plenty of religious sites including Hanuman Garhi - an ancient temple that houses child statue of Lord Hanuman seated in lap of mother Anjani, Treta ka Mandir - the place where Lord Ram believed to have performed Ashvamedha Yagnya and Nageshwarnath temple - believed to be established by Kush, son of Lord Ram, Ramkot temple - the main place of worship for Hindu devotees, and holy ghats. The city is also home to many historical and pilgrimage sites that belong to the Jain and Buddhist religion.

History of Ayodhya

Ayodhya is a holy city of ancient India. It is one of the seven most sacred cities of the Hindus in India and situated about 135 km from Lucknow, on the banks of the Saryu river. It was the capital of Hindu kingdom of Kosala. The city is known for being the court of King Dasharatha, who was the father of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Valmiki Ramayana the famous devotional poems are believed to be written by Valmiki here itself. Ayodhya is an equally important place for Jains and Sikhs. Ayodhya is a city of temples as there are about 300 temples. It also holds important position among Jain religion as it is the birth place of two important Jain tirthankaras. The city later came under the rule of Gupta Empire and also got influenced with Buddhism. Several Buddhist temples are also built here. Ayodhya later came under the rule of Mughal Empire, slowly losing strategic importance to Lucknow and Kanpur.