Ayodhyā — the capital of Ikṣvākus. The children of Ayodhyā were cast into the Sarayū by Asamañ- jasa and then restored to life by his yogic power.1 Chief buildings were prāsāda, gopura, sabhā, caitya and devagṛha;2 one of the holy cities.3 City of Rama and Sagara;4 also known as Śāketa.5 Capital of Madhyadeśa of King Divākara, famous for Rāmatīrtham;6 in the nose por- tion of the personified Veda.7[Footnote] 1) Bhā. IX. 8. 17-19. [Footnote] 2) Ib. IX. 11. 25-34; Br. III. 63. 21; [Footnote] 3) Br. IV. 40. 91. [Footnote] 4) Br. III. 37. 33; 47. 75; 48. 1; 49. 10 and 58; 53. 5. [Footnote] 5) Br. III. 54. 54. [Footnote] 6) M. 191. 93; 271. 5. Vi. IV. 4. 97; Vā. 99. 282. [Footnote] 7) Vā. 88. 20, 94; 104. 81: 111. 68.
AYODHYĀ . A city in North India which enjoyed great importance and reputation for many years as the capi- tal of the Kings of the solar dynasty. (See Ikṣvāku dynasty). All the Kings of this dynasty ruled the coun- try from this city as their capital. Vasiṣṭha, the great preceptor of the Ikṣvāku Rājas, came to Ayodhyā dur- ing the period of the reign of Kalmāṣapāda, who was the thirty-fifth ruler in succession to Ikṣvāku. A quarrel broke out between Kalmāṣapāda and Vasiṣṭha during a hunting expedition, and Vasiṣṭha cursed the King and as the result the latter became a Rākṣasa. After regaining his former form as King, he apologised to Vasiṣṭha and they became friends again. At the requ- est of the King in the interests of his dynasty Vasiṣṭha came to Ayodhyā, and the people were greatly elated. A son was born to Vasiṣṭha by Kalmāṣapāda's wife and that son was Aśmaka. After that Vasiṣṭha used to go to Ayodhyā frequently and was installed as family precep- tor of the Ikṣvākus. Till the time of Śrī Rāma the city of Ayodhyā maintained its pomp and glory, and after that gradually its decay and fall set in. Laudatory refe- rences to the city are found in most of the Purāṇas like the Mahābhārata, Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa etc. (See Kosala).
Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions
(2) Ayodhyā (No. 21, L. 1; No. 37, L. 6; No. 39, L. 10): In No. 21 the word ‘Ayodhyā-Vāsaka’ occurs355 while in No. 37 and 39 the word ‘Āyodhyaka’ has been mentioned. In No, 21, Ayodhyā is described as a victorious camp. full of great ships, and elephants and horses. In No. 39 certain brāhmaṇas belong- ing to Ayodhyā, living in the vicinity of Mahādeva Śaileśvara are named and are mentioned as belonging to various gotras and caraṇas, and as proficient in observants, in sacred duty, in the mantras, the sūtras, bhāṣyas and pravacanas.356 It has been venerated as one of the most important and holy places of the Hindus.357 Vinītā was another name for this city.358 Its other names including Viṇīā (Vinītā) are men- tioned in the Vividhatīrthakalpa.359 Fa-Hsien calls it Sha-che and Ptolemy knew it as Sogeda.360 Ayodhyā and Sāketa have been treated by many writers as being identical. Csoma de kōrös361 calls this place as “Sāketan or Ayodhyā” and H.H. Wilson in his dictionary, refers to Sāketa as ‘the city of Ayodhyā’. Several passages in the Raghuvaṃśa362 confirm it. The Vividhatīrthakalpa mentions Sākeyam (Sāketa) as a synonym for Ayodhyā,363 but in the Buddhist literature we find separate references to Ayodhyā and Sāketa which creates doubt about their identity and suggests that the two existed separately.364 V. Pathak quotes a well known verse occurring in the Yuga Purāṇa, a section of Gārgī Saṃhitā,365 to show that Sāketa is the same as Ayodhyā. But there is nothing in the passage to support the view. The ancient city of Ayodhyā or Sāketa is described in the Rāmāyaṇa as situated on the banks of the Sarayū or Sarjū river.366 During the Buddhist period, Ayodhyā was divided into Uttara (Northern) Kosala and Dakṣiṇa (Southern) Kosala. The river Sarayū was the dividing line between the two pro- vinces. Ayodhyā was the capital of the latter.367 Ancient tradition believes it to have been built by Manu.368 The history of Kośala, with its mighty King Prasenajit and his son Vidudabha pales into insignificance with the emergence of the Magadhan rulers as powerful antagonists. The Nandas, followed by the Mauryas, assimilated Kośala in their empire. Under the Śuṅgas, it was being ruled by a viceroy. An inscrip- tion from Ayodhyā mentions Puṣyamitra as having performed two horse-sacrifices. Under the Kuṣāṇas, the city remained more or less in oblivion. Subsequently in the Purāṇas it figures along with Prayāga and Magadha as forming part of the kingdom of the Guptas. The spurious Gayā Plate of Samudragupta (No. 21) mentions it as a seat of a Gupta camp of victory. The history of the city in the post- Gupta period is wrapped up in obscurity. It was within the empire of the Pratihāras and Gāhaḍavālas of Kanauj. Ayodhyā is described by Muslim historians369 to have been a wilder- ness. The Slaves and Khilji rulers held sway over it, and subse- quently it received importance as the headquarters of Oudh. It was under the charge of Muslim governors appointed from Delhi, but with the emergence of Jaunpur as a strong kingdom Ayodhyā was completely over-shadowed. It was a mint-town in the time of Akbar, but there is no reference to it in later Chronicles.370 Ayodhyā is important as a centre of pilgrimage. There are several places in the city connected with different events in the life of Rāma. Rāma was born at a place called Janmasthāna. At Chīrodaka also called Chīrasāgara, Daśaratha performed, with the help of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga Ṛṣi, the sacrifices for obtaining a son. At a place called Tretā-kā-Ṭhākur, Rāmacandra performed the horse sacrifice by setting up the image of Sītā. At Ratnamaṇ- ḍapa, he held his Council,371 at Swargadwāram in Fyzabad, his body was burnt. At Lakṣmaṇa-kuṇḍa, Lakṣmaṇa disappeared in the river Sarayū. Daśaratha accidentally killed Śravaṇa, the blind Ṛṣi's son, at Majhaurā in the district of Fyzabad.372 Ayodhyā engaged the attention of the Muslim rulers some of whom set up mosques here, of these the mosques of Babar and and Aurangzeb are notable.373 At present this city forms a part of the district of Fyzabad.