Ayodhyā is the ancient capital of the Solar dynasty (Sūryavaṃśa), on the bank of the river Sarayū. It is the birthplace and kingdom of Bhagavān Rāma, and one of the seven holy cities of Bhārata that give moksha (liberation), the Sapta Moksha Purī. The name means “unconquerable”. From the time of Ikshvāku to the reign of Daśaratha, Ayodhyā was the seat of the Sūryavaṃśa. Its glory was greatest when Bhagavān Vishṇu was born there as Rāma and later came back to rule in the perfect kingship of Rāmarājya.

Ayodhyā in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa

The city described (Chapter 5)

The Bāla Kāṇḍa opens with a picture of Ayodhyā as it stood in the time of Daśaratha. It was a city of great glory and plenty. It lay on the bank of the Sarayū and was twelve yojanas long and three yojanas wide. Its streets and highways were well planned. The roads were laid out perfectly, sprinkled with water, and hung with garlands of flowers at every entrance. The city shone like a chessboard, with towers, arches and assembly halls rising like mountains. Its markets were full of skilled artisans, merchants and craftsmen from every land. The houses had many floors, their roofs were set with gems, and flagpoles rose from the buildings into the sky. Elephants, horses and chariots moved all day along the wide avenues. Not one man was poor, helpless or without means. The whole city was prosperous, righteous and content.

The city was guarded on all four sides by walls, moats and armed defenders. It truly lived up to its name, ayodhyā, the unconquerable. Thousands of warriors skilled in archery and masters of fighting from elephants guarded its edge. The city rivalled Amarāvatī, the divine city of Indra, in its grandeur. It was ruled by the righteous King Daśaratha, who was famous in the three worlds. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 5)

The royal births

Ayodhyā is the city where the four sons of Daśaratha were born: Rāma, Lakshmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna. Rāma was born of Kausalyā, Bharata of Kaikeyī, and the twins Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna of Sumitrā. The whole of Ayodhyā broke into celebration. Drums were sounded, flowers were showered from the sky, the gandharvas sang and the apsarās danced. The citizens celebrated with unrestrained joy. Vasishṭha performed the naming ceremony in the palace. The streets rang with music, and the gates of every home were hung with festive arches. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 6–7)

The city and its dynasty

Ayodhyā was founded in the line of Ikshvāku, the son of Vaivasvata Manu. It was the seat of the Sūryavaṃśa from the earliest time of this manvantara (age of a Manu). Its name means “unconquerable” or “that which cannot be fought against”. It speaks of the city as the stronghold of dharma in the world. The city was famous for its prosperity, its righteous order, and its line of great and righteous kings from the descendants of Manu. The line runs: Ikshvāku, Kakutstha, Raghu, Aja, Daśaratha. Each of these kings ruled from Ayodhyā. When the ṛshi Ṛshyaśṛṅga performed the putrakāmeshṭi yajña (the fire rite for sons) for Daśaratha, the city was already known as the first city of Āryāvarta, well governed and full of contented people. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 5)

Holy events in Ayodhyā

Ayodhyā is supremely holy because of the events of the Rāmāyaṇa, which unfolded in this city and went out from it. Here, in the royal rooms, Bhagavān Rāma, Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna were born together as the fourfold descent of Vishṇu. Here the yuvarājābhisheka (the anointing of Rāma as crown prince) was announced with great joy. Here also came the grief of Daśaratha in his impossible choice, which ended in exile for Rāma and death for the king. The city mourned, and the citizens followed Rāma, weeping, to the edge of the forest.

During the fourteen years of exile, Bharata would not sit on the throne. He settled at Nandigrāma, on the edge of the city, and ruled from that humble place. The pādukās (sandals) of Rāma were placed on the royal seat as the sign of the true king. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 5–6)

Rāma’s return and reign

After the great victory at Laṅkā and the freeing of Sītā, Bhagavān Rāma boarded the Pushpaka vimāna with Sītā, Lakshmaṇa, Vibhīshaṇa and the leading vānara warriors. He flew north and showed Sītā the forests and holy places of the journey. He landed at Nandigrāma and received the prostrations of Bharata. Then the whole company went together into Ayodhyā.

The rāmābhisheka, the coronation of Rāma, was performed by Vasishṭha and the assembled ṛshis, in the presence of the devas and all the citizens. His mothers Kausalyā, Kaikeyī and Sumitrā welcomed him with tears of joy. Then Rāma ruled in Rāmarājya, the golden age of perfect rule. In it no one died before their time, there was no adharma, and all the people kept their dharma with willing hearts. Rāma performed aśvamedha yajñas, worshipped Vāsudeva (his own Self) and gave great gifts to the world. After ten thousand years of such rule, Rāma went up to Vaikuṇṭha, and with him went Bharata, Lakshmaṇa, Śatrughna, the citizens and all of Ayodhyā, in devotion. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 10–11)

The inner nature of Ayodhyā in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa

The Ayodhyā Māhātmya of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa adds a deeper meaning to the city, beyond its history and its kings.

Standing on the Sudarśana Cakra. Ayodhyā is a divine city that does not rest on the earth. It stands for ever on the Sudarśana Cakra (discus) of Bhagavān Vishṇu and never truly touches the ground. For this reason pāpa (sin) cannot enter it. The text says that the city is not reached by the great pāpas, such as the killing of a brāhmaṇa, nor by the small ones, and so it is known as Ayodhyā.

The Trimūrti in the name. Agastya gave Vyāsa an etymology of the name that holds the whole Trimūrti in its three syllables. “A” stands for Brahman (Brahmā). “Yo” stands for Vishṇu. “Dhyā” stands for a form of Rudra. The name of the city is itself a mantra of the Trimūrti.

The fish-shaped holy zone. The sacred kshetra (holy ground) of Ayodhyā is shaped like a fish. Its head points west, between Gopratāra and Asita. Its back is in the east. Its middle runs from north to south. Its boundaries are Sahasradhārā to the east (one yojana), Samatā to the west (one yojana), the Sarayū to the north and the Tamasā to the south.

First of the Sapta Moksha Purī. Ayodhyā heads the list of the seven cities that give moksha:

Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā, Kāśī, Kāñcī, Avantikā, Purī, Dvārāvatī caiva saptaite mokshadāyakāḥ.

The verse names Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā, Kāśī, Kāñcī, Avantikā, Purī and Dvārāvatī as the seven that give moksha.

Compared with Kāśī. The text says that in Kaliyuga, whoever stays in the city of Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, even for the blink of half an eye, gains the fruit that comes from staying in Kāśī for sixty thousand years.

(Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapter 1)

The presiding mūrti: Vishṇuhari

The chief mūrti of the tīrtha complex of Ayodhyā is Vishṇuhari. It was set up by the devoted brāhmaṇa Vishṇu Śarmā after three years of hard tapas (austerity) at Ayodhyā. Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him and dug the earth with his Sudarśana Cakra. This made the Cakratīrtha and brought the water of the Gaṅgā to Ayodhyā. Bhagavān Vishṇu then told him to set up the mūrti with the brāhmaṇa’s own name put in front, so that it is called Vishṇuhari. This is the first stop in every pilgrimage to Ayodhyā. All pilgrims to Ayodhyā begin by visiting Vishṇuhari. The yearly festival runs from the tenth day to the full-moon day of Kārttika. (Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapter 1)

The holy rivers of Ayodhyā

Sarayū. The Sarayū is the most sacred river of Ayodhyā. It is called Brahman itself in the form of water. It flows from Lake Mānasa. It came forth from the big toe of the left foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu, as the Gaṅgā came forth from his right foot. Its touch removes the pāpa of brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa) as the Gaṅgā does. On its banks are the most sacred tīrthas: Sahasradhārā, where Lakshmaṇa merged into Śesha; Svargadvāra, where Rāma and all the people of Sāketa went to svarga; and Gopratāra, the supreme meeting of the Sarayū with the Ghargharā.

Tamasā. The Tamasā is the southern boundary of the holy zone of Ayodhyā. It rises in the forest of the ṛshi Maṇḍavya. On its banks are the āśramas of Gautama, Cyavana and Parāśara.

(Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapters 1 and 9)

The tīrthas of Ayodhyā

Ayodhyā has over thirty named holy places: kuṇḍas (sacred pools), tīrthas and mūrtis. Each has its own account of its origin and its own yearly festival. The chief ones are: Cakratīrtha, Brahmakuṇḍa, Ruṇamocanā, Pāpamocanā, Sahasradhārā, Svargadvāra (the most famous), Candrahari, Dharmahari, Svarṇakhaṇi, the Tilodakī meeting, Sītākuṇḍa, Cakrahari, Harismṛti, Guptahari, Gopratāra (the supreme tīrtha), Kshīrodaka, Bṛhaspatikuṇḍa, Rukmiṇīkuṇḍa, Dhanayaksha, Vasishṭhakuṇḍa, Sāgarakuṇḍa, Yoginīkuṇḍa, Urvaśīkuṇḍa, Ghosharkakuṇḍa, Ratikuṇḍa, Mantreśvara, Bharatakuṇḍa, Jāṭakuṇḍa, Gayākūpa, Piśācamocanā and Mānasatīrtha. (Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapters 1–10)

Rāma’s mahāprasthāna from Ayodhyā

When the task of his avatāra (descent) was done, Bhagavān Rāma led all the people of Ayodhyā in a great procession to Svargadvāra on the Sarayū. They were citizens, women, children, monkeys, rākshasas, animals, birds, and every moving and unmoving being. Brahmā came with all the devas. Rāma touched the holy waters of the Sarayū with his feet and entered his supreme divine form, that of Vishṇu. All the beings who had followed him plunged into the waters of Gopratāra and reached the Santānika Loka. This is a special world beyond Brahmaloka, which Brahmā made at the request of Bhagavān Rāma. (Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapter 6)

Ayodhyā in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa

The city at the hour of crisis

The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa opens in Ayodhyā at the height of its glory. The yuvarājābhisheka of Rāma is to take place the very next morning. The city is decorated and glad, and the citizens are full of hope. In a single night this joy turned to ruin through the two varas (boons) of Kaikeyī: the crowning of Bharata and the exile of Rāma to the forest for fourteen years. The city that the Bāla Kāṇḍa shows in full plenty and righteous order became, overnight, a city of weeping and stunned disbelief.

The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa describes the grief of the citizens. The streets fell silent. The markets lost their usual joy. The lamps in the homes were no longer lit for festival. When Rāma left the palace in the chariot of Sumantra, the whole people, men, women, old people and children, followed on foot and would not let him go. They followed as far as the bank of the river Tamasā. There Rāma left quietly before dawn, to spare them the pain of a second farewell. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–46)

Daśaratha’s death and the city without a king

After Rāma left, Daśaratha fell into a grief that never lifted. He could not eat, sleep or do his royal duties. Kausalyā and Sumitrā stayed with him, and Kaikeyī was kept out of his sight. Sumantra took Rāma as far as Śṛṅgaverapura and came back with Rāma’s last words. Daśaratha questioned him again and again: “What did Rāma say? Where did he sleep? What did he eat?” It was as if the words could stand in the place of Rāma himself. Within days Daśaratha died of grief for his son, calling “Rāma, Rāma”. So came true the śāpa (curse) of the blind ascetic, whose son Daśaratha had killed by mistake at the Sarayū. Ayodhyā was left with neither king nor crown prince. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 57–64)

Bharata’s rule from Nandigrāma

Bharata performed the funeral rites of Daśaratha on the Sarayū. Then he went to Citrakūṭa to plead with Rāma, without success. He came back to Ayodhyā with the pādukās of Rāma on his head. He would not enter the palace, which Kaikeyī’s scheming had stained. He settled instead at Nandigrāma, a village on the eastern edge of the lands of Ayodhyā. There Bharata placed the pādukās of Rāma on the royal throne as the sign of true kingship. He wore bark cloth and matted hair, slept on a grass mat and ate forest food. From Nandigrāma he ruled the whole kingdom in the name of the pādukās. He treated every decision as service to Rāma. He vowed to enter the fire if Rāma did not return on the appointed day. So Ayodhyā went on as a righteous kingdom, but its true king was the absent Rāma, whose sandals stood on the throne. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 116)

Ayodhyā in the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa

The birth of Rāmacandra

The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa shows Ayodhyā as the place of the holiest event in the three worlds: the birth of Bhagavān Rāmacandra from the womb of Kausalyā. He was born in spring, in the month of Caitra, on śukla navamī (the ninth day of the bright fortnight), at the Abhijit muhūrta, at midday, when the air was gently mild. As Bhagavān Rāmacandra came down into the world, the devas rejoiced, the munis were filled with bliss, the kinnaras danced, the gandharvas sang, divine drums sounded in the sky and flowers rained down. The forests blossomed, the rivers ran full of sweet water, and the mountains shone with the light of gems. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Śrī Rāma Janana)

The moment of birth was a private wonder in the inner rooms. Kausalyā saw her newborn son in his supreme four-armed form. He was dark as a rain cloud, with the śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma in his hands, wearing the yellow robe (pītāmbara), with eyes like lotuses. The memory of her earlier life woke in her, and her body trembled with wonder and reverence. She prayed to him with folded hands. Then the divine form was drawn back, and Bhagavān Rāmacandra became a crying baby, and the whole household ran in with joy. The heart of Daśaratha was overwhelmed. He ordered auspicious drums to be sounded through all Ayodhyā and sent word at once to Vasishṭha. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Śrī Rāma Janana)

A month of celebration

The birth of the four princes set Ayodhyā ablaze with joy. Rāmacandra was born of Kausalyā, Bharata of Kaikeyī, and the twins Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna of Sumitrā. The whole city was decorated with banners, arches and festive lamps, and every home overflowed with gladness. The women of Ayodhyā came to the palace in groups with golden vessels full of auspicious gifts: musk, fragrant sandalwood paste and rose water. The streets were soaked with their scent. The smoke of agaru incense rose in thick curtains and made a twilight at midday. The golden vessels on the rooftops shone like moons, and the light of gems sparkled like stars. Music, song and celebration filled the city for a whole month. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa compares the scene to the devī of night coming down to earth to see Bhagavān Rāmacandra, and finding the sun already there, standing pale with wonder in the form of the midday hour.

At the naming ceremony Vasishṭha said: “These four sons of yours are the four Vedas in human form. They are dear to the munis, to Bhagavān Śiva and to Kākabhuśuṇḍi.” In the account that Bhagavān Śiva tells Pārvatī in the frame of the Bāla Kāṇḍa, Bhagavān Śiva himself says that he and Kākabhuśuṇḍi came to Ayodhyā in human disguise to see the birth celebrations. So great was the holiness of that event. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Śrī Rāma Janana; Nāmakraṇamu)

Sources

Agni Mahāpurāṇa, Chapters 5–6 and 10–11
Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapters 1–10
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapters 5–7
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–119
Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Śrī Rāma Janana
Nāmakraṇamu