Ayodhya

Famous for:

Holy place for Hindus and Jains, a popular pilgrim center.

Background:

Situated on the right bank of the river Saryu, Ayodhya city is an important pilgrim center for the Hindus.

The ancient city of Ayodhya was known as Kausaldesa and was balieved to have been founded by the God Manu. It was the capital of ancient kingdom of Ayodhya, where Lord Ram was born.

Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, later ruled over it. During this time, Babri Masjid was constructed and Islam was introduced.

After the Mughals, Ayodhya became a part of the regional state of Awadh, which was annexed by the British.

Ayodhya is also important to the Jains and the Buddhists since the 5 Tirthankaras of Jains including the 1st Tirthankar Adinath (Rishabhadeva), were born at Ayodhya and Gautam Buddha lived here for 16 years. Gurunanak.also stayed in Ayodhya for many years.

Video: Monkeys at the Ayodhya Temple

What to see:

Ram Janma Bhumi and the Babri Masjid
Location: Ayodhya city

The Mughal Emperor Babar built the Babri Masjid in the 15th century. It is also a place of dispute with Hindus believing that the mosque was built on the Ram Janma Bhumi or land of Ram's birth, where Ram is believed to have spent much of his childhood. The mosque was demolished in 1992.

Ramkot
Location: On the western part of the city
The main place of worship in Ayodhya, which is known for the Ram Navmi (birth of Ram) celebrations.

Hanuman Garhi
Location: On a small hill, in the center of the town, just 1 km east of the Ram JanmabhumiIt is a massive fort like structure with temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It is believed that Hanuman lived in a cave nearby to guard the Ram Janmabhumi.

Kanak Bhawan/ Sone Ka Ghar
It has images of Ram and Sita wearing Golden crowns and is believed to have been built by Kaikey for Sita. The present temple was restored in the year 1891.

Swarg Dwar
Location: Ayodhya city
Hindus believe that Lord Ram was cremated here.

Kaleram-Ka-Mandir or Treta-ke-Thakur
Location: Ayodhya city.
It is a 300 years old temple built by the Raja of Kulu and has idols made of black sandstones. Ahalyabai Holkar improved it and built the adjoining ghats in 1784. It is believed to be the place where Lord Ram performed the Ashvamedha Yagna.

Nageshwarnath temple
Location: By the Saryu river
This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Kush, the son of Ram is believed to have built it.

Maniparvat
It is important place for the Buddhist and is identified with a Stupa built by the Emperor Ashoka.

Tulsichaura
Tulsidas is believed to have composed 'The Ramsharitmanas', the Hindi version of Ramayana here.

Video: Hanuman garhi, Ayodhya 

Near By Attraction

Faizabad
Location: 6 Km from Ayodhya
Once the capital of the kingdom of Awadh, there are few monuments belonging from that era.

Reaching there:

Air: Airports at Lucknow (134 km) and Allahabad (166 km) are the nearest airports to Ayodhya.

Rail: Ayodhya station is on the Mughal Sarai - Lucknow broad gauge main line and has regular trains from Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Varanasi, Ahmedabad etc. Faizabad (6 km) is another station nearby.

Road: NH 28 (Barauni - Muzaffarpur - Gorakpur - Lucknow) and NH 96 (Faizabad - Sultanpur - Pratapgarh - Allahabad) are the two National Highways passing near Ayodhya. It is very well connected with all the major cities and towns by good network of roads.

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