Ayodhya

Ayodhya, also called Oudh or Awadh, is a town situated on the banks of river Saryu, in south-central Uttar Pradesh state.
Ayodhya is revered because of its association in the great Indian epic poem Ramayana with the birth of Rama.
Ayodhya is identical with the ancient town of Saketa, where the Buddha is said to have resided for a time.
The Jain texts also describe it as the birthplace of five tirthankaras including Rishabhanatha.
Ayodhya (Awadhpuri) has been regarded as the first one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites (Moksha Dayini Sapta Puris) for Hindus.

In traditional history, Ayodhya was the early capital of the kingdom of Kosala, though in Buddhist times (6th–5th century BCE) Shravasti became the kingdom’s chief city.
Around the 4th century BCE, Kosala was annexed to Magadha by King Ajatashatru.
In the name Saketa, the city became an important Buddhist centre under the Mauryan empire.
The earliest known reference to Saketa as ‘Ayodhya’ was during the rule of Kumaragupta I (415-455 CE).
The Kanauj kingdom arose in Ayodhya, then called Oudh, during the 11th and 12th centuries CE.
The region was later included in the Delhi sultanate, the Jaunpur kingdom, and, in the 16th century, the Mughal Empire.
Oudh gained a measure of independence early in the 18th century but became subordinate to the British East India Company in 1764 and eventually annexed into British India in 1856.

Foundation stone was laid for construction of a Ram temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020.

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