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130-513: The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical, and socio-religious debate in India, centred on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya , Uttar Pradesh . The issues revolve around the control of a site regarded since at least the 18th century among many Hindus to be the birthplace of their deity Rama , the history and location of the Babri Masjid mosque at the site, and whether a previous Hindu temple

260-526: A title suit with the Allahabad High Court seeking injunction to offer 'puja' (worship) at the disputed site. A similar suit was filed shortly after but later withdrawn by Paramhans Das of Ayodhya. In 1959, the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious institution, filed a third title suit seeking direction to hand over the charge of the disputed site, claiming to be its custodian. A fourth suit was filed by

390-613: A Christian atmosphere in the Vatican , why is it wrong for the Hindus to expect a Hindu atmosphere in Ayodhya?" The yatra resulted in communal riots in many cities in its wake, prompting the government of Bihar to arrest Advani. In spite of this, a large number of ' Kar Sevaks ' or Sangh Parivar activists reached Ayodhya and tried to attack the mosque. They were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh police and

520-572: A Hindu mob demolished the mosque , provoking riots throughout the country. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India announced the final verdict that the land belonged to the government based on tax records; It further ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Mandir ; which was consecrated in January 2024 . It also ordered the government to give an alternate five acre tract of land to

650-541: A big river was located between the two cities, and the Sutta Nipata mentions Saketa as the first halting place on the southward road from Shravasti to Pratishthana . Fourth century onwards, multiple texts, including Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha , mention Ayodhya as another name for Saketa. The later Jain canonical text Jambudvipa-Pannati describes a city called Viniya (or Vinita) as the birthplace of Lord Rishabhanatha , and associates this city with Bharata Chakravartin ;

780-529: A book Sahifa-I-Chihil Nasaih Bahadur Shahi , said to have been written by a daughter of the emperor Bahadur Shah I (1643–1712) and granddaughter of emperor Aurangzeb , in the early 18th century. It mentioned mosques having been constructed after demolishing the "temples of the idolatrous Hindus situated at Mathura , Banaras and Awadh etc." Hindus are said to have called these demolished temples in Awadh " Sita Rasoi " (Sita's kitchen) and "Hanuman's abode". While there

910-422: A flourishing town and a Buddhist centre. However, it had lost its position as an important political centre to Kanyakubja (Kannauj). At the time of Xuanzang's visit, it was a part of Harsha 's empire, and was probably the seat of a vassal or an administrative officer. Xuanzang states that the city measured about 0.6 km (20 li ) in circumference. Another seventh-century source, Kāśikāvṛttī , mentions that

1040-570: A fluid state and it will be hazardous to say more at this stage". By 1950, the state took control of the structure under section 145 CrPC and allowed Hindus, not Muslims, to perform their worship at the site. The mosque had been converted into a de facto temple. Both the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the ABRM filed civil suits in a local court staking their respective claims to the site. Christophe Jaffrelot has called

1170-472: A masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus. But as that event occurred 356 years ago it is too late now to remedy the grievance." This was followed by Hindu riots in 1934 following a cow slaughter which damaged the Babri Masjid. In 1949 devotees of Rama placed idols dedicated to him in the mosque, and the structure was subsequently declared off-limits to Muslims. The Babri Masjid

1300-461: A mosque was located at the supposed birth spot of Rama, which sat on a large mound in the centre of Ayodhya, called the Ramadurg or Ramkot (the fort of Rama). The mosque bore an inscription stating that it was built in 1528 by Mir Baqi on the orders of Babur . According to an early 20th century text by Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar and the surrounding historical sources examined by historian Harsh Narain,

1430-465: A mosque. In a judgement pronounced by a 5 judge bench of the Supreme Court of India on 9 November 2019, the land was handed over to the government to form a trust for the construction of a temple. The court instructed the government to also allot a plot of 2.0 hectares (5 acres) in Ayodhya to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to construct a mosque/Masjid. Some South Koreans have identified

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1560-537: A new shape in 1984 when the VHP carried out procession in Ayodhya, seeking "liberation" of the site from the mosque. In the 1980s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), belonging to the mainstream Hindu nationalist family Sangh Parivar , launched a new movement to "reclaim" the site for Hindus and to erect a temple dedicated to the infant Rama (Ramlala) at this spot. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), formed in 1980 from

1690-464: A new temple at what is believed to be the birthplace of the god, Ram . It was planned to build a new township, Navya Ayodhya, on a 200-hectare (500-acre) site next to the Faizabad - Gorakhpur highway, which will have luxury hotels and apartment complexes. The Ram Mandir ( lit.   ' Rama Temple ' ) is a Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh , India. Many Hindus believe that it

1820-465: A new temple here, which was improved by Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore in 1784, the same time the adjacent Ghats were built. The initial idols in black sandstone were recovered from Sarayu and placed in the new temple, which was known as Kaleram-ka-Mandir. Chhoti Devkali Mandir is the temple of goddess Ishani, or Durga, Kuldevi of Sita. The temple of Nageshwarnath was established by Kush , son of Rama. Legend has it that Kush lost his armlet while bathing in

1950-544: A number of improvised tools, and brought to the ground in a few hours. This occurred despite a commitment from the state government to the Indian Supreme Court that the mosque would not be harmed. More than 2000 people were killed in the riots following the demolition. Riots broke out in many major Indian cities including Mumbai , Bhopal , Delhi and Hyderabad . On 16 December 1992, the Liberhan Commission

2080-523: A political centre of Magadha, whose capital was located at Pataliputra . Several Buddhist buildings may have been constructed in the town during the rule of the Maurya emperor Ashoka in the third century BC: these buildings were probably located on the present-day human-made mounds in Ayodhya. Excavations at Ayodhya have resulted in the discovery of a large brick wall, identified as a fortification wall by archaeologist B. B. Lal . This wall probably erected in

2210-500: A prosperous town during the Kushan rule. The second century geographer Ptolemy mentions a metropolis "Sageda" or "Sagoda", which has been identified with Saketa. The earliest inscription that mentions Saketa as a place name is dated to the late Kushan period: it was found on the pedestal of a Buddha image in Shravasti, and records the gift of the image by Sihadeva of Saketa. Before or after

2340-558: A side door to offer worship. In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out an excavation at the mosque site to determine if it was built over the ruins of a temple. The excavation uncovered pillar bases indicating a temple had been in existence under the mosque. Besides Hindus, the Buddhist and Jain representatives claimed that their temples existed at the excavated site. On 5 July 2005, five terrorists attacked

2470-470: A side door. The 1986 Allahabad High Court ordered the opening of the main gate and restored the site in full to the Hindus. Hindu groups later requested modifications to the Babri Mosque, and drew up plans for a new grand Temple with Government permissions; riots between Hindu and Muslim groups took place as a result, and the dispute became sub-judice. The political, historical and socio-religious debate over

2600-537: A temple at the supposed birth spot of Rama built by the Gahadavalas. In subsequent years, the cult of Rama developed within Vaishnavism, with Rama being regarded as the foremost avatar of Vishnu. Consequently, Ayodhya's importance as a pilgrimage centre grew. In particular, multiple versions of Ayodhya Mahatmya (magical powers of Ayodhya) prescribed the celebration of Ram Navami (the birthday of Rama). In modern times,

2730-516: A temple on the site, all of which were denied by the colonial government. In 1946, an offshoot of the Hindu Mahasabha called Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha (ABRM) started an agitation for the possession of the site. In 1949, Sant Digvijay Nath of Gorakhnath Math joined the ABRM and organised a 9-day continuous recitation of Ramcharit Manas , at the end of which the Hindu activists broke into

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2860-449: A temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. The Archaeological Survey of India had conducted an excavation of the disputed site on the orders of the Allahabad High Court . The report of the excavation concluded that there were ruins of "a massive structure" beneath the ruins of the mosque which was "indicative of remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India", but found no evidence that

2990-521: A trust named as Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra to reconstruct a Ram temple there. It also allocated an alternative site in Dhannipur , Ayodhya to build a mosque to replace the Babri Masjid that was demolished in 1992. On 22 January 2024, the Ram Mandir was officially opened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led its consecration, claiming it to be the start of a new era. The temple is expected to be fully completed by December 2024. The land on which

3120-408: A wedding gift, and only contains statues of Sita with her husband. Ramkot is the main place of worship in Ayodhya, and the site of the ancient citadel of its namesake, standing on elevated ground in the western city. Although visited by pilgrims throughout the year, it attracts devotees from all over the world on " Ram Navami ", the day of the birth of Rama. Ram Navami is celebrated with great pomp in

3250-496: Is also found in the other Puranas with slight variations. In Garuda Purana , Ayodhya is said to be one of seven holiest places for Hindus in India, with Varanasi being the most sacrosanct. In 2023, a Diwali celebration in Ayodhya, broke the Guinness World Record of its previous world record of 1,576,944 for the largest display of oil lamp with 2,223,676 displayed on the eve of Diwali. Ram Mandir , also known as

3380-756: Is believed by some to be a native of Ayodhya. In 2001, a Memorial of Heo Hwang-ok was inaugurated by a Korean delegation, which included over a hundred historians and government representatives. In 2016, a Korean delegation proposed to develop the memorial. The proposal was accepted by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav . Ayodhya is connected by road to several major cities and towns, including Lucknow (130 km [81 mi]), Gorakhpur (140 km [87 mi]), Prayagraj (160 km [99 mi]), Varanasi (200 km [120 mi]) and Delhi (636 km [395 mi]). Ayodhya Mosque, Dhannipur The construction of

3510-512: Is famous as su-kośala "because of its prosperity and good skill". The cities of Ayutthaya (Thailand), and Yogyakarta (Indonesia), are named after Ayodhya. Ancient Indian Sanskrit -language epics, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention a legendary city called Ayodhya , which was the capital of the legendary Ikshvaku kings of Kosala, including Rama. Neither these texts, nor

3640-501: Is identified in the epic Ramayana and its many versions as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama of Kosala and is hence regarded as the first of the seven most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus. The Ayodhya dispute was centered on the Babri mosque , built 1528–29 under the Mughal emperor Babur and said to have replaced a temple that stood at the birth spot of Rama . In 1992

3770-557: Is in pursuance of this pledge that he got the Babri mosque constructed after conquering Hindustan. The original book was written in Persian by Maulvi Abdul Karim, a spiritual descendant of Musa Ashiqan, and it was translated into Urdu by Abdul Ghaffar, his grandson, with additional commentary. The older editions of Abdul Ghaffar's book contain more detail, which seems to have been excised in the 1981 edition. Lala Sita Ram of Ayodhya, who had access to

3900-529: Is indeed Saketa, it appears that by the fifth century, the town no longer had a flourshing Buddhist community or any important Buddhist building that was still in use. An important development during the Gupta time was the recognition of Saketa as the legendary city of Ayodhya , the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty . The 436 AD Karamdanda (Karmdand) inscription, issued during the reign of Kumaragupta I , names Ayodhya as

4030-454: Is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi , the mythical birthplace of Rama , a principal deity of Hinduism . The temple was inaugurated on 22 January 2024 after a prana pratishtha (consecration) ceremony. ^ includes Christians and other religion As of the 2011 Census of India , Ayodhya had a population of 55,890. Males constituted 56.7% of the population and females 43.3%. Ayodhya had an average literacy rate of 78.1%. As per

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4160-600: Is regarded as identical to Vishnu. He also built a temple to Rama at Pravarapura (Paunar near Ramtek ) in about 450 CE. After the Guptas, the capital of North India moved to Kannauj and Ayodhya fell into relative neglect. It was revived by the Gahadavalas , coming to power in the 11th century. The Gahadavalas were Vaishnavas . They built several Vishnu temples in Ayodhya, five of which survived till Aurangzeb 's reign. Indologist Hans T. Bakker concludes that there might have been

4290-454: Is that once upon a time, here was a house where Beschan [Vishnu] was born in the form of Ram." The Baburnama , Babur's diary in which he meticulously documented his life, bears no mention of either the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya or the destruction of a temple for it (there is a known lacuna in his diary between 3 April and 17 September 1528, which period covers Babur's visit to Ayodhya); neither do his grandson Akbar's court documents,

4420-490: Is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh , India. Ayodhya became the top tourist destination of Uttar Pradesh with 110 million visitors in the first half of 2024, surpassing Varanasi . Ayodhya was historically known as Saketa . The early Buddhist and Jain canonical texts mention that the religious leaders Gautama Buddha and Mahavira visited and lived in

4550-514: Is the most popular shrine in Ayodhya. Situated in the centre of town, it is approachable by a flight of 76 steps. Its legend is that Hanuman lived here in a cave and guarded the Janambhoomi, or Ramkot. The main temple contains the statue of Maa Anjani with Bal Hanuman seated on her lap. The faithful believe wishes are granted with a visit to the shrine. Kanak Bhawan is a temple said to have been given to Sita and Rama by Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi as

4680-501: The Ain-i-Akbari , nor his contemporary Hindu poet-saint Tulsidas ' epic poem Ramcharitmanas , dedicated to the Hindu god Rama . Both the Hindus and Muslims are said to have worshipped at the "mosque-temple", Muslims inside the mosque and Hindus outside the mosque but inside the compound. In 1857 a British administrator had a railing erected between the two areas to prevent disputes. In 1949, after India's independence, an idol of Ram

4810-452: The Atharvaveda , which uses it to refer to the unconquerable city of gods. The ninth century Jain poem Adi Purana also states that Ayodhya "does not exist by name alone but by the merit" of being unconquerable by enemies. Satyopakhyana interprets the word differently, stating that it means "that which cannot be conquered by sins" (instead of enemies). "Saketa" is the older name for

4940-779: The Kalpa-Sutra describes Ikkhagabhumi as the birthplace of Rishabhadev. The index on the Jain text Paumachariya clarifies that Aojjha (Aodhya), Kosala-puri ("Kosala city"), Viniya, and Saeya (Saketa) are synonyms. The post-Canonical Jain texts also mention "Aojjha"; for example, the Avassagacurni describes it as the principal city of Kosala, while the Avassaganijjutti names it as the capital of Sagara Chakravartin . The Avassaganijjutti implies that Viniya ("Vinia"), Kosalapuri ("Kosalapura"), and Ikkhagabhumi were distinct cities, naming them as

5070-491: The Deva dynasty kings, including Dhanadeva, whose inscription describes him as the king of Kosala ( Kosaladhipati ). As the capital of Kosala, Saketa probably eclipsed Shravasti in importance during this period. The east–west route connecting Pataliputra to Taxila , which earlier passed through Saketa and Shravasti, appears to have shifted southwards during this period, now passing through Saketa, Ahichhatra and Kanyakubja . After

5200-576: The Gorakhnath wing of Hindu nationalism 'the other saffron', which has maintained its existence separately from the mainstream Hindu nationalism of the Sangh Parivar . After the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was formed in 1964 and started agitating for the Babri Masjid site, the two strands of 'saffron politics' came together. While the lawsuits continued in 1950s and 1960s, the Ayodhya dispute took

5330-575: The Nirmohi Akhara and one-third to the Hindu party for the shrine of "Ram Lalla" (infant Rama). The court further ruled that the area where the idols of Ram are present be given to Hindus in the final decree, while the rest of the land shall be divided equally by metes and bounds among the three parties. The judgement, along with evidences provided by the Archaeological Survey of India, upheld that

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5460-559: The Sarayu , and it was retrieved by a Nag-Kanya who fell in love with him. As she was a devotee of Shiva, Kush built her this temple. It was the only temple to survive when Ayodhya was abandoned until the time of Vikramaditya . While the rest of city was in ruin and covered by dense forest, this temple allowed Vikramaditya to recognise the city. The festival of Shivratri is celebrated here with great splendor. The legendary princess Heo Hwang-ok , who married king Suro of Geumgwan Gaya of Korea,

5590-540: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for declaration and possession of the site. The Allahabad high court bench, comprising justices S. U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D. V. Sharma, began hearing the case in April 2002, which it would complete by 2010. In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India began a court-ordered survey to determine if a temple to Lord Rama existed on the site; the survey said there

5720-402: The " Bedi , i.e., the cradle", and "The reason for this is that once upon a time, here was a house where Beschan [Vishnu] was born in the form of Ram." He recorded that Rama's birthday was celebrated every year, with a big gathering of people, which was "so famous in the entire India". The first recorded instances of religious violence in Ayodhya occurred in the 1855. Certain "Sunnis claimed that

5850-415: The "Ayuta" mentioned in their ancient Samgungnyusa legend with Ayodhya. According to this legend, the ancient Korean princess Heo Hwang-ok came from Ayuta. In the 2000s, the local government of Ayodhya and South Korea acknowledged the connection and held a ceremony to raise a statue of the princess. On 5 August 2020, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi , laid the ceremonial foundation stone for

5980-484: The "great birthday festival" in Ayodhya but made no mention of a mosque at Rama's birthplace. Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551–1602), who wrote Akbarnama , completing the third volume Ain-i Akbari in 1598, described the birthday festival in Ayodhya, the "residence of Rama" and the "holiest place of antiquity", but made no mention of a mosque. William Finch , the English traveller who visited Ayodhya around 1611, and wrote about

6110-464: The "ruins of the Ranichand [Ramachand] castle and houses" where Hindus believed the great God "took flesh upon him to see the tamasha of the world." He found pandas (Brahmin priests) in the ruins of the fort, who were recording the names of the pilgrims, a practice that was said to go back to antiquity. Again there was no mention of a mosque in his account. The first known report of a mosque appears in

6240-471: The Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with one third going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Rama represented by the Vishva Hindu Parishad , one third going to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board , and the remaining third going to Nirmohi Akhara , a Hindu religious denomination . While the three-judge bench found no evidence that the mosque was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that

6370-457: The BJP, organised a rally involving 150,000 VHP and BJP kar sevaks at the site of the mosque. The ceremonies included speeches by the BJP leaders such as Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti . The mob grew restive through the duration of the speeches, and stormed the mosque shortly after noon. A police cordon placed there to protect the mosque was heavily outnumbered. The mosque was attacked with

6500-454: The Babri Masjid was built after demolishing the Hindu temple, which is the birthplace of Rama, and that the mosque was not constructed according to the principles of Islam. The final verdict by the Supreme Court on the case ruled the disputed land in the favour of Hindus for the construction of Ram Mandir and ordered an alternative piece of land be given to the Muslim community for the construction of

6630-473: The Babri mosque site for a Rama temple. In 1992, a right wing Hindu nationalist rally turned into a riot, leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque . A makeshift temple at Ram Janmabhoomi for Ram Lalla , infant Rama was constructed. Under the Indian government orders, no one was permitted near the site within 200 yards, and the gate was locked to the outside. Hindu pilgrims, however, began entering through

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6760-554: The Bairagis of Hanumangarhi had destroyed a mosque that existed atop it. The Muslims charged on the Hanumangarhi but were repelled and routed. They hid inside the mosque of Babur that lay at a distance of less than a kilometre from Hanumangarhi." The Babri mosque was attacked by Hindus in the process. Since then, local Hindu groups made occasional demands that they should have the possession of the site and that they should be allowed to build

6890-635: The Deva kings, Saketa appears to have been ruled by the Datta , Kushan , and Mitra kings, although the chronological order of their rule is uncertain. Bakker theorises that the Dattas succeeded the Deva kings in the mid-1st century AD, and their kingdom was annexed to the Kushan Empire by Kanishka . The Tibetan text Annals of Li Country (c. 11th century) mentions that an alliance of king Vijayakirti of Khotan , king Kanika,

7020-472: The Faizabad district, in which the pilgrim city of Ayodhya falls. Ayodhya itself has a small Muslim population, though there are substantial numbers of Muslims 7 km away at District Headquarters – Faizabad. Since 1949, by Indian Government order, Muslims were not permitted to be closer than 200 yards (180 m) away to the site; the main gate remained locked, though Hindu pilgrims were allowed to enter through

7150-555: The Greek siege of Saketa. Later, Saketa appears to have become part of a small, independent kingdom. The Yuga Purana states that Saketa was ruled by seven powerful kings after the retreat of the Greeks. The Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana also state that seven powerful kings ruled in the capital of Kosala. The historicity of these kings is attested by the discovery of the coins of

7280-522: The Hindu month of Chaitra , which falls between March and April. Swarg Dwar is believed to be the site of cremation of Rama. Mani Parbat and Sugriv Parbat are ancient earth mounds, the first identified by a stupa built by the emperor Ashoka , and the second is an ancient monastery. Treta ke Thakur is a temple standing at the site of the Ashvamedha Yajnya of Rama. Three centuries prior, the Raja of Kulu built

7410-715: The Jain Prakrit-language texts mention a city called Saketa (Sageya or Saeya in Prakrit) as an important city of the Kosala mahajanapada . Topographical indications in both Buddhist and Jain texts suggest that Saketa is the same as the present-day Ayodhya. For example, according to the Samyutta Nikaya and the Vinaya Pitaka , Saketa was located at a distance of six yojana s from Shravasti . The Vinaya Pitaka mentions that

7540-647: The Kapad-Dwar collection in the City Palace Museum in Jaipur . R. Nath , who has examined these records, concludes that Jai Singh had acquired the land of Rama Janmasthan in 1717. The ownership of the land was vested in the deity. The hereditary title of the ownership was recognized and enforced by the Mughal State from 1717. He also found a letter from a gumastha Trilokchand, dated 1723, stating that, while under

7670-529: The Kushans, Saketa appears to have been ruled by a dynasty of kings whose names end in "-mitra", and whose coins have been found at Ayodhya. They may have been members of a local dynasty that was distinct from the Mitra dynasty of Mathura. These kings are attested only by their coinage: Sangha-mitra, Vijaya-mitra, Satya-mitra, Deva-mitra, and Arya-mitra; coins of Kumuda-sena and Aja-varman have also been discovered. Around

7800-626: The Masjid to Babar are not genuine in favor of an omission in account by Fr. Joseph Tieffenthaler to conclude that Mir Baki does not exist and the mosque was constructed by Aurangzeb instead of Babur . However, omissions of this kind "are hardly every given credence" in history. Moreover, Justice Agarwal wrongly concludes that Mir Baqi is a fictional character because he could not find the person 'Mir Baqi Isfahani' or 'Mir Baqi' in Babur's Memoirs. Habib et al. (2010) argue that `Baqi Tashkandi` and `Baqi Shagawal` are

7930-564: The Mosque and associated complex is managed by the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) trust. The Dhannipur Mosque is almost 22 km away from the Ram Mandir, Ayodhya , the former site of its predecessor, the Babri Masjid . The construction began on 26 January 2021. The mosque was officially named as Ahmadullah Shah Mosque , as an honour to the leader of Indian Independence war of 1857 , Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah , but

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8060-507: The Muslim administration people had been prevented from taking a ritual bath in the Saryu river, the establishment of the Jaisinghpura has removed all impediments. The Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler , who visited Awadh in 1766–1771, wrote, "Emperor Aurangzebe got the fortress called Ramcot demolished and got a Muslim temple, with triple domes, constructed at the same place. Others say that it

8190-518: The Nirmohi Akhara is not a shebait or devotee of the deity Ram Lalla and the Akhara's suit was barred by limitation. The Supreme Court dismissed all 18 petitions seeking review of the verdict on 12 December 2019. Ayodhya Ayodhya ( Hindustani: [əˈjoːdʱjaː] ; IAST : Ayodhyā ) is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . It

8320-400: The Saketa (present-day Ayodhya) only around the fourth century, when a Gupta emperor (probably Skandagupta ) moved his capital to Saketa, and renamed it to Ayodhya after the legendary city. Alternative, but less likely, theories state that Saketa and Ayodhya were two adjoining cities, or that Ayodhya was a locality within the Saketa city. Archaeological and literary evidence suggests that

8450-423: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, is a Hindu temple complex under construction in Ayodhya. The site is significant to Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of their revered deity Rama . Balak Ram or the Infant form of Rama is the presiding deity of the temple consecrated on 22 January 2024 . Hanuman Garhi , a massive four-sided fort with circular bastions at each corner and a temple of Hanuman inside,

8580-441: The Trust has to date received Rs 40 lakhs of donations, 40% of which has been contributed by the Hindu community. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has stated that the construction of the mosque is against the Waqf Act and is illegal under Shariyat law . AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also claimed that donating money for construction and praying at the mosque is haraam (forbidden) according to Islamic principles, to which

8710-409: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to build the mosque . The word "Ayodhya" is a regularly formed derivation of the Sanskrit verb yudh , "to fight, or wage war". Yodhya is the future passive participle, meaning "to be fought"; the initial a is the negative prefix; the whole, therefore, means "not to be fought" or, more idiomatically in English, "invincible". This meaning is attested by

8840-474: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to get the rest. The court also ruled that the status quo should be maintained for three months. All the three parties appealed against the division of disputed land in the Supreme Court . The Supreme Court (SC) held final hearing on the case from 6 August 2019 to 16 October 2019. The bench reserved the final judgment and granted three days to contesting parties to file written notes on 'moulding of relief' or narrowing down

8970-404: The birthplace of Rama, in the courtyard of the Babri Masjid, which was rejected by citing that Hindu side doesn't enjoy proprietary rights. This decision was appealed a year later and the Faizabad district court once again rejected it by "citing the passage of time" as the reason for rejection although the court agreed with the Hindu petitioner's claim by taking note that "It is most unfortunate that

9100-684: The capital of Kosala, but the later texts, such as the Jain texts Nayadhammakahao and Pannavana Suttam , and the Buddhist Jatakas , mention Saketa as the capital of Kosala. As a busy town frequented by travellers, it appears to have become important for preachers such as Gautama Buddha and Mahavira . The Samyutta Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya mention that Buddha resided at Saketa at times. The early Jain canonical texts (such as Antagada-dasao , Anuttarovavaiya-dasao , and Vivagasuya ) state that Mahavira visited Saketa; Nayadhammakahao states that Parshvanatha also visited Saketa. The Jain texts, both canonical and post-canonical, describe Ayodhya as

9230-501: The capital of the Kosala province, and records commander Prithvisena's offerings to Brahmins from Ayodhya. Later, the capital of the Gupta Empire was moved from Pataliputra to Ayodhya. Paramartha states that king Vikramaditya moved the royal court to Ayodhya; Xuanzang also corroborates this, stating that this king moved the court to the "country of Shravasti", that is, Kosala. A local oral tradition of Ayodhya, first recorded in writing by Robert Montgomery Martin in 1838, mentions that

9360-484: The capitals of Abhinamdana, Sumai, and Usabha respectively. Abhayadeva's commentary on the Thana Sutta , another post-canonical text, identifies Saketa, Ayodhya, and Vinita as one city. According to one theory, the legendary Ayodhya city is the same as the historical city of Saketa and the present-day Ayodhya. According to another theory, the legendary Ayodhya is a mythical city, and the name "Ayodhya" came to be used for

9490-482: The city was deserted after the death of Rama's descendant Brihadbala . The city remain deserted until King Vikrama of Ujjain came searching for it, and re-established it. He cut down the forests that had covered the ancient ruins, erected the Ramgar fort, and built 360 temples. Vikramditya was a title of multiple Gupta kings, and the king who moved the capital to Ayodhya is identified as Skandagupta. Bakker theorises that

9620-480: The city were located in the areas that have not yet been excavated. The Buddhist sites that had suffered destruction during the Khotanese-Kushan invasion appear to have remained deserted. The fifth-century Chinese traveller Faxian states that the ruins of Buddhist buildings existed at "Sha-chi" during his time. One theory identifies Sha-chi with Saketa, although this identification is not undisputed. If Sha-chi

9750-463: The city, attested in Sanskrit, Jain, Buddhist, Greek and Chinese sources. According to Vaman Shivram Apte , the word "Saketa" is derived from the Sanskrit words Saha (with) and Aketen (houses or buildings). The Adi Purana states that Ayodhya is called Saketa "because of its magnificent buildings which had significant banners as their arms". According to Hans T. Bakker , the word may be derived from

9880-470: The city. The Jain texts also describe it as the birthplace of five tirthankaras namely, Rishabhanatha , Ajitanatha , Abhinandananatha , Sumatinatha and Anantanatha , and associate it with the legendary Bharata Chakravarti . From the Gupta period onwards, several sources mention Ayodhya and Saketa as the name of the same city. The legendary city of Ayodhya , popularly identified as the present-day Ayodhya,

10010-423: The commission include late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and former RSS leader K. N. Govindacharya . Relying on the testimonies of several eyewitnesses, the report stated that many of these leaders had made provocative speeches at the rally that provoked the demolition. It also stated that they could have stopped the demolition if they had so wished. Many Muslim organisations have continued to express outrage at

10140-463: The cult of Rama developed within Vaishnavism, with Rama being regarded as the foremost avatar of Vishnu. Between the 13th and 18th century, Ayodhya's importance as a pilgrimage centre grew. In 1226 AD, Ayodhya became the capital of the province of Awadh (or "Oudh") within the Delhi sultanate . Muslim historians state that the area was little more than wilderness prior to this. Pilgrimage was tolerated, but

10270-482: The destruction of the disputed structure. In July 2005, terrorists attacked the makeshift temple at the site of the destroyed mosque. In 2007, M. N. Gopal Das, the then head of the Ram temple, received phone calls making threats against his life. Many terror attacks by banned jihadi outfits like Indian Mujahideen cited the demolition of Babri Mosque as an excuse for terrorist attacks. Several years later mosques were built in

10400-646: The earlier Sanskrit texts such as the Vedas , mention a city called Saketa. Non-religious, non-legendary ancient Sanskrit texts, such as Panini's Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali's commentary on it, do mention Saketa. The later Buddhist text Mahavastu describes Saketa as the seat of the Ikshvaku king Sujata, whose descendants established the Shakya capital Kapilavastu . The earliest of the Buddhist Pali-language texts and

10530-557: The eighth-century poem Gaudavaho . Archaeological evidence (including images to Vishnu , Jain tirthankaras , Ganesha , the seven Matrikas , and a Buddhist stupa) suggests that the religious activity in the area continued during this period. According to Indologist Hans T. Bakker , the only religious significance of Ayodhya in the first millennium AD was related to the Gopratara tirtha (now called Guptar Ghat), where Rama and his followers are said to have ascended to heaven by entering

10660-514: The end of January, followed by a short spring in February and early March. Average temperatures are mild, near 16 °C (61 °F), but nights can be colder. Ayodhya is an important place of pilgrimage for the Hindus. A verse in the Brahmanda Purana names Ayodhya among "the most sacred and foremost cities", the others being Mathura , Haridvara , Kashi , Kanchi and Avantika . This verse

10790-552: The entire fortified town, labelled Ramadurga ("Rama's fort"), as pilgrimage sites. Babur was the first Mughal emperor of India and the founder of the Mughal Empire . It is believed that one of his generals, Mir Baqi , built the Babri Masjid ("Babur's Mosque") in 1528 on his orders. The belief came into currency since 1813–14, when the East India Company 's surveyor Francis Buchanan reported that he found an inscription on

10920-453: The fourth century, the region came under the control of the Guptas , who revived Brahmanism . The Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana attest that the early Gupta kings ruled Saketa. No Gupta-era archaeological layers have been discovered in present-day Ayodhya, although a large number of Gupta coins have been discovered here. It is possible that during the Gupta period, the habitations in

11050-402: The history and location of the Babri Mosque, is known as the Ayodhya dispute. In 2003, by the order of an Indian High Court, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was asked to conduct a more in-depth study and an excavation to ascertain whether the type of structure that was beneath the rubble indicated definite proof of a temple under the mosque. However, it could not be ascertained if it

11180-462: The independent witnesses were all connected, while adding that their opinions were offered without making a proper investigation, research or study into the subject. Udit Raj 's Buddha Education Foundation claimed that the structure excavated by ASI in 2003 was a Buddhist stupa destroyed during and after the Muslim invasion of India. The excavations by the ASI were used as evidence by the court that there

11310-429: The issues on which the court is required to adjudicate. The final judgement in the Supreme Court was declared on 9 November 2019. The Supreme Court ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple. It also ordered the government to give an alternate 2.0 hectares (5 acres) of land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. The court has said in its verdict that

11440-473: The king of Gu-zan, and the king of Li, marched to India and captured the So-ked city. During this invasion, Vijayakirti took several Buddhist relics from Saketa, and placed them in the stupa of Phru-no. If Kanika is identified as Kanishka, and So-ked as Saketa, it appears that the invasion of Kushans and their allies led to the destruction of the Buddhist sites at Saketa. Nevertheless, Saketa appears to have remained

11570-500: The land of the mosque and the surrounding area in 1717. His documents show a three-domed structure resembling the mosque, which is however labelled the "birthplace" ( chhathi ). In the courtyard can be seen a platform ( chabutra ) to which Hindu devotees are shown circumambulating and worshipping. All these details were corroborated by the Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler half a century later. Tieffenthaler also said that "The reason for this

11700-509: The last quarter of the third-century BC. After the decline of the Maurya empire, Saketa appears to have come under the rule of Pushyamitra Shunga . The first century BC inscription of Dhanadeva suggests that he appointed a governor there. The Yuga Purana mentions Saketa as the residence of a governor, and describes it as being attacked by a combined force of Greeks , Mathuras , and Panchalas . Patanjali's commentary on Panini also refers to

11830-488: The location of various shrines, such as those of snake, yaksha Pasamiya, Muni Suvratasvamin, and Surappia. It is not clear what happened to Saketa after Kosala was conquered by the Magadha emperor Ajatashatru around fifth century BC. There is lack of historical sources about the city's situation for the next few centuries: it is possible that the city remained a commercial centre of secondary importance, but did not grow into

11960-410: The medieval mosque, Babri Masjid , stood has come to be regarded by Hindus to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity, Rama , and is at the core of the Ayodhya dispute. Rama is one of the most widely worshipped Hindu deities and is considered the seventh incarnation of god Vishnu . According to the Ramayana , Rama was a prince born in the Ikshvaku dynasty's capital city Ayodhya (which may not be

12090-441: The mosque and placed idols of Rama and Sita inside. On 22–23 December, idols were installed inside the mosque and the people were led to believe that the idols had 'miraculously' appeared in the monument. Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel insisted that the idols should be removed, however, Govind Ballabh Pant was not willing to remove the idols and added that "there is a reasonable chance of success, but things are still in

12220-457: The mosque itself, the complex includes a hospital, museum, library, a community kitchen which can feed a maximum of 2,000 people per day, and an Indo-Islamic cultural research centre and publication house. Around 40% of the donations received by the Trust are given by Hindus, while Muslims have contributed 30%. The remaining 30% are corporate donations. Foundation secretary Athar Hussain confirmed that

12350-460: The mosque walls which attested to this fact. He also recorded the local tradition, which believed that emperor Aurangzeb ( r.  1658–1707 ) built the mosque after demolishing a temple dedicated to Rama. Between 1528 and 1668, no text mentioned the presence of a mosque at the site. The earliest historical record of a mosque comes from Jai Singh II , a Rajput noble in the Mughal court, who purchased

12480-485: The move to Ayodhya may have been prompted by a flooding of the river Ganges at Pataliputra, the need to check the Huna advance from the west, and Skandagupta's desire to compare himself with Rama (whose Ikshvaku dynasty is associated with the legendary Ayodhya). According to Paramaratha's Life of Vasubandhu , Vikramaditya was a patron of scholars, and awarded 300,000 pieces of gold to Vasubandhu . The text states that Vasubandhu

12610-516: The north and 50 pillar bases in association with a huge structure One of the judges of the Allahabad High Court in 2010 criticised the independent experts who had appeared on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board including Suvira Jaiswal , Supriya Verma, Shireen F. Ratnagar and Jaya Menon. The witnesses withered under scrutiny and were discovered to have made "reckless and irresponsible kind of statements". He also pointed out that

12740-614: The older edition in 1932, wrote, "The faqirs answered that they would bless him if he promised to build a mosque after demolishing the Janmasthan temple. Babur accepted the faqirs' offer and returned to his homeland." The fact that Babur came in the guise of a Qalandar is corroborated in Abdullah's Tarikh-i Dawudi , where it is detailed that he met the Sultan Sikandar Lodhi in Delhi in

12870-548: The paramilitary forces, resulting in a pitched battle in which several kar sevaks were killed. Accusing the central government led by V.P. Singh of being weak, the BJP withdrew its support, necessitating fresh elections. In these elections, the BJP won a majority in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly increased its share of seats in the Lok Sabha . On 6 December 1992, the VHP and its associates, including

13000-464: The previous decision and ruled that the land belonged to the government based on tax records. It further ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple. It also ordered the government to give an alternate 2.0 hectares (5 acres) tract of land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board to build the mosque . On 5 February 2020, the Government of India made an announcement for

13130-581: The religion data of 2011 Census , the majority population is of Hindu religion with 93.23%, and Muslims comes the second with 6.19%. Ayodhya has a humid subtropical climate, typical of central India. Summers are long, dry and hot, lasting from late March to mid-June, with average daily temperatures near 32 °C (90 °F). They are followed by the monsoon season which lasts till October, with annual precipitation of approximately 1,067 mm (42.0 in) and average temperatures around 28 °C (82 °F). Winter starts in early November and lasts till

13260-596: The remnants of the Jana Sangh , became the political face of the campaign. In 1986, a district judge ruled that the gates would be reopened and Hindus permitted to worship inside, providing a major boost to the movement. In September 1990, BJP leader L. K. Advani began a " rath yatra " (pilgrimage procession) to Ayodhya to generate support for the movement. Advani later stated in his memoirs, "If Muslims are entitled to an Islamic atmosphere in Mecca , and if Christians are entitled to

13390-472: The roots sa and ketu ("with banner"); the variant name saketu is attested in the Vishnu Purana . The older name in English was "Oudh" or "Oude", and the princely state it was the capital of until 1856 is still known as Oudh State . Ayodhya was stated to be the capital of the ancient Kosala kingdom in the Ramayana . Hence it was also referred to as "Kosala". The Adi Purana states that Ayodhya

13520-451: The rulers became increasingly dependent on the local Hindu nobles, and control over the temples and pilgrimage centres was relaxed. In the 1850s, a group of Hindus attacked the Babri mosque, on the grounds that it was built over the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama . To prevent further disputes, the British administrators divided the mosque premises between Hindus and Muslims. Ayodhya

13650-481: The same as modern Ayodhya ) to parents Kaushalya and Dasharatha in the Treta Yuga . The Ayodhya Mahatmya , described as a "pilgrimage manual" of Ayodhya, traced the growth of the sect in the second millennium CE. The original recension of the text, dated to the period between 11th and 14th centuries, mentions the janmasthana (birthplace) as a pilgrimage site. A later recension adds many more places in Ayodhya and

13780-571: The same disguise. The inscription on the Babri mosque also names him as Babur Qalandar . Musa Ashiqan's grave is situated close to the Babri mosque site, whose shrine uses two of the same type of black basalt columns used in the Babri mosque, indicative of his role in the destruction of the prior temple. Tulsidas , who began writing the Ramcharit Manas in Ayodhya on Rama's birthday in 1574 (coming there from his normal residence in Varanasi ) mentioned

13910-420: The same person as `Mir Baqi` on the inscriptions. Similarly, ASI professionalism has been criticized for not tabulating the contrarian evidence like animal bones and glazed pottery in spite of explicit instructions from the courts. ASI has also been criticized for ignoring or selecting loose group of brickbats as pillar bases to support their theory of temple beneath the mosque. In 1950, Gopal Singh Visharad filed

14040-505: The seventh century Chinese traveller Xuanzang , who describes a stupa and a monastery at Ayodhya ("O-yu-t-o"). Ayodhya probably suffered when the Hunas led by Mihirakula invaded the Gupta empire in the sixth century. After the fall of the Guptas, it may have been ruled by the Maukhari dynasty, whose coins have been found in the nearby areas. It was not devastated, as Xuanzang describes it as

14170-555: The site of present-day Ayodhya had developed into an urban settlement by the fifth or sixth-century BC. The site is identified as the location of the ancient Saketa city , which probably emerged as a marketplace located at the junction of the two important roads, the Shravasti - Pratishthana north–south road, and the Rajagriha - Varanasi -Shravasti- Taxila east–west road. Ancient Buddhist texts, such as Samyutta Nikaya , state that Saketa

14300-458: The site of the makeshift Ramlalla temple in Ayodhya. All five were killed in the ensuing gunfight with security forces, and one civilian died in the bomb blast triggered as they attempted to breach the cordon wall. On 30 September 2010, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court ruled that one-third of the disputed land should be given to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board , one-third to

14430-417: The structure was specifically demolished for the construction of the Babri Masjid. The report received both praise and criticism, with some other archaeologists contesting the results of the report. The five-judge Supreme Court bench heard the title dispute cases from August to October 2019. On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi , announced their verdict ; it vacated

14560-506: The tax on pilgrims ensured that the temples did not receive much income. Under Mughal rule, the Babri mosque was constructed in Ayodhya. The city was the capital of the province of Awadh (mispronounced as "Oudh" by the British), which is also believed to be a variant of the name "Ayodhya". After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 AD, the central Muslim rule weakened, and Awadh became virtually independent, with Ayodhya as its capital. However,

14690-487: The town was surrounded by a moat similar to that around Pataliputra . After the fall of Harsha's empire, Ayodhya appears to have been variously controlled by local kings and the rulers of Kannauj, including Yashovarman and the Gurjara-Pratiharas . The town is not mentioned in any surviving texts or inscriptions composed during 650–1050 AD, although it may be identified with the "city of Harishchandra " mentioned in

14820-461: The waters of Sarayu. In the 11th century, the Gahadavala dynasty came to power in the region, and promoted Vaishnavism . They built several Vishnu temples in Ayodhya, five of which survived till the end of Aurangzeb 's reign. Hans Bakker concludes that there might have been a temple at the supposed birth spot of Rama built by the Gahadavalas (see Vishnu Hari inscription ). In subsequent years,

14950-448: The young Babur came from Kabul to Awadh (Ayodhya) in disguise, dressed as a Qalandar ( Sufi ascetic), probably as part of a fact-finding mission. Here he met the Sufi saints Shah Jalal and Sayyid Musa Ashiqan and took a pledge in return for their blessings for conquering Hindustan . The pledge is not spelled out in the 1981 edition of Abdul Ghaffar's book, but it is made clear that it

15080-411: Was destroyed during a political rally on 6 December 1992, triggering riots all over the Indian subcontinent . Many attempts were thwarted previously, one of which led to the 1990 Ayodhya firing incident . A subsequent land title case was lodged in the Allahabad High Court , the verdict of which was pronounced on 30 September 2010. In the judgment, the three judges of the Allahabad High Court ruled that

15210-573: Was a Rama temple, as the remnants had more resemblance to a Shiva temple. In the words of ASI researchers, they discovered "distinctive features associated with... temples of north India". Excavations further yielded: stone and decorated bricks as well as mutilated sculpture of a divine couple and carved architectural features, including foliage patterns, amalaka , kapota-pali ["dove-house" crown-work], doorjamb with semi-circular shrine pilaster, broken octagonal shaft of black schist pillar, lotus motif, circular shrine having pranala (water chute ) in

15340-451: Was a native of Saketa ("Sha-ki-ta"), and describes Vikramaditya as the king of Ayodhya ("A-yu-ja"). This wealth was used to build three monasteries in the country of A-yu-ja (Ayodhya). Paramartha further states that the later king Baladitya (identified with Narasimhagupta ) and his mother also awarded large sums of gold to Vasubandhu, and these funds were used to build another Buddhist temple at Ayodhya. These structures may have been seen by

15470-475: Was a non-Islamic building before the mosque. However, the court concluded that no evidence was found that a non-Islamic structure was specifically demolished for the construction of the Babri Masjid. Aligarh Historians Society has criticized both the ASI and the Allahabad High Court Judgement on several grounds. First, Justice Agarwal concluded that inscriptions on the Babri Masjid that attribute

15600-591: Was annexed in 1856 by the British rulers. The rulers of Awadh were Shia , and the Sunni groups had already protested against the permissive attitude of the former government. The British intervened and crushed the Sunni resistance. In 1857, the British annexed Oudh (Awadh) and subsequently reorganised it into the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh . A movement was launched in 1984 by the Vishva Hindu Parishad party to reclaim

15730-432: Was believed to have entered the waters of Saryu in his ascent to heaven. According to a local tradition recorded by Francis Buchanan and Alexander Cunningham , Ayodhya became desolate after Rama's ascent to heaven and "Vikramaditya" revived it. (In Raghuvamsa , Rama's son Kusa revived it.) Prabhavatigupta , the daughter of Chandragupta II , was a Rama devotee. Her son, Pravarasena II wrote Sethubandha , in which Rama

15860-426: Was built over the site of a former mosque, and became resolved to demolish the temple, resulting in violent clashes leading to the deaths of many Muslims. In 1857, a chabutra (platform) was erected in the courtyard of the Babri Masjid at the supposed site of Rama's birthplace. As a consequence of this dispute was a court case in 1885 requesting the construction of a temple to enclose the chabutra, considered to mark

15990-409: Was constructed by 'Babor'. Fourteen black stone pillars of 5 span high, which had existed at the site of the fortress, are seen there. Twelve of these pillars now support the interior arcades of the mosque." This ambiguity between Aurangzeb and Babur could be significant. Tieffenthaler also wrote that Hindus worshipped a square box raised 5 inches (13 cm) above the ground, which was said to be called

16120-412: Was demolished or modified to create the mosque. The site of the Babri Masjid has been claimed to be the birthplace of Rama since at least 1822. Hafizullah, a superintendent at the Faizabad court submitted a report to the court in 1822 in which he claimed, "The mosque founded by emperor Babur is situated at the birth-place of Ram." In 1855 local Muslims became convinced that the nearby Hanuman Garhi Temple

16250-564: Was evidence of a temple beneath the mosque, but this was disputed by Muslims. After the Supreme Court dismissed a plea to defer the High Court verdict, on 30 September 2010, the High Court of Allahabad, the three-member bench ruled that the disputed land be split into three parts. The site of the Ramlala idol would go to the party representing Ram Lalla Virajman (the installed Infant Ram deity), Nirmohi Akhara to get Sita Rasoi and Ram Chabutara, and

16380-663: Was later renamed as Muhammad bin Abdullah Masjid , after the Islamic prophet Muhammad . Dhannipur is a hamlet located in Sohawal tehsil in Ayodhya district . The designated plot for the mosque is located at a distance of about 22 kilometres from the Ram Mandir site. The project was formally launched by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board by hoisting the national flag and planting saplings on Republic Day of 2021. In addition to

16510-510: Was located in the Kosala kingdom ruled by Prasenajit (or Pasenadi; c. sixth–5th century BC), whose capital was located at Shravasti. The later Buddhist commentary Dhammapada- atthakatha states that the Saketa town was established by merchant Dhananjaya (the father of Visakha ), on the suggestion of king Prasenajit. The Digha Nikaya describes it as one of the six large cities of India. The early Buddhist canonical texts mention Shravasti as

16640-473: Was no mention of Babur in this account, the Ayodhya mosque had been juxtaposed with those built by Aurangzeb at Mathura and Banaras. Jai Singh II (popularly called "Sawai Jai Singh", 1688–1743) purchased land and established Jaisinghpuras in all Hindu religious centres in North India, including Mathura, Vrindavan, Banaras, Allahabad, Ujjain and Ayodhya. The documents of these activities have been preserved in

16770-411: Was placed inside the mosque, which triggered the dispute. In Buddha's time (600 BCE) the present-day Ayodhya was called Saketa and it was one of the 6 largest cities of North India. During the Gupta times, either Kumaragupta or Skandagupta made it their capital, after which it came to be called Ayodhya. Kalidasa wrote Raghuvamsa here, and referred to Gopratara tirtha (Guptar Ghat), where Rama

16900-656: Was set up by the Government of India to probe the circumstances that led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque. It was the longest running commission in India's history with several extensions granted by various governments. The report found a number of people culpable in the demolition, including BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee , Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi , then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh , Pramod Mahajan , Uma Bharti and Vijayaraje Scindia , as well as VHP leaders like Giriraj Kishore and Ashok Singhal . Other prominent political leaders indicted by

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