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Ayodhya Travel Guide

Ayodhya, Ayodhya Travel GuideOn the right bank of the river Ghaghra or Saryu, as it is called within sacred precincts, stands the holy city of Ayodhya, believed to be the birth place of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The ancient city of Ayodhya, according to the Ramayana, was founded by Manu, the law-giver of the Hindus. For centuries it was the capital of the decendants of the Surya Vansh of which Lord Rama was the most celebrated king. Ayodhya during ancient times was known as Kosaldesha. The Atharvaveda describes it as "a city built by gods and being as prosperous as paradise itself". The illustrious ruling dynasty of this region were the lkshvakus of the Surya Vash. Accoridng to tradition lkshvaku was the eldest son of Vaivasvata Manu, who established himself at Ayodhya.



The earth is said to have derived its name 'Prithvi' from Prithu, the 6th king of the line. A few generations later came Masndhatri, in whose line the 31st king was Harishchandra, known idely for him live for truith. Raja Sagar of the same clan performed the ashvamedha yajna and his great grandson bhagirath is reputed to have brought ganga on earth by virtue of his penances. later in the time came the great raghu after whome the family came to be called as raghu vansh . His grandson was Raja Dasharatha the illustrious father of lord rama with whome the glory of the dynasty reached its zenith.

According to pauranic belief in the 93rd generation from Ikshvaku the 30th from lord rama was vrihadbala the last famous king of the ikshvaku dynasty of ayodhya who was killed during the Mahabharata war. The kingdom of kosala again rose to prominence in the time of the Buddha, i.e. 6th century B.C.

Ayodhya is pri-eminently a city of temples. At Ayodhya several religions have grown and prospered simultaneously and also at different periods of time in the past. Remnants of Hinduism, Budhism , Jainism, Sikhism can still be found in Ayodhya.

According to Jain tradition, Ayodhya was the seat of five Tirthankaras, including the first Tirthankar Adinath (Rishabhadeva).

How to Reach Ayodhya

Air: For Ayodhya the nearest airports are Amausi (Lucknow-134km.) and Babatpur (Varanasi-209 km.).

Rail: Ayodhya is situated on the gauage Northern Railway line on Mughal Sarai-Lucknow main route. Ayodhya/ Faizabad are connected to various parts of the country by the following trains-1067/1068 Saket Exp. (Mumbai /Faizabad); 3307/3308 Doon Exp.(Calcutta/ Dehadun);3151/3152 Jammu- Tawi Exp. (Calcutta),348/3484 Ganga- Yamuna Exp. (Bhiwani/Delhi-Varanasi/Malda Town);4649/4650 Saryu- Yamuna Exp. (Delhi/Varanasi); 9165/9166 Sabarmati Exp.(Varanasi/ Ahmedabad).


Places of Interest in Ayodhya

Hanuman Mandir, Ayodhya VacationsHanuman Garhi
Hanuman Garhi is one of the most important temples of Ayodhya. Situated in the center of the town, the temple is approachable by a flight of 76 steps. Legend has it that lord hunman lived here in a cave and guarded the ramkot. The present temple was built in the middle of 10th century, in shape of a four sided ford with circular bastions at each corner. The temple houses an image of lord hunman.

Kanak Bhawan
Kanak Bhawan is one of the finist temple in Ayodhya. It was built by queen of tikamgarh, virshbhanu kuvari in 1891. the main temple is built around an opened inner court in which stands a small shrine of Rampada . the main idols installed inside the garbhagriha are of Devi Sit & Lord Rama . the sanctrum is well decorated .

Treta Ke Thakur
This temple stands at the place where lord rama is said to have performed the Ashvamedah yajna . about 300 years ago the raja of Kulu built a new temple here, which was improved by Ahalyabai holkar of indore. At the same time the adjoining ghats were also built. The initial idols in back sandstone where recovered from river Saryu and placed in the new temple, famous as kale-RAM -ka -mandir .

Shri Ramjanma Bhoomi
Believed to be discovered by king Vikramaditya. Opens for devotees between 6.30 to 10.30 A.M. and 3.00 to 6.00 during summer & between 7.30 to 10.30 A.M. and 2.00 to 5.00 P.M. during winter. On the auspicious day of Ramnavami during chaitra month ( March-April) devotees come here in large numbers.
Ramjanam Bhoomi, Ayodhya Travel Vacations
Swargdwar
The strip of land from Sahasradhara to Nageshwarnath temple is commonly denoted as Swargdwar. The buildings on the Ghat facing the river were mainly built during the reign of Nawab Safdar Jung and his Hindu minister Naval Rai, who is credited in in particular for their construction. The buildings and the Ghats offer a fine view. In recent years the river bed has shifted northwards, leaving the Ghats, therefore the new Ghats were built around 1960 along with the new bridge. The 'pairi' as it is popularly known offers an excellent view from the bridge.

Nageshwarnath Temple
Nageshwarnath is considered to be the presiding deity of Ayodhya. The temple of Nageshwarnath is said to have been established by Kush, the son of Lord Rama. Legend has it that kush lost his armlet while bathing in the river Saryu, which was picked up by a Nag-Kanya, who fell in love with him. As she was a devotee lf Lord Shiva, Kush erected this temple for her. It is said that this has been the only temple to have survived till the time of king vikramadiya, the rest of city had fallen into ruins and was covered by dense forests. It was by means of this temple that king vikmaditya was able to locate Ayodhya and the sites and different shrines here. The festival of shivratra is celebrated here with great pomp and splendour. The present temple built during the reign of sufdarjung by hindu minister Naval Rai around 1750.



Temple,Ayodhya Holiday VacationsMani Parvat
stands about 65 feet high and some scholars think it to be Buddhist orgin. According to legends it was while Lord Hanuman was carrying the hill bearning the Sanjeevani Booti (herb) for Lakshmans wounds from Himalayas on way to Lanka a portion broke off and fell at Aydhoa and this is that very mound.

Guptar Ghat
contains a series of fine well - maintained ghats which were built by Raja darshan singth in the 1st half of the 19th century. On top of the ghats a palace was built which comprises a Sita -RAM temple in the centre of the courtyard . the shrines of chakrahari and guptahari exist here with a small narasimha temple.

Suraj Kund
3 km. from ayodhya is suraj kund, a large tank with ghats around built by the rulers of surya vans hog ayodhya, as a homage to the sun god. The spot os ideal for a calm and quiet holiday. Jain Shrine, Ayodhya Vacations

Jain Shrines
There are also several jain temples at ayodhya, as it is said to be the birth place of five tirthankaras. Kesari singh, the treasurer of nawab faizabad, built five shrines to mark the birth place of these tirthankaras, which bear the date of vikram samvat 1781, the temple adinath is near the swargdwar, while the anantanath temple stands ofn the gola ghat, sumantanath shrine is near the swargdwar, while the anantanath temple stands on the gola ghat, sumantnath shrine is at ramkote, Ajitnath temple near saptsagar while abhinandannath temple is near the sarai . a new jain temple stands in rai ganj locality which house a unique 21ft . high image of lord adinath (rishabhadeva) the first tirthankar.



Road: Connected by road to several major cities and towns, some of the major road distances are; Lucknow-125km; Gorakhapur-132 km; Jhansi-441 km; Allahbad-166 km; Sravasti-109 km; Varanasi-209 km., Gonda-51 km.

Festivals in Ayodhya

Parikramas
Ram Mandir, Ayodhya Holiday VacationsAyodhya is perhaps the most noted place in northern India where parikramas are undertaken by Hindu pilgrims.These circumbulations of important religious places are of varying durations, shortest being the 'Antargrahi Parikrama' which has to be completed within a day. After taking a dip in the river Saryu, the devotee commences the Parikrama from the Nageshwarnath temple and passes through Rama Ghat, Sita Kund , Mani Parvat and Brahma Kund, finally terminating at Kanak Bhavan.

Then there is the Panchkoshi Parikarma, circuit of 16 Km., which touches Chakratirtha, Naya Ghat, Ram Ghat, Holkar-Ka-Pura, Dashrath Kund, Jogiana, Ranopali, Jalpanala and Mahatabagh. On the way the people pay homage to the deities in the shrines which are situated en route.

The ' Chaturdashkoshi Parikarma' constitutes a circular journey of 45 km., made once a year on the occasion of Akshainavami, which is completed within 24 hours.




Ramnavami, Ayodhya VacationsRamnavami
Falls on the 9th day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (March-April), when people from all parts of the country gather on the banks of river Saryu. The Birth of Lord Rama is celebrated at midnight, Ayodhya is filled with the sound of conches and bells.

Shravan Jhoola Mela
Commeences on the third day of the second half of Shrevana (July-August) and lasts ill the end of the month. The images of the seities (specially of Lord Rama, Lakshman and Sita) are swung in the temples and then taken to Mani Parvat, where a big gathering joins in swinging these idols. The deities are later brought back to the temples.

Ayodhya Excursions

Ayodhya Travel VacationsTulsi Smarak Bhawan
built in the memory of goswami tulsidas , is used for prayer meetings and religious discourses. If also houses the 'Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan', where a large collection of literary works on Swami Tulsidas can be. A cultural center of performing Arts also functions here.

Ramkatha Museum
The Ramkatha museum, set up at Ayodhya since 1988, is engaged in collection preservation and conservation of antiquities rated to the story of Lord Rama.

Main Ghats -Guptar Ghat , RajGhat , Ram Ghat, Lakshman Ghat, Janki Ghat, Naya Ghat. Tanks - Sita Kund , Suraj Kund, Vibhisan Kund, Brahma Kund, Dantdhavan Kund, Vidya Kund. Hill-tops- Sugreev Tila, Angad Tila, Nal- neel Tila and Kuber Tila.




Lakshman Ghat, Ayodhya VacationsShringi Rishi Ashram
This is the place where sage shringi had performed the putrakameshti yahna for king dashrath . this is a beautiful scenic sport on the banks of river saryu.

Bharat Kund: - 15km
Towards south are nandigram and bharat kund the place for performing the holy sraddha (rituals of paying homage to ancestors ) . The ghats on the northern side of bharat kund were built by baqtawar singh (brother of king darshan singh ) In the 1st quarter of 19th century .` jata kund " is believed to be the spot where lord rama and lakshman cut their matted hair at the end of their exile.

Punyahari
It is located in the village punhad , 19km from shringi rishi 6km from bilvahari a site that has yielded a lot of archaeological antiquities .