Return to the Sacred City

THERE ARE SEVEN SACRED cities —Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Harid­vara), Kashi, Kanchi, Avantika (Ujjain) and Dvaravati (Dvaraka). This list is men­tioned in many texts. Did you know that rudrakshas were grown in Ayodhya? The Shiva Purana tells us that. Koshala (Kosala) was a famous kingdom. Bound­aries of kingdoms weren’t constant. They changed over time and at some point, Koshala was divided into Uttara Koshala and Dakshina Koshala. (Kusha ruled over South Koshala and Lava ruled over North Koshala.) Capitals also changed over time. Ko­shala’s capital was not only Ayodhya (also known as Saketa), but Shravasti, too. Depends on the timeline. As everyone knows, we had two major dynasties—surya vamsha and chandra vamsha. Surva vamsha was established by Ikshvaku and in that dynasty, we had famous kings like Dhundumara, Mandhata, Harish­chandra, Sagara, Bhagiratha, Dilipa, Raghu, Aja, Dasharatha and Rama. Genealogical lists tell us Brihadbala, the last important king in the dynasty, was killed by Abhimanyu in the Kuruk­shetra war. After that, the dynasty gradually faded away. But at the time of Dasharatha and Rama, Koshala was a major kingdom and its capital was Ayodhya. Ayodhya means an invincible and impregnable city, a city you couldn’t invade and fight against.

One way of measuring time was yugas—satya (krita), treta, dvapara and kali. In satya yuga, people naturally followed dharma. No king was needed to enforce it. According to texts, kingship evolved in treta yuga, with Prithu as the first rajan, a king who delighted his subjects. Accordingly, the earth came to be known as Prithvi or Prithivi. This was a period of settled agriculture, with urbanisation. Nagara or puri was a city, as was Ayodhya. Janapada was a country, as was Koshala. But there were villages (grama) too.

Different texts tell us various things about Ayodhya and Koshala. Following the Baroda Critical Edition, this is the description from Bala Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana.

The great janapada of Kosala was prosperous and happy. It possessed a lot of wealth and grain and was located on the banks of the Sarayu, with a capital in Ayodhya. Manu himself constructed that city. It was 12 yojanas (8-9 miles) long and three yojanas wide. It was beautiful and spread out, divided by high­ways. The large royal roads were laid out properly. They were always sprinkled with water and flowers were strewn on them. The king was Dasharatha. There were gates and arches. There were machines and implements of war everywhere, constructed by artisans. There were bards and minstrels everywhere. There were tall walls with standards, surmounted by hundreds of shataghnis. (A shataghni is a weapon that can kill one hundred at one stroke.) Everywhere, the city was also full of large num­bers of dancers and actors. There were mango groves and a gi­ant wall formed a girdle around the city. There were moats that were difficult to cross. Thus, the fortification was impossible for others to breach. (The word puri suggests a fortified city.) It was populated by horses, elephants, cattle, camels and don­keys. Large numbers of vassal kings came from the frontiers to offer tribute. Merchants and residents of many countries came there. The palaces were embedded with jewels and were as beautiful as mountains. The city was full of large number of beautiful women and was wonderfully laid out, like an ashtapada board. (Ashtapada was a game, probably a precursor to chess.) It was encrusted with gems everywhere and the man­sions were like celestial vehicles. The houses were densely con­structed on level ground and there was no space between them. There were stores of shali rice and the water was like the juice of sugarcane. There were drums, percussion instruments, veenas and cymbals. These were sounded loudly, signifying that this was the best city on earth. The archers there were skilled and dexterous of hand. There were the best among Brahmanas, ac­complished in the Vedas and the Vedangas.

There were extremely learned people in that best of cities, hap­py and with dharma in their souls. The men were satisfied with the riches they had obtained themselves. They were truthful in speech and not avaricious. In that supreme of cities, there was no one who had not accumulated some amount of riches. There was no household without riches in the form of cattle, horses, wealth and grain. There was no man who was lustful, ignoble or cruel. One was incapable of seeing an ignorant person or a non-believer in Ayodhya. All the men and women were ex­tremely controlled and devoted to dharma. There was no one without an earring, without a head-dress, without a garland and without some means of finding pleasure. There was no one who did not have a bath, nor anyone who did not smear the body with unguents and fragrances. There was no one who did not have the best of food. There was no one who was not generous, no one who did not decorate the body with orna­ments. No one could be seen without ornaments on the hands, nor one who was heartless. There was no one who did not light the sacrificial fire. There were thousands of Brahmanas who performed sacrifices. There was no one in Ayodhya who was without a means of subsistence. There was no one who was a non-believer, no one who was a liar, nor anyone who was not extremely learned. There was no one who was jealous or incapable. There was no one who was not learned. There was no one who was distressed or disturbed in mind, no one who was miserable. There was no man or woman who was poor or ugly. In Ayodhya, one was incapable of seeing a person who was not devoted to the king. All the men possessed long life-spans and were devoted to dharma and the truth. There were the best of horses, born in the kingdoms of Kamboja and Bahlika. The place was full of extremely strong and crazy el­ephants that were like mountains, born in the Vindhya moun­tains and the Himalayas. Making true its name, the city extended for another two yojanas beyond. (The sense is that the fortifica­tions extended for another two yojanas, beyond the city’s pe­rimeter.) With firm gates and ramparts, it was true to its name.

We have a conception of Rama rajya. It was no different when Dasharatha ruled.

In Mount Kailasa, Brahma created a lake through the powers of his mind and that is the reason the lake is known as Manasa (from the word for mind). The sacred Sarayu originates from that lake. Emerging from that lake, it flows past Ayodhya.

We have some more descriptions of Ayodhya in Yuddha Kanda, when Rama returned.

The entire stretch up to Nandigrama was levelled. The ground was sprinkled with water. There were the chiefs of the shrenis, with all their divisions. There were ministers, with garlands and sweetmeats in their hands. In addition to the sound of conch-shell and drums, there were the sounds of bards singing panegyrics. Trumpets were sounded rhythmically. Maidens and Brahmanas proceeded in front, with gold-hued unhusked grain in their hands. Rama entered the city during the day. Therefore, the Valmiki Ramayana doesn’t quite endorse the idea of Deepavali being associated with Rama’s return to Ayodhya.

About The Author

Bibek Debroy

Bibek Debroy has translated the Mahabharata and the Valmiki Ramayana into English. He is the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

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