The invincible city that was once known by another name
Before it was the global pilgrimage destination we recognize today, Ayodhya was Saketa—a bustling marketplace at a vital crossroads. From Buddhist monasteries to Mughal mosques, the layers of this Indian city reveal a complex history of conquest, religious shifts, and imperial renaming.
The name Ayodhya is derived from the Sanskrit root 'yudh', meaning 'to fight'. With the negative prefix 'a-', it translates to 'not to be fought' or 'invincible'. While some traditions view this as a reference to an unconquerable city of gods, others suggest it signifies a place that cannot be conquered by sin. Historically, the settlement was known as Saketa, a name appearing in Greek, Chinese, and Buddhist texts.
The city's identity has shifted through various eras of power. During the Gupta period, the settlement was renamed Ayodhya. Some historians theorize that a Gupta emperor, possibly Skandagupta, moved his capital from Pataliputra to Saketa and adopted the name of the legendary, heroic Ayodhya to draw parallels to the deity Rama. This period saw a revival of Brahmanism, though Buddhist influence remained significant; the 5th-century traveler Faxian noted the presence of many monasteries.
The site has been a focal point of intense religious and political dispute. The Babri Masjid, built between 1528 and 1529 under the Mughal emperor Babur, stood on a site traditionally identified as the birthplace of Rama. Following the mosque's demolition by a mob in 1992, a long legal battle ensued. In 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the land belonged to the government, ordering the construction of the Ram Mandir, which was consecrated in January 2024.
Beyond its religious weight, the city's geography was vital for trade. Located on the banks of the Sarayu river, it sat at the junction of major north-south and east-west trade routes. This made it a prosperous commercial hub, frequented by travelers and religious leaders like Gautma Buddha and Mahavira, and even influencing the names of distant cities like Ayutthaya in Thailand and Yogyakarta in Indonesia.
Source: Ayodhya
