Thus, India was called In-tu in ancient times because In-tu in the Chinese language means moon, like Indu in Sanskrit. In the galaxy of nations shining like star In-tu stood like a moon.
(20) Ayodhyā during the post-Harshavardhana period
Kāśikā-vritti on Pānini 5.1.16 mentions Pātaliputravat Sākete parikhā (पाटलिपुत्रवत् साज़्ते परिखा) (Vol. IV. 101), i.e. the moat around the town was like that of Pātaliputra. Megasthenes has reported that the moat of the capital Pātaliputra was about 185m. wide. Kaśikā was composed in the 7th century by Jayāditya and Vāmana. It is a celebrated gloss (वृत्ति) on the sūtras of Pānini.
There is an inscription of A.D. 533/4 which mentions Ayodhyā. It is Dāmodarapura copper plate. There is a mention of a noble man Amritadeva who is said to have come from Ayodhyā (अयो(ध्य)ज़्ज़्ुलपुत्रज़् अमृतदेवेन) (Ayo(dhya)ka-kulaputraka-Amrita-devena). Damodarpur is now in Bangladesh. The fact that Ayodhyā was mentioned as a reference point shows that it was a well known city even at far-flung places.
It is well known that coins of Īśānavarman (550-76 A.D.), Sarvavarman (A.D. 576-580) and Avantivarman (A.D. 580-600) were found at Bhitaura, a village 14km west of Faizabad and at Ayodhyā itself. (Archaeological Survey of India, Reports vol. IX. p. 27). It proves the continued vibration of Ayodhyā which was not an abandoned city during the reign of the Maukhari kings. R.G. Basak designated them ‘Maukharis of Ayodhyā’ (J.R.A.S. 1889, p. 270).
In the 8th century A.D. another valiant King Yaśovarman ascended the throne of Kannauj and restored the glory of the kingdom. His contemporary court poet Vākpatirāja composed ‘Gauda-vaho’ in Prākrita and detailed the conquests of the King. This ‘digvijayi ’ King visited the city of Harischandra and constructed a temple there. The city of Hariśchandra may be identified as Ayodhyā because the capital of all kings from Ikshvāku to Rāma was Ayodhyā only. It is well known that Hariśchandra belonged to the same dynasty. Here it is germane to mention that one version of the Ayodhyā-māhātmya in the Rudra-yāmala contains the story of Hariśchandra most prominently. It connects the famous Svargadvāra of Ayodhyā with the departure of Hariśchandra to heaven along with his subjects.
In the 9th century A.D. Kannauj came under the rule of Pratihāras, and Mihirabhoja (836-885 A.D.) became the most famous king of this dynasty. His son Mahendrapāla I (885-908 A.D.), too, was a powerful king. From the coins discovered from Hatila near Ayodhyā it is clear that these Pratihāra Kings were rulers of Ayodhyā too and Ayodhyā was a flourishing city.
The Gaya copper plate inscription, claimed to be of the ninth year of the Gupta era i.e. 328-9 A.D., is spurious. However, it has been established that it was issued in the 8th century A.D. At the beginning of this edict it is mentioned Ò महा-नौ- हस्त्यश्व- जयस्कन्धावार अयोध्या’, i.e. there was an army camp of the Emperor at Ayodhyā which comprised of elephants, horses and navy. Thus, even in the 8th century A.D. Ayodhyā was perceived to have an army camp.
An inscription [E.I. II (1894) 343-47] of the 8th century recovered from Dūdha-pānī Ghāta near Hazaribagh, now in the Jharkhand state, relates the story of three brothers from Ayodhyā who went to Tāmralipti on business and settled there. The following is the relevent verse from this inscription:
अथ कस्मिश्चि(त्स)मये वणिजो भातरत्रयः।
ताम्रलिप्तिमयोध्यायाः ययु पूर्वं वणिज्यया।।
Subsequently they became local rulers. R.C. Majumdar suggests in “The History and Culture of India” (p. 93) that it refers to Māna rulers of the last quarter of the sixth century A.D. in Orissa. It shows the initiative and enterprise of the natives of Ayodhyā during this period.
In yet another inscription which can be dated around 800 A.D. there is a mention of Bhatta-Vāsudeva Ayodhyeśa. Vāsudeva Bhatta was the ruler of Ayodhyā. Buhler has interpreted that he might have been a ruler of some village named Ayodhyā, but since no other Ayodhyā is known, it should be understood as the main Ayodhyā. Bhatta Vāsudeva was a Sanskrit scholar and the composer of the panegyric (praśasti). Thus, he represents the long-standing tradition of Ayodhyā.
The Rājiva-lochana temple at Rajim near Raipur in the newly created State of Chhattisgarh is one of the oldest surviving Rāma temples in the country. It is situated near the confluence of Pairī and Mahānandī rivers. There is an inscription in the temple dated 3rd January, 1145 (Kalachuri year 896). Jagpāla, a minister of Kalchuri King Prithvīdeva II, had founded this temple for Lord Rāma, the son of Daśaratha. The ‘praśasti’ of the inscription was composed by Jasānanda Thakkura, who hailed from Ayodhyā.(lines 17-19)
१७. इति अयोध्यापुरीयान्वये महामाहेस्व(श्व)रपरमवैष्णव्य महापंडितठक्कुरश्रीजसोधरपुत्रेण द्विजदेवगुरुसुश्रु(श्रू)षाभिरतेन मनीषिणा भक्तिभावानुरन्ज(ञ्ज)केन मह-
१८. त्कविकिंकरेण लक्षणेन विना ठक्कुरश्रीजसानन्देन कृता प्रस(श)स्ति[ ] [।] लिखिता चेयं रूपकारश्रीरत्नपालेन उत्कीर्ण्णापि वा।। कलचुरि संवत्सर(रे) 896 माघे मासि सु(शु)क्ल-
१९. पक्षे रथाष्टम्यां [वु ] [बु] धदिने लिखिता इति।।।।
Śrī Jasānanda Thakkura, son of Jasodhara Thakkura, was a resident of Ayodhyā and supreme devotee of Śiva and Vishnu. He was a great scholar and engrossed in the service of Brāhmanas, gods and preceptor. He was intelligent and awakened the devotional spirit. He was a follower of great poets and devoid of the knowledge of poetics. Such Śrījasānanda composed this eulogy.
Sculptor Ratnapāla wrote and inscribed it. It was written on the Rathāshtamī day of the bright fortnight of the Māgha month of the 896th year of the Kalchuri era.
(21) Reverberations in the South
The glory of Ayodhyā reverberated to the distant south and famous Ālwār Saint Madhurakavi came to Ayodhyā for deep meditation and worship of Lord Rāma. When Madhurakavi was meditating at Ayodhyā one night, he saw an illuminating light from the south and when he followed it, he found that it was indicative of the existence of Nammālavāra on earth. Earlier also the saga of the hero of Ayodhyā, Rāma, had been mentioned in the two epics of the Tamil literature, viz. ‘ Śilappadikāram’ and ‘Mani mekhalai’ authored by Ilango Adigal and Seethalai Saathanar respectively.
In the beginning of the 9th century, when Śankarāchārya composed ‘Saundarya-Laharī he compared certain parts of the Devi’s limbs with various towns of the country in the following śloka:
विशाला कल्याणी स्फुटरुचिरयोध्या कुवलयै
कृपाधाराधारा किमपि मधुरा भोगवतिका।
अवन्ती दृष्टिस्ते बहुनगरविस्तारविजया
ध्रुं तत्तन्नामव्यवहरणयोग्या विजयते।।49।।
In this śloka the following pilgrim places are named by playing the pun- Viśālā, Kalyānī, Ayodhyā, Dhārā, Madhurā, Bhogavatī, and Vijayā. The following commentary written by Lakshmidhara of 14th century A.D. is available:
विशाला विपुला कल्याणी मङगळात्मिका स्फुटरुचिः प्रस्फुटकान्तिः अयोध्या योद्धुमशक्या कुवलयै �
�न्दीवरै कृपाधाराधारा कृपाधाराणां करुणाप्रवाहाणां आधारभूता।
Here Ayodhyā has been interpreted as a city which cannot be fought or won. It shows that during the time of Ādi Śankara (788820 A.D.) Ayodhyā was considered a prominent sacred place.
(22) References from Kashmir
A very strong evidence of the reverberation of Ayodhyā as a great city comes from Kashmir where Nīla-mata-Purānam was composed in the 7th or 8th century A.D. It describes Ayodhyā as mahapurí; whereas even Vārānasī and Prayāga have been mentioned without any epithet. The Purāna enumerates places visited by Lord Śiva from Vārānasī to Harimākūta in Kashmir. During his holy journey Ayodhyā has been called Mahāpurī in the following words:
स प्रयागमतिक्रम्य तथायोध्यां महापुरीम्।।1237।।
He, having crossed Prayāga and the great city Ayodhyā,
About Vārānasī it says:
एवमुक्तस्तदा देव्या वाराणस्यां नराधिप।।1236।।
It is generally believed that the Nīla-mata Purānam, which belongs to the 7th or 8th century A.D., is practically devoid of interpolations. Thus, the composer of the Purāna was aware of the greatness of Ayodhyā town. In addition, the prevalence of the worship of Lord Rāma and his constant consort Sītā is also known from this Purāna.
चतुर्विंशतिसंख्यायां त्रेतायां रघुनन्दनः।
हरिर्मनुष्यो भविता रामो दशरथात्मजः।।620।।
Hari will be born as Rāma, the son of Daśaratha in the twenty-fourth Tretāyuga.
The Purāna mainly deals with the rituals to be performed on a particular day throughout the year and, in that connection, prescribes the worship of Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmana on certain days.
(23) Ayodhyā in Agastya-samhitā
Agastya-samhitā is an early text which prescribes exhaustive rituals for Rama’s worship. It is extensively used by Hans Bakker in his book ‘Ayodhyā’. He places the Agastya-samhitā in the 12th century, whereas from a literary scrutiny it appears to have been composed in the 9th century A.D. It has many references to Ayodhyā in the following verses, although Bakker erroneously writes that there is no mention of Ayodhyā in this book.
In Agastya-samhitā Agastya advises sage Sutīkshna about the meditation:
अयोध्यानगरे रम्ये रत्नमण्डपमध्यगे।
स्मरेत् कल्पतरोर्मूले रत्नसिंहासनं शुभम्।। (28.24)
One should recollect the auspicious Ratna-simhāsana which is situated in the Ayodhyā city in the middle of the Ratna-mandap and at the root of (i.e. beneath) the Kalpa-tree.
He further refers to Rāma who is in the lap of mother Kausalyā. He has got the lustre of sapphire, tender limbs and large eyes. He is embedded with a colour which look like lightning:
मातुरङकगतं राममिन्द्रनीलसमप्रभम्।
कोमलाङगं विशालाक्षं विद्युद्वर्णसमावृतम्।। 28.27।।
Here it is important to note that while recollecting Ayodhyā for Dhyāna (meditation), one has to first remember Rama in the lap of his mother Kausalyā. Here Rama-lallā is indicated.
There is another verse in Agastya-samhitā (26.14) which narrates the birth of Rāma at Ayodhyā. This verse is found also in Champū Rāmāyana (1.14) written by King Bhoja in the 11th century.
उच्चस्थे ग्रहपञ्चके सुरगुरौ सेन्दौ नवम्यां तिथौ
लग्ने कर्कटके पुनर्वसुयुते मेषं गते पूषणि।
निर्दग्धुं निखिलाः पलाशसमिधो मेध्यादयोध्यारणे-
राविर्भूतमभूतपूर्वविभवं यत्किञ्चिदेकं महः।।4।।
Agastya-samhitā (26.14)
Rāma with unprecedented splendour was born at Ayodhyā like the fire generated by the sacrificial sticks, for consuming the demons (flesh-eaters) as palāśa trigs are burnt in the sacrificial ritual. At the time of his birth five planets were in elevated zodiac, Brihaspati was with moon, the tithi (date) was Navamī, the star (nakshatra) was Punarvasu and the Sun was shining in the Mesha zodiac.
There is also another verse:
अभिषिक्तमयोध्यायां ध्यायेद् राममनन्यधी।
पञ्चायुतमिदं जप्त्वा नष्टराज्यमवाप्नुयात्।।
(31.15)
One gets back the lost kingdom, if one with singular loyality chants the Rāma-mantra fifty thousand times and meditates Rāma, anointed as the King at Ayodhyā.
All these references to Ayodhyā in the Agastya-Samhitā were overlooked by Bakker in his book ‘Ayodhyā’.
(24) Vikramānkadeva-charitam of Bilhana
Bilhana was a great poet of Kashmir who migrated to Kalyan in Maharashtra where Chalukyan King Vikramāditya VI (1076 1127 A.D.) honoured him with the title ‘Vidyāpati’ and employed him as a court poet. Bilhana composed a biographical epic Vikramānkadeva-charitam on the life of King Vikramāditya VI. It is more a literary work than a historical one. But the last (18th) chapter of the epic is an autobiography of the poet. Herein the poet indicates his association with Ayodhyā in the following verse:
तं पौलस्त्यं विदलितवतः सूक्तिनिष्यन्दशीताम्।
सीताभर्तुर्व्यरचयदसौ राजधानीमयोध्याम्।। (18.94)
He (i.e. Bilhana) composed a Kāvya on Ayodhyā which was the capital of the husband of Sītā, i.e. Rāma, the tormentor of Ravana.
This Kāvya contained many streams of good sayings which kept Ayodhyā cool.
Now this Kāvya of Bilhana is not available and thus an important literature on Ayodhyā is lost.
Prabhakara Narayan Kawthekar, the author of the biography ‘Bilhana’ (Makers of Indian Literature Series), published by Sāhitya Academy, has written about Bilhana and his work Rāma-kāvya in the following words:
“Meanwhile, he had a connection with well known ancient city Ayodhya. Bilhana composed some poems in praise of the holy city. Ayodhya was the capital of Lord Rama and Bilhana paid his poetic homage to it. We unfortunately do not find any such verses by the poet. However, it is evident that there were some points he composed in respect of Lord Rama and Ayodhya. It is also quite probable that the work on Lord Rama must have been presented by Bilhana, while he was in Varanasi or Ayodhya, because he himself has said that he composed some good verses praising Lord Rama. A.B. Keith has said that there was a Kavya composed by Bilhana; he must have visited Ayodhya which was the source of his inspiration. However, no such work is available.”
Dr. Buhler, too, supports the view that Bilhana had composed a Kāvya on Rāma but he suggests that it was composed at the royal court and not at Ayodhyā. Mathur Lal Nagar holds the similar view. Krishnamāchāriar, the author of ‘History of Classical Sanskrit Literature’, too, is of the view that Bilhana composed a Kāvya on Rāma. Since he visited most of the pilgrim places, his account on Ayodhyā could have probably been of much relevance. But the tragedy with Ayodhyā is that many important texts on Ayodhyā are lost for ever.
(25) Dhanapāla’s ‘Tilaka-mañjarī’
The description of Ayodhyā in Dhanapāla’s Tilaka-mañjarī has gone largely unnoticed by scholars, although the relevant Sans
krit text has been appended to Lala Sitarama’s book ‘Ayodhyā Kā Itihāsa’. Since there was no Hindi or English translation provided; its relevance could not be comprehended. Dhanapāla was an accomplished writer who composed the fiction Tilaka-mañjarī in the beginning of the 11th century. According to a land grant issued by the king Bhojarāja of Dhārā in favour of the author in the Samvat 1078 i.e. 1022 A.D. he appears to have been a favourite poet of the renowned king. In the beginning of the book Dhanapāla has given a detailed description of Ayodhyā which has been depicted with a number of epithets in the style of Bānabhatta. A short excerpt is quoted here:
‘‘अस्ति रम्यता-निरस्त-सकल-सुरलोका स्वपदापहार-शङिकत- शतक्रतुप्रार्थितेन...शततमक्रतुवांच्छाविच्छेदार्थमिव पार्थिवानामिक्ष्वाकूणामुत्पादिता प्रजापतिना...प्रंशुशिखराग्रज्वलत्कनककलशै सुधापङक-धवल प्राकार वलयितैरमरमन्दिर- मण्डलैर्मण्डित-भोगमध्यप्रवेशितोन्मणिफणासहस्रं शेषाहिमुपहासद्भिरुद्भासित- चत्वरा...उत्तरकौशलेष्वयोध्येति यथार्थाभिधाना नगरी।
Ayodhya Revisited Page 12