Ayodhya Chronicles: The Tale of Ram Temple in Ancient Words

I have been sleeping in the lap of memories for centuries! Suddenly there is chaos in my land. People all over the world have their eyes on me. I know that there is a call to establish life by his devotees in the remains of the birthplace of Dashrath Nandan Ram, who appeared on my earth seven and a half thousand years ago. When I look back thousands of years, I find Ramlala and his four brothers chirping on the banks of Yamuna...

Ayodhya's Glorious Past: From Awadh to Vikramaditya's Temple

I was then known as Awadh, the capital of Kaushal state. I am the then Awadh and today's Ayodhya. I was settled by Vaivasvata Manu, son of Maharaja Vivasvan (Surya), the ancestor of Maryada Purushottam Rama. Our style was unique in the Ram era. We were called the city of temples. Everyone had equal rights to all prosperity, full of wealth, thought and worship, and recognition. That is why Maharishi Valmiki had called us the second Indra Lok. The palace of King Dashrath - in which Ramlala and his brothers were born, was disintegrated after Ram took water samadhi. Rama's son Kush had rebuilt the palace. I have seen the end of 44 generations in the lineage. The last generation king Kaushal Raj Brihadwal was killed by Abhimanyu during the Mahabharata period. By the end of the Mahabharata, even the ruins of Suryabansham had been destroyed. There was nothing left. After several hundred years (100 years before Christ), Chakravarti king Vikramaditya reached that dilapidated land of forest and mound while hunting. When he camped on the banks of Yamuna, he realized that there was something special about that place that is buried. When he got information about the period of Ram's rule from the sages there, he was overwhelmed. The emperor built a huge temple at the place where Ram was born. Near the grand temple built on 84 pillars of black stones, wells, ponds, palaces, and gates were built which fascinate the mind.

Ayodhya's Evolution: From Gupta Dynasty to Kannauj's Visit

...Years passed by. The old pages of history continued to fade. The empire of the Gupta dynasty came into existence. We were also made the capital during the time of King Chandragupta II. We (Ayodhya) have been mentioned many times in the 'Raghubansh' poem of the Gupta period poet Kalidas. Our land started being called Ayodhya, the trading center for the people during 600 BC. By then our land had developed into a Buddhist center. My name became Saket in the Buddhist era. Chinese traveler-writer Hentsang, who came in the 7th century, has written that many Buddhist monasteries had been built here and about 300 Buddhist monks lived there. There were temples of Buddhist, Jain, and other sects. There was an ancient Hindu temple here where thousands of people used to come to visit. A few hundred years passed again... King Jaichand of Kannauj came here in the 11th century. He got his name inscribed on the stone inscription of the Ram temple by inscribing the name of King Vikramaditya. And years passed by...

Ayodhya Through Invaders: From Looting to Demolition

The invaders started attacking Indian land. They came here as robbers of the prosperity. Not only did they loot Kashi, Mathura, and Ayodhya, but they also started vandalizing them. Looted statues and demolished temples. Still, the Ram temple remained intact. The temple was safe till the time of Sikandar Lodi in the 14th century. Then came the Mughals who were greedy for power. To establish their empire, they destroyed a lot of temples between 1527-28. When Babar camped in Ayodhya in 1528, by his orders all the temples were demolished and mosques started being built. At the same time, the temple standing at the place of Ram's birth was also demolished. Babar's commander Mir Baqi demolished the Ram temple and built a mosque at that place. After Babar, Akbar and Shahjahan had built a platform for the Hindus there to worship. The cruel Mughal Sultan Aurangzeb of the Babar dynasty named the mosque built on that temple as 'Babri Masjid' after his grandfather. This mosque remained in existence until 1992.

Ayodhya's Silence: 492 Years of Conflicts and Faith in Ram

I, that is, Ayodhya, am silent after seeing the mutual conflicts between Ramlala's platform and Babri Masjid for 492 years. I am silent because I know that these 500 years have passed due to the uproar in the courts, allegations and counter-allegations, evidence and proof, and the struggle between those who believe in Ram and those who do not believe in Ram in the High and Supreme Courts to authenticate the signs. I will just say this – Ram's existence is immortal and will remain immortal.

-Sharad Rai

Tags : Ayodhya Chronicles | ram-temple | Ancient Words | rams-birthplace | Yamuna's banks

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