Ayodhya

Ayodhya ( listen ; IAST Ayodhyā), also known as Saket, is an ancient city of India, believed to be the birthplace of Rama and setting of the epic Ramayana. It is adjacent to Faizabad city at the south end in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya used to be the capital of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. It has an average elevation of 93 meters (305 feet).

Owing to the belief as the birthplace of Rama, Ayodhya has been regarded as one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites (Saptapuri) for Hindus. It is believed that the birth spot of Rama was marked by a temple, which was demolished by the orders of the Mughal emperor Babur and a mosque erected in its place. The Ayodhya dispute concerns the activism by the Hindu groups to rebuild a Rama's temple at the site.

Origins

Ayodhya is on the right bank of the river Sarayu, 8;km from Faizabad. This town is closely associated with Rama, seventh incarnation of Vishnu. According to the Ramayana, the city is 9,000 years old and was founded by Manu, the first man in the Vedas, and law-giver of the Hindus. Other sources hold that it was founded by its namesake, King Ayudh. It was said to be the capital of the Solar dynasty, of which Rama was the most celebrated king. At the time it was known as Kaushaldesa.

Ayodhya (film)

Ayodhya is a 1975 Indian Malayalam film, directed by P. N. Sundaram and produced by Pavamani. The film stars Prem Nazir, Adoor Bhasi, Sankaradi and Sreelatha Namboothiri in lead roles. The film had musical score by G. Devarajan.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by G. Devarajan.

References

External links

Ayodhya (opera)

Ayodhya is an opera by Somtow Sucharitkul. It premiered on November 16, 2006 at the Thailand Cultural Center in Bangkok, in a production directed by Dutch director Hans Nieuwenhuis and featuring Michael Chance as Ganesha, Nancy Yuen as Sita, Charles Hens as Rama, and John Ames as Ravan. The libretto is a distillation of the entire Ramayana epic into a single evening.

The opera was composed as a special tribute to the King of Thailand as part of the nationwide celebration of the King's Sixtieth Regnal Year. However, the opening was marred by a censorship debate which was widely discussed in the international press.