Ancient Ayodhya City was a beautiful and prosperous city established by King Manu on the banks of the Sarayu River. It spread over 12 yojanas and was adorned with grand streets, forts, gardens, and jewel-studded palaces. It was home to righteous individuals, scholars, and powerful warriors.
The Ancient Ayodhya City Grandeur and Features
On the banks of the Sarayu River, there was a vast country called Kosala, filled with satisfied people, abundant in wealth and grain, and continuously progressing. In this land, Ayodhya, a city founded by the first king of humans, the famous Maharaja Manu, was renowned across all three worlds. This great city was twelve yojanas (48 kos, approximately 66 miles or 106.217 kilometers) wide. The city was adorned with wide roads all around, and the streets were regularly sprinkled with water and covered with flowers.
In this city, there were large arches (entrance gates), beautiful markets, and various machines and weapons created by skilled artisans for the city’s defense. The city also had residents such as weavers and Magadha prisoners. The people of the city were immensely wealthy. Tall buildings with high stories stood, adorned with flags. On the walls of the city’s fortifications, hundreds of cannons were mounted.
The city also had numerous women’s theatrical troupes. Everywhere, there were parks and gardens, with mango orchards enhancing the beauty of the city. Around the city, long trees of sakhu (a type of tree) were planted, giving the appearance as though Ayodhya, personified as a woman, was wearing a waistband.
The city was fortified with impregnable walls and trenches, making it impossible for any enemy to reach it. Elephants, horses, oxen, camels, and mules were seen everywhere. The royal kings and wrestlers frequently gathered here. People from various countries settled in the city for trade and business.
The city was adorned with jewel-studded palaces and hills, enhancing its beauty. There were also beautiful structures resembling the heavenly city of Amaravati, where women lived in elegance. The royal palaces were golden in hue, and the city was home to beautiful women. Piles of jewels were often seen, and towering, sky-touching buildings (akin to palatial homes or flying structures) were visible everywhere.
In the city, there were large, sturdy, and densely populated houses built on square plots of land. The city had heaps of rice piled up, and the wells were filled with sweet water resembling sugarcane juice. The sounds of nagadas (drums), mridangams, veenas, and other musical instruments echoed throughout the city, creating a constant resonance. There was no other city on earth that could compare to it.
In that city, there were beautiful houses, resembling the celestial chariots of perfected beings who had ascended to heaven through penance, where the finest individuals resided. Among them were brave warriors skilled in shooting sound-piercing arrows, who never harmed helpless enemies or those fleeing from battle. They were swift in their archery and highly proficient in the art of weapons and warfare.
In this city, there were many brave warriors who killed wild animals like lions, tigers, and boars, which roamed the forests, by using weapons and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with them. The warriors of the city were renowned for their exceptional skill in both agility and physical strength. Thousands of great charioteers lived in Ayodhya.
In Ayodhya, there were thousands of Sagnikas (those who performed daily Agnihotra rituals), virtuous individuals, scholars proficient in the six branches of the Vedas, truthful and noble saints, and thousands of ascetic sages who were dedicated to chanting and penance. These were the primary inhabitants of the city.
In that city of Ayodhya, King Dasharath, who was well-versed in the knowledge of the Vedas and their meanings, a seeker of truth who gathered all things in alignment with dharma, was a man of truth, farsighted, highly radiant, beloved by the people, and a mighty warrior of the Ikshvaku dynasty. He performed many yajnas, remained devoted to righteousness, controlled all his subjects, and ruled as a Rajarishi (a king with the qualities of a sage).
Famous across the three worlds, powerful, free from enemies, a friend to all, master of his senses, and one who amassed wealth and other resources like Indra and Kubera, King Dasharath governed Ayodhya with the same dedication to the welfare of his people as Maharaja Manu did.
In that noble city of Ayodhya, the inhabitants were righteous, knowledgeable, and content with their wealth. They were self-sufficient, free from greed, and truthful. In this excellent city, there was no one who could be considered poor or lacking in wealth; even those with lesser wealth were not found. Every family residing there possessed wealth, grain, cows, oxen, and horses.
In Ayodhya, there were no debauched, wicked, cruel, foolish, or atheist individuals, even if one searched for them. Both men and women were righteous and self-controlled. They engaged in pure and immaculate conduct, often competing with the faultless great sages in their virtuous ways, meaning in these aspects, they resembled the sages.
There was not a single person there who did not wear earrings, crowns, or garlands, or who did not apply oil, perfumed oil, or sandalwood paste, or who was not in every way happy. No one had an unpleasant odor due to lack of cleanliness. There was no one who ate impure food or poor quality substances, nor anyone who did not feed the hungry, or who lacked gold jewelry around their necks or arms, or who had not conquered their own mind.
In Ayodhya, there was no man who should have performed the Agnihotra, Balivaishwadeva (ritual offerings), and failed to do so, nor was there anyone with a vile or lowly nature, a thief, or of mixed caste. The city was inhabited by Brahmins who regularly followed their prescribed duties according to their varna and ashrama, were self-controlled, charitable, studious, and never hesitated in accepting alms or gifts.
In Ayodhya, there were no atheists, truth-deniers, inexperienced individuals, gossip-loving people, weaklings, or ignorant fools. There was no Brahmin who did not study the six branches of the Vedas daily, who did not observe vows such as Ekadashi, or who was negligent in teaching, nor anyone who was poor, insane, distressed, or suffering.
The Kshatriyas of Ayodhya were obedient to the Brahmins, the Vaishyas followed the Kshatriyas, and the Shudras served the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas according to their prescribed duties. King Dasharath ruled Ayodhya in the same manner as his wise ancestor, King Manu, had done.
Ayodhya was filled with warriors as radiant as fire, with pure hearts, incapable of tolerating the strength of enemies, and skilled in the use of weapons, much like mountain caves are filled with lions. The city was adorned with the finest horses, born in regions near the Kambuj, Vanayuj, and Sindhu rivers, similar to the horses of Indra, enhancing the beauty of Ayodhya.
Ayodhya was a city, spanning two yojanas, filled with mighty, intoxicated, and extremely powerful elephants, born in the Vindhya and Himalaya mountains. These elephants belonged to the noble and esteemed Bhadr, Mandr, and Mrig species, along with mixed breeds of Bhadrmand, Bhadrmrig, and Mrigmand, embodying the characteristics of two species. The city was named aptly, as it was full of these majestic, mountain-like elephants.
In this magnificent city of Ayodhya, King Dasharath ruled with the same brilliance as the moon among the stars. Ayodhya, a city that lived up to its name, was fortified with strong gates and adorned with various beautiful homes, and it housed thousands of prosperous people. King Dasharath ruled over this city in a manner akin to Indra, the king of the gods.
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