Editing Ayodhya (section)

=== Gupta period ===

Around the fourth century, the region came under the control of the [[Gupta Empire|Guptas]], who revived [[Brahmanism]].{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=26}} The ''[[Vayu Purana]]'' and the ''[[Brahmanda Purana]]'' attest that the early Gupta kings ruled Saketa.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=7}} No Gupta-era archaeological layers have been discovered in present-day Ayodhya, although a large number of Gupta coins have been discovered here. It is possible that during the Gupta period, the habitations in the city were located in the areas that have not yet been excavated.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=27}} The Buddhist sites that had suffered destruction during the Khotanese-Kushan invasion appear to have remained deserted.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|pp=25–26}} The fifth-century Chinese traveller [[Faxian]] states that the ruins of Buddhist buildings existed at "Sha-chi" during his time.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=17}} One theory identifies Sha-chi with Saketa, although this identification is not undisputed.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=J. C. Aggarwal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3JuAAAAMAAJ |title=Ram Janmabhoomi through the ages: Babri Masjid controversy |last2=N. K. Chowdhry |publisher=S. Chand |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8364-2745-5 |page=7 |access-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907214041/https://books.google.com/books?id=V3JuAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=7 September 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> If Sha-chi is indeed Saketa, it appears that by the fifth century, the town no longer had a flourshing Buddhist community or any important Buddhist building that was still in use.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=18}}

An important development during the Gupta time was the recognition of Saketa as the [[Ayodhya (legendary city)|legendary city of Ayodhya]], the capital of the [[Ikshvaku dynasty]].{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=26}} The 436 AD Karamdanda (Karmdand) inscription, issued during the reign of [[Kumaragupta I]], names Ayodhya as the capital of the Kosala province, and records commander Prithvisena's offerings to Brahmins from Ayodhya.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=28}} Later, the capital of the [[Gupta Empire]] was moved from Pataliputra to Ayodhya. [[Paramartha]] states that king Vikramaditya moved the royal court to Ayodhya; Xuanzang also corroborates this, stating that this king moved the court to the "country of Shravasti", that is, Kosala.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=29}} A local oral tradition of Ayodhya, first recorded in writing by [[Robert Montgomery Martin]] in 1838,{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=30}} mentions that the city was deserted after the death of Rama's descendant [[Brihadbala]]. The city remain deserted until King Vikrama of [[Ujjain]] came searching for it, and re-established it. He cut down the forests that had covered the ancient ruins, erected the Ramgar fort, and built 360 temples.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=30}}

Vikramditya was a title of multiple Gupta kings, and the king who moved the capital to Ayodhya is identified as Skandagupta.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=29}} Bakker theorises that the move to Ayodhya may have been prompted by a flooding of the river Ganges at Pataliputra, the need to check the [[Huna people|Huna]] advance from the west, and Skandagupta's desire to compare himself with Rama (whose Ikshvaku dynasty is associated with the legendary Ayodhya).{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=30}} According to Paramaratha's ''Life of Vasubandhu'', Vikramaditya was a patron of scholars, and awarded 300,000 pieces of gold to [[Vasubandhu]].{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=31}} The text states that Vasubandhu was a native of Saketa ("Sha-ki-ta"), and describes Vikramaditya as the king of Ayodhya ("A-yu-ja").{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=8}} This wealth was used to build three monasteries in the country of A-yu-ja (Ayodhya).{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=31}} Paramartha further states that the later king Baladitya (identified with [[Narasimhagupta]]) and his mother also awarded large sums of gold to Vasubandhu, and these funds were used to build another Buddhist temple at Ayodhya.{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=32}} These structures may have been seen by the seventh century Chinese traveller [[Xuanzang]], who describes a [[stupa]] and a [[monastery]] at Ayodhya ("O-yu-t-o").{{sfn|Bakker, Ayodhya, Part 1|1984|p=18, 31}}