Śrī Rāma Comes Back to Ayodhyā
One of the most evocative of scenes in the Rāmāyaṇa is the one in which Prabhu Rāma has already been exiled, and he must leave along with his beloved wife and loving brother, on a barge, in the sacred Sarayū River. As the holy banks of the Sarayū of Ayodhyā recede in the distance, the city in which Śrī Rāma was born – the city in which He played with is mothers, the city which He was once destined to rule – as that city receded in the distance, tears come to Śrī Rāma’s eyes. For who could not get emotional upon leaving one’s birthplace?
This is an extremely evocative scene because typically, we as humans deeply identify with our birthplace. Many never have any desire to leave it, they love it so much. When they must do so, it is with a great promise every time: that I may be leaving now, but I will come back. The birthplace is often the location where one chooses to spend their last years.
Nevertheless, Śrī Rāma was not exiled just once. He was exiled yet again when the barbaric Islamic invaders arrived in Ayodhyā, when they brutally destroyed our Śrī Rāma Temple, when they killed all the priests and the Hindus living nearby, and when they violated Hindu women, killed Hindu children and destroyed all the sacred symbols and vigrahas of our beloved Śrī Rāma.
That day Śrī Rāma was once again exiled and for an indefinite time.
Ayodhyā was never forgotten once the Rāma Temple had been destroyed and a mosque was built over its foundations. The Hindus always made sure that their claim on the temple was never forgotten and that the site always remained a contested site until the Hindu community got it back. Even though the original Rāma temple had been destroyed by Muslims, Hindus have laid claim to the site again and again. This is clear from the history of litigation of the site.
Dr. Meenakshi Jain in her brilliant book Rāma and Ayodhyā tells us that in 1858, Muhammad Asghar the Muezzin of Babri Masjid complained to the British that the Hindus were worshiping in the Masjid. They had created ‘chabutara’ overnight and kept adding to the ‘illegal construction’. One thing which became clear from his complaints was that the Hindus prayed in the Masjid, in the inner courtyard as well as in the outer courtyard.
This alone indiciates that the site had been fiercely contested by the Hindu community.
In another letter in 1860 by Mir Rajib Ali to the Deputy Commissioner, it is complained that the Hindus are increasing their ‘encroachment’ within the mosque every day. They start blowing conches when the sounds of the muezzin are heard. In 1866, Muhammad Afzal, Mutawalli of Babri Masjid complained that the Hindu Bairagis kept increasing the ‘illegal construction’ within the Masjid compound.
In 1877, Muhammad Asghar complained that Mahant Baldeo should remove the idols that he had installed inside the Masjid. The complaint also mentions that a new gate for letting in the Hindu devotees had been opened up in the precincts and due to this, the Muslims were annoyed. The tide was then turning in Hindus’ favor. In another complaint by Mohammad Asghar in 1882, it is accepted by the Muslim side that the Hindus have celebrated Rāma Navamī and Kārtika Mela ‘from ancient times’ within the precincts of the Masjid.
In 1885, in another judgment, the Sub Judge, Faizabad, finally accepted the Hindu claim on the actual property of the Masjid and the existence of Hindu structures within the Masjid precincts. This history makes it clear that the Hindus did not forget even for a single day that Ayodhyā was and is the sacred city of their beloved Śrī Rāma, that this is the city from which Śrī Rāma was exiled and the city to which He must now come back.
Hindus have not only remembered this, they have also attempted to take back Ayodhyā in one way or another.
Dr. Jain tells us that in August 1855, Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, sent a purcha to the British Resident Major James Outram, complaining about Hindus not only praying, but also ‘meddling with the Babri Masjid’ at Ayodhyā. A fence had earlier been erected to separate Babri Masjid from the Hindu place of worship that the Hindus had created within the ramparts. The purcha complained that this fence was torn down by the Hindus. Various Muslims in Ayodhyā were also complaining about the ‘troublesome acts of Hindus’ in this vein: At the incident of a Muslim burial, the Hindus sacrificed a pig in the Masjid and blew conch shells, thus inconveniencing the Muslims. Hindus, as the purcha complained, also destroyed a Muslim tomb in the precincts.
The complaints showcase clear attempts in which Hindus were striving to take back Rāma Janmabhūmi.
The movement was not invented by the VHP or the RSS.
In another example, the Nawab complained that the Bairāgīs (Hindu saints) had come to dominate the place in and around the Masjid and that they were assisted by Hindu kings like Rājā Man Singh and Rājā Kishan Dutt. This purcha indicates that the efforts of the Hindus always continued. The Hindus never lost hope of building a Rāma Temple at Ayodhyā. And on 5th August 2020, this dream came true.
The Islamic invasion of India destroyed millions upon millions of Hindu temples. No important and ancient Hindu temple survived intact. Most were destroyed completely. Even then, Hindu rulers and sages kept trying to revive Hindu civilization and to save Hindu heritage by rebuilding Hindu temples.
Padma Śrī winner Dr. Meenakshi Jain tells us that the Amer ruler, Sawai Jai Singh (1700-1743) and the Rāmānandī sādhus were some of them. The Jaipur state considered Rāma as their ancestors and thus had a special relation with the Rāmanandi group of sadhus, who also existed to protect the heritage of Śrī Rāma.
In the first quarter of 18th century, at Galata near Jaipur, a great conference of the Rāmānandīs was held, under the auspices of Sawai Jai Singh. A decision was taken to organize the military wings of the Vaiṣṇava sādhus, called the Nāga sādhus. Soon after this event, Govindadās of the Nirmohī-akhāḍā established the first akhāḍa of the Rāmānandīs in Ayodhyā.
Abhaya Rāmadās also founded the Nirvāṇi-akhāḍā on Hanumantila. Very soon, all the other Rāmānandī-akhāḍās were well established in Ayodhyā. This provided another impetus to the Hindu claim on the Rāma Janmabhūmi site at Ayodhyā.
We can clearly see thus that Hindus never forgot the site of their greatest hero, Śrī Rāma. They never stopped trying to regain the temple site which was usurped by Muslims after the destruction of the temple by Islamic invaders.
Hindus never doubted that the site at which Babri Masjid stood was the site where a grand Rāma temple once existed. Neither did they doubt that this was where Śrī Rāma was born. However, during the Muslim rule in India, there was not much they could do. Therefore, as soon as the Muslim rule weakened, Hindus quickened their efforts to regain Ayodhyā.
Sawai Jai Singh, the (Hindu) Amer Ruler of the early 18th century, founded several fortified townships inside many formerly Hindu cities. These townships were called Jaisinghpuras. He created these townships as an attempt to regain the Hindu soul of these places.
Records at the City Palace Museum at Jaipur prove that Sawai Jai Singh had created one such Jaisinghpura in Ayodhyā too. These documents show that the Rāma Janmasthāna was situated in Jaisinghpura, the land of which was acquired by Sawai Jai Singh in 1717 CE. The owner was Śrī Rāma himself and the site was owned by the Amer State in perpetuity.
This was recognized by the Mughal Empire. Even in modern legal terms, the Ram Janmabhūmi site had belonged to the Hindus and not Muslims. By 1912, the Hindus were in a very strong position.
In reply to this gain, Muslims slaughtered cows near the temple at Bakr-id. This sparked riots and troops had to be called in. In 1934, riots once again broke out as Muslims tried cow sacrifice in nearby Shahjahanpur. In retaliation, Hindu sādhus entered the Babri Masjid and pulled down the enclosure walls and gateways. The metal pinnacles on the domes were removed and one dome was substantially damaged.
In 1948, an inspector of Waqf reported that Hindus and Sikhs did not let Muslims offer any prayers or even let them enter the Masjid. By 1948, Muslims had no control over Babri Masjid and the mosque was non-functional for all practical purposes and use.
In 1949, Hindus had been stacking bricks near the site, ready for a shock construction of the temple, whenever the opportunity arose. On 23rd December 1949, Hindus entered the Masjid and placed the icon of Śrī Rāma inside the Masjid. This was then locked from public use by both Hindus and Muslims alike, except on special occasions. This status quo remained until the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6th December 1992. By this point, the Hindus had no more patience for the administrative procrastination regarding decisions on the site, and they finally took the matter into their own hands.
Today, as the inauguration ceremony of the Śrī Rāma Mandir nears – January 22nd, 2024 – one can literally feel the air stirring with anticipation, the atmosphere vibrating with the arrival of the Pushpak Viman. One can almost see the waters of the Sarayū stir once again, and our Prabhu Śrī Rāma coming back home, on that same barge.
But He will not truly be back until we restore every little temple that was ever destroyed by Islamic invaders.
Then truly, Śrī Rāma will be home.
Jai Śrī Rāma!
