Sāketa

For the place named after it in Delhi, see Saket (Delhi).

Sākēta (Sanskrit: साकेत, romanized: Sākēta) is a Sanskrit appellation of the Indian city of Ayodhya.^[1] Sākēta can be alternatively used for the abode of Vaikuṇṭha in Hindu epics, where liberated souls dwell.^[2] "Sākēta", the name of the Ayodhya Kingdom was later widespread by Buddhist travellers and far away traders for the collective name of the region's under this Kingdom. Overall, according to early chronicles found in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Sanskrit literature and Ramayana and Ramacharitamanasa the city bears the name of Ayodhya Kingdom, not Sākēta.

Ayodhya

Location of Ayodhya (later called Saketa) in India

In literature

Saket (1932), a famous Hindi epic poem by Maithili Sharan Gupt, a modern-version of Ramacharitamanasa, which described an ideal Hindu society and Rama as an ideal man.^[3][4] It is an account of the Ramayana through the eyes of Urmila, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and the younger sister of Sita, who later became wife of Lakshmana.^{[citation needed]}

In Buddhism

In Buddhism, the place is thought to be where the sons of Okkaka founded a city.^{[citation needed]} Saketa, is one of the major city of Kosala in early Buddhist texts^[5]

Ayodhya signifies a great importance in the Buddhist literature. It is referred to as Saketa in traditional Buddhist literature. British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham who was also the first director general of the ASI identified three Buddhist places — Mani Parbat, Kuber Parbat and Sugriv Parbat at the site of Ayodhya.^{[citation needed]}

In Jainism

Jain texts refer to Saketa as the capital of Kosala.^[5]

See also

• Mathura
• Dvaraka

References

1. Allchin, F. R.; Erdosy, George (1995-09-07). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge University Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-521-37695-2.
2. Tulasīdāsa (1989). Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsakr̥ta Śrīrāmacaritamānasa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 892–. ISBN 978-81-208-0443-2. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
3. Kuśa Satyendra (2000). Dictionary Of Hindu Literature. Sarup & Sons. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-81-7625-159-4. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
4. Gilbert Pollet (1995). Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaṇa Conference, Leuven, 6-8 July 1991. Peeters Publishers. pp. 198–. ISBN 978-90-6831-701-5. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
5. Noorani, A.G. The Babri Masjid Question, 1528-2003: 'A Matter of National Honour'. Tulika Books. p. 29. ISBN 9789382381457.