According to the ancient history, Ayodhya was the capital of the powerful kingdom of ancient Kosala Pradesh ruled by the ikshvaku dynasty, where Lord Ram was born. The present day Ayodhya is situated on the bank of the holy river Saryu in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ayodhya is an important pilgrim place for Hindus in India. Fa-hien and Xuan Zhang (Hiuen Tsang), the Chinese monks, recorded spotting many Hindu temples and several Buddhist monasteries that they saw during their visits of Ayodhya. Ayodhya has a historical significance for the Jain community too. This is the birth place of two important Jain tirthankaras who were born in the early centuries AD. The main tourist attraction of Ayodhya is the Ram Janmabhumi (birthplace of Lord Ram) shrine.

It is said that Ayodhya has 7000 temples, but there are some 100 temples of relative significance. It is believed that Lord Ram spent much of his childhood here. Other places to visit in Ayodhya are Lakshman Ghat, Kala Ram temple and the Kanak Bhavan temple, which was built in the 19th century. There are several Jain shrines in Ayodhya. One kilometer east of the Ram Janmabhumi shrine is Hanumangadhi (Fortress of Hanuman, the revered monkey god and friend/devotee of Lord Ram). It is said that Lord Hanuman lived in a cave nearby to protect the Ram Janmabhumi.