Ayodhya

American  

[uh-yohd-yuh] / əˈyoʊd yə /

Or Ajodhya

noun

1. a city in E Uttar Pradesh, in N India; a suburb of Faizabad: one of the seven most sacred Hindu centers.

---

Ayodhya British  

/ ɑːɪˈjəʊdjɑː /

noun

1. Also called: Ayodha.   Awadh.   Oudh.  an ancient town in N India, in Uttar Pradesh state: as the birthplace of Rama it is sacred to Hindus; also a Buddhist centre

---

Etymology

Origin of Ayodhya

First recorded in 1830–35

Example Sentences

In the small north Indian city of Ayodhya in 1992, he faced a moment of real peril.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026

In 2020 he protested the construction of a temple to the Hindu deity Ram in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

“People will always remember this date, this moment,” Modi said in Ayodhya last week, hailing the start of a “new era.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2024

These foot soldiers and organizers, including a young Narendra Modi, collected millions of dollars to be socked away for a long fight to build a grand Hindu temple in Ayodhya, in northern India.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2024

This Dasharatha, a descendant of the sun, lives in the city of Ayodhya, the modern Oudh, a place of beauty and splendor: "In bygone ages built and planned By sainted Manu's princely hand."

From Oriental Women by Pollard, Edward Bagby