Here is chronology of events right from the time of Manu. Rulers of Ayoghya from 13800 BCE are mentioned in the chart. Manu founded the city of Ayodhya on the bank of Sarayu River around 13800 BCE during the early Vedic era. Rigveda (10.64 & 4.30.18) refers to Sarayu River.
Ayodhya became the capital of Devas during the Deva-Asura Sangram around 13600-12600 BCE. Atharvaveda (10.2.31) refers to Ayodhya as the capital of devas.
Raivata Manu founded his new capital "Kushasthali" in Saurashtra around 12500 BCE.
Vaivasvata Manu and his son Ikshvaku and his twelve descendants reigned in Saurashtra and
Madhyadesha around 11250-11000 BCE.
King Sagara, son of Ikshvaku King Asita shifted his capital from Saurashtra to Ayodhya around 11000 BCE when Vedic Sarasvati River lost in sands at Vinashana and the flow of Sarasvati River had shifted westwards from Kurukshetra.
Ayodhya was the capital of India from 11000 BCE to 4700 BCE and total 60 kings of Ikshvaku dynasty reigned around 11000-5635 BCE and Shri ram was the 61st king. Treta Yuga was around 6777-5577 NCE and the Ramayana events took place in the last century of Treta Yuga i.e. 5677-5577 BCE.
Shri Ram was born on 3rd Feb 5674 BCE. He killed Ravana on 30 Nov 5635 BCE an dbecame the king of Ayodhya on 21 Dec 5635 BCE.
During the reign of Agnivarna (4750 BCE), the decline of Ikshvaku dynasty led to the rise kUru dynasty (a branch of Bharatas). Hastinapur became the capital of India.
Mahabharata was took place in 3162 BCE (25 Oct 3162 BCE) and Ayodhya King Brihadbala was a contemporary of King Yudhishthira.
Many kings of Ayodhya from Brihatkshaya to Sumitra reigned over Ayodhya from 3162 BCE to 1662 BCE. During this period, Ayodhya came to be known as Saketa.
Buddha was born in 1944 BCE and attained Nirvana in 1864 BCE. His father King Shuddhodana was a descendant of Ikshvaku dynasty.
During the reign of Maurya Knig Shalishuka (1494-1481 BCE), the Yavanas of Takshashila and Sakala invaded and destroyed the city of Saketa i.e. Ayodhya.
King Vikramaditya (984-925 BCE) of Chandra dynasty had re-established the city of Ayodhya and constructed the temple of Vishnu Avatar Shri Ra at the Janmabhoomi Kshetra.
The Vishnu-Hari inscription found in the excavation at Ayodhya refers to a temple of Vishnu-Hari (incarnation of Vishnu) during the period of Gahadwala Kings of Kanauj.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited the temple of Ayodhya and went for darshan.
Momental Antiquities and Inscription in NWP & Oudh by A. Fuhrer 1891 states,"...It is locally affirmed that at the Musalman conquest there were three important Hindu temples at Ayodhya: these were the Janmasthanam, the Svargadvaram, and the Treta-Ke-Thakur. On the first of these Mir Khan built a masjid, in A.H. 930 during the reign of Babar".
Edward Thornton's Gazetteer of 1854 published in 1858 mentions that "according to native tradition, they were demolished by Aurangzeb, who built a mosque on part of the site. the flasehood of the tradition is, however, proved by an insctiption on the wall of the mosque, attributing the work to the conqueror Baber, from whom Aurangzeb was fifth in descent."
On the night of 22nd December 1949, the idol of Bhagwan Shri Rama was installed with a due ceremony under the central dome of the building.
In 1990, more that 17 Kar Sevaks were killed in police firing including Kothari brothers - Ram and Sharad.
On 6 Dec 1992, the disputed structure was demolished, and a temporary temple of Sri Rama was set up.
Supreme Court delivered final judgement on 9 Nov 2019 and ordered the land (2.77 acres) to be handed over to a trust for building of Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
On 5 Aug 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform Bhumi Pujan in Ayodhya for construction of a grand temple of Shri Ram.
LORD RAMA’S SISTER
Valmiki Ramayana does not mention Rama’s sister, however, in the Mahabharata we learn about King Lompada or sometimes mentioned as Romapada, of Anga who adopts the daughter of Dashratha. In later literature, this daughter of Dashratha becomes Ram’s elder sister, Shanta.
In Telugu folk songs, she is described as being furious when Rama abandons Sita following street gossip.
According to the Oriya Ramayana or the Dandi Ramayana written by the poet Balarama Das in 15th century, Shanta is adopted by the King Lomapada and later given in marriage to Rishyashringa, a sage whose celibacy causes drought in Lompada’s kingdom. Following the marriage, the rains come back.
This tale is actually consistent with the traditional theme of Vaishnava literature that condemns absolute abstinence which is seen as world-denying and hence, world-destructive.
Though Dashratha seems to have fathered Shanta without any difficulty, he is unable to father any more children. “Dharma” insists that a man must father a son and continue his lineage and that a king must produce an heir for the throne.
A desperate Dashratha therefore marries a second and a third time. When nothing works, he decided to perform a yagna and compel the gods to give him a child.
The priest, whom Dashratha invites to perform the ceremony that will restore the fertility of his household is none other than his son-in-law, Rishyashringa, implicitly suggesting that Rishyashringa’s celibacy was in someway responsible for the barrenness of his queens.
When King Dasrath reached the Ashram, the Muni was in the Meditation, so King began to wait at the outside of Ashram and finally Muni was asked by Lord Vishnu in the meditation to awake and complete the Putra Kameshti Yagna, as his arrival time on earth was fixed. When, Muni noticed the order of Supreme Being, he at once awaken and saw the King Dasrath at his Ashram.
Just as Rishyashringa’s marriage to Shanta brought rains to Lompada’s kingdom, Rishyashringa’s yagna brings children to Dashratha’s queens.
Besides this,I must also tell you that there's a temple of Shringa (Rishyasringa) rishi and God Rama's sister Shanta at the Banjar valley,Kullu (Himachal Pradesh).
One can argue that the story of Rama's sister is a later interpolation and therefore not valid; but we must not forget that Valmiki’s Ramayana does not mention the famous ‘Lakshmana Rekha’ episode and that in Valmiki’s Ramayana there is no mention of Ahilya turning into stone or of Shabari feeding Rama berries.
All of these ideas come from later regional folklores of the Ramayana which were then legitimized as a book by Tulsidas in Awadhi,Balsam Das in Oriya,Kamban in Tamil,Ranganatha in Telugu,Madhava Kandali in Assamese etc.
Ramayana is neither an imaginary tale nor a truth; it's actually a guide which teaches you the way of life and a question paper which tests you and your mind by your own interpretations to it.
