Ayodhya Research Institute

The Ayodhya Research Institute, popularly known as ‘Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan’ (अयोध्या शोध संस्थान), was started in August 1986 and housed in the historic Tulsi Smarak Bhawan premises as an autonomous body under the culture department of the state government after dissolving, the managing committee of the Tulsi Bhawan and appropriating all its assets, movable and immovable in favour of the Research Institute by a gubernatorial order. In 1988, Ramkatha Museum was established within the institution to collect and collate artefacts, antiquities, scriptures and treatise to put Ayodhya & Lord Ram in truly historical perspective. Lord Rama has come to be widely regarded as the paradigmatic embodiment of ‘dharma’, not only in Ramayana, Valmlki's monumental & historical epic, but also in Rama stories told around the world.The ex-officio Chairman of the Ayodhya Research Institute is the Principal Secretary, Department of Culture, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Indeed, Ayodhya is a place of multi religious beliefs and sects, though in essence, it is a cardinal seat of the Hindu Vaishnav faith, having some 100 temples. Lord Buddha, during his lifetime, always spent the rainy season at Ayodhya, living the last six years of his life, virtually here only. The two Chinese travelers, Faiheyan and Huensong have referred copiously to Ayodhya in their accounts, whilst it was evolving into an important centre of Buddhist culture. From the founder of the Jain faith — the Adi Tirthankar to another five Jain Tirthankars — all were born in Ayodhya and no other place can be more sacred than the city of Ayodhya for the followers of the Jain religion.