Ayodhyā ［阿踰闍］ (;  Ayuja): A city in ancient India. Ayodhyā is thought to have been at the site of present-day Oudh in northeastern Uttar Pradesh, a northern state of India, though there are differing views. It was the capital of the kingdom of Kosala, but later, from the sixth century through the fifth century b.c.e., during Shakyamuni’s time, Shrāvastī became the capital. A prevailing view identifies Ayodhyā with Shāketa, where Shakyamuni often went to preach. Ayodhyā was a center for the activities of Asanga and Vasubandhu, who lived during the fourth or fifth century c.e. It is well known as the birthplace of Rāma, a hero of the Indian epic Rāmāyana. In the seventh century, Hsüan-tsang traveled from China to India and authored The Record of the Western Regions, an account of his travels. In this work, he noted that Ayodhyā was rich in crops and fruit, and that there were approximately three thousand monks studying Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism at more than one hundred monasteries there.