Kanak Bhawan Ayodhya History

Kanak Bhawan is one of the finest and famous temples of Ayodhya. It is believed that this building was gifted to Goddess Sita by Queen Kaikeyi immediately after her marriage to Lord Shri Ram. This is the private palace of Goddess Sita and Lord Rama. According to beliefs, after the original Kanak Bhawan fell into disrepair, it was rebuilt by Shri Krishna himself in the Dwapar era. It is believed that Vikramaditya got it renovated in the medieval period. Later it was renovated by Queen Vrishabhanu Kunwari of Orchha which is still present today. The main idols installed in the sanctum sanctorum are of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita.

This temple has been designed as a huge palace. The architecture of this temple resembles the beautiful palaces of Rajasthan and Bundelkhand. The recognition of its history basically goes back to Treta Yuga when it was given by Shri Ram’s step mother to his wife Sita as a gift after marriage. Over time, it became dilapidated and completely destroyed and was rebuilt and renovated several times. The first reconstruction was done by Rama’s son Kush in the early period of Dwapara Yuga. After this, it was rebuilt by King Rishabh Dev in the middle of Dwapar Yuga and Shri Krishna is also believed to have visited this ancient place before Kali Yuga (about 614 BC).

In the present era, it was first built by Chandragupta Vikramaditya in the Yudhishthira period in 2431 BC. After that it was done by Samudragupta in 387 AD. The temple was destroyed by Nawab Salarjung-II Ghazi in 1027 AD and was renovated by Bundela Rajput Maharaja of Orchha and Tikamgarh of Bundelkhand, Maharaja Shri Pratap Singh Ju Dev, Bundela and his wife Maharani Vrishabhan Kunwari in 1891. This construction was completed on the Shashthi of Vaishakh Shukla of Guru Paush.

There are three pairs of idols here and all three are of Lord Ram and Sita. The largest statue was installed by Maharani Vrishabhan Kumari. It is believed that she was the main force behind the construction and establishment of the temple. A statue of somewhat lower height is installed on the right side of this pair of statues. It is said that it was established by King Vikramaditya. This idol was kept safe by him from this ancient temple when it was attacked. The third smallest pair is said to have been gifted by Lord Krishna to the female nun who was worshiping Lord Rama at this place.

Shri Krishna instructed the woman to bury these idols with her after her death as this would later be marked as a holy place. Then a great king will build a huge temple at this place in Kaliyuga. Later, when Maharaj Vikramaditya got the foundation excavated for the construction of this temple, he found these ancient idols. These idols helped the great king in selecting the appropriate place for the sanctum sanctorum to be installed in the huge temple built by him.

At the time of construction of the present temple, all three pairs were enshrined in the sanctum sanctorum. Now only these three pairs can be seen.