Chapter Five — Ayodhya as the Eternal Divine Abode

Nitya-līlā-parikarā ye syur Raghūvarādayaḥ,
Te sārdhaṃ Bhagavān Rāmo ’yodhyāyām eva dīpyate. (81)

Lord Rama shines eternally in Ayodhya together with Raghunatha’s entire retinue of the everlasting līlā.

The commentary emphasizes the traditional dictum, “The Lord manifests only in Ayodhya.” The individual self is an aspect of the divine abode, while the Blessed Lord is the fourfold source of all manifestation. Sita, out of concern for Rama’s delight, is herself both the abode and its eternal goddess, enjoying happiness equal to his.

The companions are stainless manifestations of the soul’s spiritual capacity. A soul who takes refuge in Sita and Rama receives a corresponding office within their divine manifestations. When the living mantra of the Divine Couple is received from the guru’s gracious form, that soul becomes a conscious portion of Ayodhya, and its own being becomes Ayodhya through worship and service in the heart.

Ayodhya is thus the all-pervading Brahman in the form of the divine abode. Rama never abandons this form or changes into another: all other divine names, forms, deeds, and abodes arise by his will from the sovereign glory of Ayodhya.

The gods within creation are likewise partial manifestations of those divine powers. A soul that takes refuge in a particular manifestation becomes an attendant within that deity’s sacred order; yet all such divine orders ultimately rest in the sheltering reality of Sita and Rama.