This Hindu holy city, described as early as in the Hindu Epics, had been called Ayojjhā (Pali) during the time of Gautama Buddha. Under the British Raj the city and the administrative area around it went by the name Oudh. Situated on the right bank of the river Sarayu, Ayodhya lay 555 kilometers east of New Delhi. In Sanskrit, ayodhya means "not to be warred against." Some Puranas like the Brahmanda Purana (4/40/91) consider Ayodhya as one of the six holiest cities in Hinduism.