In the Skand Puran, specifically within the Ayodhya Mahatmya section, Gopratar (popularly known today as Guptar Ghat) in Ayodhya is celebrated as one of the holiest tirths (तीर्थ -pilgrimage sites). The name comes from gupt (गुप्त - hidden or disappeared). It is here that Ramchandra ji is believed to have entered the waters of the Saryu and vanished, concealing his earthly form and returning to Vaikunth. The older name Gopratar Ghat (गौप्रतार घाट), carries the same sense of a crossing point between worlds. It is the natural closing chapter of an Ayodhya pilgrimage — you begin at the birthplace of Ram and end where he departed.
Ram ji and his brothers had two sons each. Each of the sons was given his own kingdom and the desolate Ayodhya was handed over to Hanuman as guardian of Ayodhya - it was only much later that Ram’s son Kush re-established it. After handing over the kingdoms, Ramchandra ji left for Guptar Ghat and the entire living beings of Ayodhya followed him.
The Skand Puran describes Gopratar as the location where Lord Ram concluded his earthly pastimes (lila) and took jal samadhi. Sage Agastya recounts how Lord Ram, alongwith his brothers Bharat. Lakshman and Shatrughna, all the citizens of Ayodhya, and even the local animals, walked into the sacred waters of the Sarayu River. Through this ritual immersion (Jal Samadhi), they cast off their mortal forms to return to the eternal divine abode of Vaikunth.
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| Ram darbar at Guptar Ghat |
As an or holy dip in the Sarayu river is considered very auspicious. The banks of the river are protected for bathers
The Saryu river here is really wide
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| Boats at Guptar Ghat |
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| The river span is really huge |
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| Feeding corn to a calf |
The banks of the Sarayu also has a big walkway, a garden with multiple statues.
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