Ayodhya’s Princess Suriratna will be a continuing chapter in the cultural evolution of India and Korea — a woman who was led by the wishes of her father to a distant land, but made it her own, giving her own identity in return to a dynasty, a lineage and a civilisation.

Today, in Ayodhya, as a memorial dedicated to the Korean queen Suriratna, who is also known as Heo Hwang-ok, is unveiled, Indians will see how some ancient traditions and bonds have a calm power to reclaim their space. In the birth place of Lord Ram, where a mandir is yet to find a realisation in brick and mortar, an ancient bond will make fresh shoots sprout in another land. What unites the two is an intangible thread.

South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook, wife of President Moon Jae-in, is in India for, what reports describe, as a "groundbreaking ceremony" of Queen Hur Memorial Park Project in Ayodhya. According to reports, “the memorial comprising a museum in memory of the first queen of Korea, who is said to have links with the holy city, will be built at a cost of Rs 24.6 crore."

Two thousand years ago, Princess Suriratna, a legendary princess travelled from Ayodhya (Ayuta) to Silla (Korea), to marry a local king. Samguk Yusa, an ancient book, which bears an account of Korea’s own historic and cultural evolution in the ancient times, is said to be bearing the mention to "Ayuta", and the connection between the two countries. "Phonetic similarity" between Ayodhya and Ayuta, believe some anthropologists, is the basis of this profound connection between two cultures that celebrate spirituality. Heo Hwang-ok, after she married Korean King Suro, became the first queen of the Geumgwan Gaya kingdom in Korea. And currently, as per reports, about 6 million Koreans are said to be descendants of the princess.

Today, as Korea’s First Lady Kim Jung-sook attends the ceremony at Queen Suriratna (Heo Hwang-ok) Memorial in Ayodhya on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the deep historical connection between the two countries will strengthen further.

According to some texts, Princess Suriratna, was daughter of a king of Ayodhya. The king had a dream, where god asked him to send his daughter, who was 16, to marry King Kim Suro of Geumgwan Gaya.

Interest in her story grew further in 2004. The Economic Times then had reported, "a genetic discovery in South Korea has claimed that Koreans could have an Indian ancestor 2000 years ago." The report said: "as was reported by leading South Korean newspaper Joong Ang Daily on Friday, researchers in an archaeological survey at ancient royal tomb of Gimhae in South Gyeongsang province, found some evidence to support claims that Koreans have DNA traceable to South or South East Asian ethnic groups like Indian, Malaysian or Thai." The article went on to add that the “findings have gained interests in the backdrop of the popular romantic legend of an Indian princess married to a Korean king of the Great Gaya dynasty. According to the legend, the Korean king from Southeast Korea, Kim Suro, married an Indian princess, Heo Hwang-ok, from the ancient Indian kingdom of Ayodhya."

In 2016, a Korean delegation sent a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government to further develop the memorial. In 2000, during the previous National Democratic Alliance government, India and Korea had signed an agreement to develop Ayodhya and Gimhae as sister cities. The Indian Express says, "an agreement was signed in 2000 to develop Ayodhya and Gimhae as sister cities, following which a memorial was constructed in Ayodhya which is visited by a large number of tourists from South Korea every year."

Last year, the ties grew, as Uttar Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea — "to enhance cooperation in tourism, skill development, culture and farming”.

Ayodhya is visited by people who claim to be from Queen Heo Hwang-ok lineage — to pay tribute to the princess at her motherland. The deep symbolism surrounding two emotions — the reverence for the queen who came from a distant land and respect for her motherland, in Koreans, is exemplary and inspiring.

And today, a Hindu monk will mark the continuity of a tradition. Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has approved the Saket Tirth Yatri Kendra for the Queen Heo Hwang Memorial. Ayodhya is also referred to as “Saket”. With Kim's presence in Ayodhya, India celebrates "close civilisational links" with Korea, "as well as the ongoing deepening engagement between our two countries."

Between the legendary exit of Princess Suriratna, and the arrival of First Lady Kim Jung-sook to mark the Deepotsava in Ayodhya, where the warming glow of 3 lakh oil lamps would welcome a lineage, lies a bond that had largely remained unravelled by Indians, as there are no accounts of the queen, or her travel to Korea, in Indian history.

The Korean First Lady will light the first diya (earthen lamp) at 'Ram Ki Paidi' on the banks of River Sarayu, in Deepotsava, the celebration of light marked by Yogi Adityanath government that celebrates the return of Ram and Sita to Ayodhya on the occasion of Deepavali.

Ayodhya, as one witnesses today, is showing its own reverence for Queen Suriratna, in its celebration as "Saket" — with light and lamps. In a way, Ayodhya's "Saket" gives an emotional approval to a sense of belonging to Koreans, who trace their lineage to the queen — in the heart of Ram’s birth place. A tradition is securing a warm cultural ground. Fifty one diyas — the auspicious count — will be lit at the Ram Janmabhoomi.

What unfolds in Ayodhya, after Kim's return from Princess Suriratna memorial ceremony, will be a continuing chapter in the cultural evolution of two civilisations and the destiny of emotions and legends that make them. Then, the Indic narrative on women and gender would do well by knowing more about Princess Suriratna — a woman who was led by the wishes of her father to a distant land, but made it her own, giving her own identity in return to a dynasty, a lineage and a civilisation.

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