Janakpur

Janakpur

(kingdom of Mithila)

The holy city and birth place of Hindu virtuous Goddess Sita

Janakpur, more commonly Janakpurdham, is a city in Nepal. Janakpurdham is the administrative headquarters of the Dhanusa District of the Janakpur Zone and has a population of approximately 95,000. The city is located about 400 km south-east of Kathmandu, 20 km from the Indian border. Janakpurdham has a substantial tourist industry due to its significance in the Hindu religion and is home to the only operational railway in Nepal, the Janakpur Railway.

Main articles: History of Mithila and Kings of Mithila

Transport:

Janakpurdham has an airport with connections to the Kathmandu. The narrow-gauge Janakpur Railway is the only operational railway in Nepal. Frequent bus service operates between Janakpurdham and other cities of Nepal. Within the city, travellers may hire manually pulled rickshaws.

Temples and festivals:

Janaki Mandir, Janakpurdham

The centre of Janakpurdham is dominated by the impressive Janaki Mandir to the north and west of the bazaar. This temple, one of the biggest in Nepal, was built in 1911 (1968 in the Nepali calendar) by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwar of Tikamgarh. It is also called "Nau Lakha Mandir" after the cost of construction, said to be nine (nau) lakh.

The oldest temple in Janakpurdham is Ram Mandir, built by the Gurkhali soldier Amar Singh Thapa. Pilgrims also visit the more than 200 sacred ponds in the city for ritual baths. The two most important, Dhanush Sagar and Ganga Sagar, are located close to the city centre. The Vivah Mandap temple is famous for its gardens.

Major religious celebrations include the major Hindu festivals such as Diwali, and Dhashara. followed by specacular Chhath Puja (worship to sun) 6 days after Diwali. On the full moon day of February/March before the festival of Holi, a one-day Parikrama (circumambulation) of the city is celebrated. Many people offer prostrated obeisances along the entire eight km route. Two other festivals honour Rama and Sita: Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama, in March-April, draws over 100,000 people. And the Bibhaha (Vivah) Panchami festival re-enacts the wedding of Rama and Sita in the famous Vivah Mandap temple on the fifth day of the waxing moon in November or early December. Over 100,000 pilgrims come for a procession with elephants, horses, and decorated chariots with beating drums. Pilgrims stay in one of the city's five good hotels or small guest houses. There are also five fully equipped dharmashalas (free lodgings for pilgrims).

Art:

Maithili women are renowned for their traditional art, especially their paintings on pottery, walls and courtyards. These Mithila Paintings are famous internationally.

Jaleshwar Mahadev
This historic of Jaleshwar lies in the city of Jaleshwar, the headquarters of Janakpur zone. Jaleshwar Mahadev is one of Nepal’s prominent places of pilgrimage and is mentioned in the Hindu epic, Padam Purana.

According to legend, a hermit named Jagadish arrived in the lonesome forest of Jaleshwar and had a dream in which he was directed to conduct excavation at the spot. In accordance with the dream, he began digging and soon found an image of Jaleshwar Mahadev. He then built a temple with some gold, which he brought from a place called Sunukhadagarh.

Just in front of Jaleshwar Mahadev temple there are two sacred ponds, called Barunsar and Kshiresar. During the Ram Navami Bivaha Panchami feativals, thousands of pilgrims assemble at these ponds.

deities and then will later eat the (now) blessed food.

Bibaha Pachami

The Bibaha Pachami celebration is one for the lovers! It is a Hindu belief that Lord Ram was to be "perfection personified" and his wife Sita, was said to match him in all of his ways, so they are thought of as the best couple ever recorded. The Bibaha Pachami, which is celebrated every year near Sita's hometown of Janakpur in the terai region, is a chance for everyone to watch and be a part of the reenactment of their wedding. Why would you not want to witness the joining of these two perfect beings and be a part of their love story? There is a myth about these love birds: Sita's father wanted to test the strength of any possible suitors for his beloved daughter. His test was to simply string the bow of the great Lord Shiva. Many men wanted to win the hand of the princess, but could not even lift the bow. When one day Ram tried his luck. He lifted the bow with ease and when he tried to tie it, the string broke. The bow is said to still be on display in the Janaki Palace. (To read about Lord Ram's Birthday celebration look under March/April festivals)

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Deities of Sri Sita Devi (far right) and Sri Rama (center) (with Sri Lakshmana (far left) and Sri Hanuman (below seated)) Janakpurdham, historically called Mithila, is the centre of the ancient Maithili culture, which has its own language and script.

The first millennium BC text Úatpath Brâhmana tells that the king Mâthava Videgha, led by his priest Gotama Rahugana, first crossed the Sadânirâ (Gandaka) river and founded the kingdom of Videha, whose capital city was Mithila. As Gotama Rahugana composed many hymns in the Rgveda, these events must date to the Rgvedic period.

The most important historical reference to Mithila/Janakpurdham is in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Lord Rama's wife Sita Devi (also called Janaki) is said to have been the princess of Videha. Her father, King Janak, found baby Sita in a furrow of a field and raised her as his daughter. When she grew up, the king announced that she should be wed by whoever was able to string the divine bow of Shiva. Though many royal suitors tried, Lord Rama, prince of Ayodhya, alone could even lift the bow. As Rama and Sita are major figures in Hinduism, Janakpurdham is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus.

In addition, both the great saints Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism, and Vardamana Mahavira, the 24th and final Tirthankara of the Jain religion, are said to have lived in Mithila/Janakpurdham. The region was an important centre of Indian history during the first millennium.

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