Janki Tample

The Janakpur zone (Janakpur anchal), historically called Mithilanchal, is the place where ancient Maithili culture originated. It has the birthplace of the Chhath festival and the Maithili language and script.

The first millennium BC text Shatapatha Brahmana tells that the Nepalese Maithil king Māthava Videgha, led by his priest Gotama Rahugana, first crossed the Sadānirā (Gandaki) river and founded the South Asian kingdom of Videha, whose capital city was Janakpur. As Gotama Rahugana composed many hymns in the Rigveda, these events must date to the Regvedic period.

The most important historical reference to Janakpur is in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Rama's wife Sita Devi (also called Janaki in Nepal) is said to have been the Nepali princess of Videha. Her father, King Janak of Videha, found baby Sita in a furrow of a field on a visit to Siraha 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, Rama, prince of Ayodhya, alone could even lift the bow. As Rama and Sita are major figures in Hinduism, Janakpur is an important Nepalese pilgrimage site for Hindus all over the world.

In addition, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and final Tirthankara of the Jain religion, are said to have lived in Janakpur. The region was an important centre for Nepalese history of Mithila during the first millennium. The centre of Janakpur 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 1898 (1955 in the Nepali calendar) by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwari of Tikamgarh.[9] It is also called "Nau Lakha Mandir" after the cost of construction, said to be nine (nau) lakh. In 1657, the great saint and poet Sannyasi Shurkishordas discovered a golden statue of the Goddess Sita at the exact place where she was born, which ultimately became the location of the current Janaki Mandir, the Temple of Sita. Shurkishordas is considered to be the founder of modern Janakpur. Queen Brisabhanu Kunwari of Tikamgarh built the Janaki Mandir in 1911. The temple is architecturally unique in Nepal. Its inner sanctum contains a flower-bedecked statue of Sita that was apparently miraculously found in the Saryu River near Ayodhya. Statues of Rama and his half-brothers Lakshman, Bharat and Satrughna stand by Sita. Early evenings are the best times to visit, for then the temple is lit with colorful lights and filled with hundreds of pilgrims expressing devotion for Sita and Rama. The temple is particularly popular with women, who wear their best clothes when visiting the shrine. Adjacent to the Janaki Mandir is the Rama Sita Bibaha Mandir, a building that marks the place where Rama and Sita were married. Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Janakpur to pay homage to Sita at the time of Vivah Panchami, the marriage day of Sita and Ram (the fifth day of the Shukla Paksha or waxing phase of moon in November/December) and on Ram Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama (the ninth day of the Hindu month of Chaitra, which begins with the new moon in March/April). The oldest temple in Janakpur is Sri Ram Temple, built by the Gurkhali soldier Amar Singh Thapa.[9] 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 where Lord Rama and Sita are said to have been married. It is situated next to the Janki Mandir. Ram Tower is located to the south of Ram Temple. It was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Mr Sushil Koirala.