JANAKPUR

Janakpur is named after the legendary King Janak, Janakpur was the capital of the ancient Indian Kingdom Mithila, the native country of goddess Sita, the wife of the Hindu god Rama and the heroine of the great Hindu epic Ramayana. Today Janakpur stands as the most cleanest and interesting place among all the towns of Terai.

Janakpur has become a great piligrimage site for Hindus today. The most sacred sites are the Janaki Mandir, dedicated to goddess Sita, the Ram Sita bibaha(marriage) mandir, built over the spot where Ram and Sita were said to be married, Ram Mandir, dedicated to god Ram and the holy pond Dhanush Sagar. Hundreds of Indian devotees come here every year to pay their respect to the goddess at this temple.
Besides the religious importance, Janakpur is also the center for the revival of the ancient Mithila art and craft. As a tradition, Mithila women have always been decorating the walls of their houses with paintings depicting figures from Hindu mythology in abstract forms, sometimes resembling a mandala.

Places to visit in Janakpur
Janaki Temple
Janakpur has the Janaki Temple (Mandir in Nepali) which is dedicated to Goddess Sita, and also has a Ram and Sita Marriage Mandhir (or also known as Ram and Sita Bibaha Mandhir in Nepali) which is said to have been built in the spot where they got married. Marriage anniversary of Ram and Sita is observed every year here through a festival which is also observed throughout Nepal.
In the Janakpur region, one of such festival is the enactment of the wedding ceremony, decorating temples and monuments, burning of oil-lamps surrounding the temple and other historical sites in the region. Throughout the festival there are dramas in theaters and in open streets re-making the marriage ceremony of Ram and Sita. According to Hindu, Ram and Sita took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana (Ravan). To learn more about the Hindu Goddess, see web link at the end of this page.

 Rama Mandir
Visit the Rama Mandhir, a pagoda-style temple built in 1882, which is located south-east of the Janaki Mandhir. On the Rama Nawami or also written as Ram Navami festival (the celebration of Lord Ram's Birthday), this temple gets thousands of visitors. Ram Nawami is also called as Chaitay Dashain, and it falls on Chaitra 13 2063 (Nepali Calendar) or April 27 2007 (English Calendar)




 Ram Sita (Janaki) Bibah Mandapa
This is a new Nepali pagoda-style temple that honors the wedding of Sita and Rama. Lord Rama and Sita wear full make-up and wedding attire. It is supposed to be built at the place where Sita and Rama were married. There are deities of Sita, Rama and his brothers. It is next door to the Janaki Mandir. You have to deposit your camera near the entry.




Dhanusha Mandir:
Dhanusha Mandir in Dhanushadham is a historical temple constructed in 1939 A.D. Dhanushadham falls on the resting place of Parikrama route that has special significance to Hindus. It is situated 18 kilometers north east of Janakpurdham and only 10 kilometers from Dharapani on East-West Highway.












 Sankat Mochan Templ
This temple is dedicated to Hanuman and is also called the Big Monkey Temple. Hanuman is worshipped in the form of a very large rhesus monkey. The monkey is kept in a cage and constantly fed by the pilgrims. Sankat Mochan means one who erases all troubles. This temple is 100m south of Ramanand Chowk. It looks at an ordinary house, so is easy to miss.


  


Janakpur Railway
Two narrow-gauge lines end at Janakpur, one going east to Jaynagar, just over the Indian border, and the other northwest to Bijalpura. Both train lines are about 30km long. Taking a train is a nice way to see the countryside. The trains going to Bijalpura are pulled by steam engines and the one to Jaynagar by diesel engines. The trains dont go anywhere worth going, but the ride on them is interesting.
The train to Bijalpura departs only once a day in the afternoon and then return the next morning.
The train to Baidehi departs at 3 pm and to get the return train back, you have to get off at Loharpati.
It takes four hours to reach Jayanagar (28km) and there are three trains there daily, so it is possible to take a train there and back for a day trip.
Foreigners can not cross here, so they have to get down at one of the villages (the last one is Khajuri) before the border. Trains depart from both Janakpur and Jaynagar at 6 and 11 am and 3 pm. Ticket prices are Rs 15 in 2nd class and Rs 40 in first-class. You should come early to get a seat. You may have to ride on the roof on the return trip.


Dhanusha forest:
Dhanusha forest is in a close approximate to Dhanusa Dham temple. The forest covers an area of about 36 square kilometer. Big trees, bushes and a big pond with an area of about (7 – 8 Bighas) hectares exist inside the forest. Though the pond is in dilapidated condition, however, after some minor reparation and cleaning, sports and other pleasure activities for tourists could be initiated smoothly. To make the forest more attractive, a beautiful garden and a park for the tourists can be developed inside the forest. Similarly, natural habitats could be reinstated to make the forest livelier. This could also be the ideal place for picnic lovers.


 Parashuram Kunda:
It is previously known as Janak Sarobar holds historical as well as cultural significance. It is believed to be the pond where Rishi Parashuram bathed to quell his anger after his confrontation with Ram over breaking of the sacred bow. The lake is also picturesque, with lotus flowers growing on it and lush trees on its southern banks. The lake in Mithileshwor Nikas VDC is 4 kilometers west from Dhanushadham. It falls on the way to Dhanushadham from Janakpurdham.

Prigrimage Sites: There are several other pilgrimage sites in and around Dhaunsha area. Among the many temples are Ram mandir, Ganesh Mandir, Shiva mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Ram Krishna Mandir, Panchamukhi Hanuman Mandir, Baba Makhandada Kuti, Subba Kuti, and others. Jaleshwor Mahadev in Jaleswor is another popular temple in the nearby area. The temple of Jaleswor Mahadev was built by the King Girban Bir Bikram Shah Dev in 1867 B.S.

Some other popular pilgrimage sites are: Maithani, where there are 12 temples and 8 ponds dedicated to different deities; Madai, where the temple of Muneswor Mahadev is situated; Kanchan Ban, where popular temples in the area are situated; Parbata, where a temple of Hanuman is situated; Karuna, where the famous temple of Ram Janaki is a major attraction.

Mithila Culture of Janakpur
Mithila culture is found in the Terai region of Nepal such as the Janakpur region and also found all the way upto the Northern Bihar state of India. Legend has it that Janakpur was the capital of Mithila, and the palace of King Janak, Goddess Sita's father. Often Sita is known by many names such as Janaki or Mythili. Mithila culture is rich with its own language known as Maithili, and with its own traditions, customs, arts and music. Many Mithila arts and paintings have historical and religious meanings, such arts are produced by many villagers specifically women's draw paintings having colorful and thought provoking objects such as animals, Gods and Goddess which are painted on the walls of homes using simple colors such as clays and mud

Getting There
By "express" bus, Janakpur is 12 hours from Kathmandu and seven hours from Kakarbhitta. An easier way is to fly directly from Kathmandu which just takes around thirty to forty minutes. Flights from Kathmandu are three times weekly; the airport is two kilometer south of town.

Accomodation and food
There isn't much in the way of tourist hotels. Hotel Welcome is the best, with rooms from Rs.45 to Rs.500 for an airconditioned suite. Food is deliciously Indian influenced, with lot of sweets and vegetarian specialities for devout Hindus, though the lack of menus may reduce you to sign language or a point and eat system. Look around the bazaar or across from the Janaki Mandir for tea stalls, sweet shops and restaurants.