The Power of the Ramayana by Stephen Knapp

Author:Stephen Knapp [Knapp, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The World Relief Network
Published: 2019-08-25T18:30:00+00:00

JANAKPUR

Janakpur, Nepal is said to be the birthplace of Lord Rama’s wife Sita. It is also here where Lord Ramachandra married Sita. This town is 128 kilometers southeast of Kathmandu near the border with India, north of the Indian cities of Darbhanga and Sitamarhi.

Another way to see this town is if you stop here on your way to or from the Nepali border town of Kakarbhitta, as when you have visited or going to visit Darjeeling. Or if you are traveling south along this highway from Kathmandu, you can turn south at Dhalkebar from which Janakpur is 25 km away. There are few tourists here most of the time, so you can peacefully see the places that are related to the pastimes of Sita-Rama. It is called Janakpur since it is the city of King Janak, as described in the Ramayana. He adopted baby Sita when he found her while tilling the soil with a golden plow. Then Lord Rama, an avatara of Vishnu, married her there after he was able to bend the great bow of Shiva, which none of the other princes could do.

The present temple to Sita is a rare example in Nepal of Moghul architecture, built in 1911 over the place where Sita’s image had been found. Pilgrims have been coming to this site for some time but especially after some ascetics found the images of Sita and Rama and a piece of Shiva’s bow, along with other artifacts in the jungle in the 16th century. The deities in the temple are of Sita, Rama, and Rama’s brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna.

Next to this temple is the Vivaha Mandapa, a temple that pays tribute to the wedding of Rama and Sita. They are shown in full wedding attire. Not far away to the southeast is the Nepalese Rama Mandir, built in 1882. This plays a major part in the RamNavami festival. Next to the Rama Mandir are the Dhanush Sagar and the Ganga Sagar water tanks. They are said to be located at the spot where one of the pieces of Lord Shiva’s bow fell after Lord Rama had broken it to show His strength and capability for marrying Sita. The Sankat Mochan temple is for worship of Hanuman. Here Hanuman is represented by a live rhesus monkey, kept in a cage and fed by the pilgrims. It is also called the big monkey temple. Another place that may interest you is Dhanusa, about 15 km north of town. This is said to be where Rama strung Shiva’s bow before He later proceeded to brake it.

Naturally, the holy day of RamNavami or celebration of Lord Rama’s birth is a major festival here, as is Biha Panchami, the day that marks the wedding celebration of Sita-Rama. They attract thousands of devotees here, many of whom also take holy dips in the 24 water kunds scattered throughout this holy town. Janakpur was also the capital of Videha, which is the ancient kingdom of 3000 years ago that covered an area from northern Bihar to Sapt Kosi to the Gandaki River.

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