Janakpur today is in Nepal, but there was a time it fell under the kingdom of Mithila that once spread southwards to the north-eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. The mythical capital, renowned as the birthplace of Sita, is where the princess—daughter of king Janak—married Lord Rama.
The Hindu kings of Mithila ruled between the 10th and 3rd centuries BC. It passed on to the Mauryas, who favoured Jainism and Buddhism. Soon, Janakpur was forgotten as a pilgrimage centre— until 1657, when saint-poet Shurkishordas discovered a golden statue of Sita Mai. That became the location of the current Janaki Mandir, built by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwari of Tikamgarh in 1911.
Shurkishordas is considered to be the founder of modern Janakpur.
The temple is architecturally unique in Nepal. Its inner sanctum contains a flower-bedecked statue of Sita that apparently was miraculously found in the Saryu near Ayodhya. Statues of Rama and his half-brothers Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughna stand by Sita. Every evening, the temple is lit up with colorful lights and fills up with hundreds of devotees of Sita and Rama.
Adjacent to the temple is the Rama Sita Vivaha Mandir, which marks the place where Rama and Sita were supposedly married.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Janakpur, 135 km southeast of Kathmandu, to pay celebrate the Ram-Sita marriage day, Vivah Panchami (November/December), Ram Navami, Rama’s birthday, in March/April, is the other big time of pilgrimage to Janakpur. The place is well connected by road, rail and air. Many dharamshalas across the town offer hospitality to the simple pilgrim.