Birth Place of Mata Sita : Janakpur and Sitamarhi

  7 Minute ReadMay 15TH, 2021

The history of our Culture is so Rich and Old that sometimes it became too hard to get into the facts and knowledge.

Same goes here, with the Birth Place of Sita Ji. Many historians believe that Mata Sita was Born in Janakpur city of Nepal while another stand is of Sitamarhi District in Bihar.

In this article, we will Discuss both the places in their History and How they are Related to Mata Sita.

But Before that, it is very important to know How Sita ji was born.There are many versions of it but we will take the most popular one.

It is a very Famous Story taken from the Original Ramayana, if you already knew it you can skip or consider it as a short read.

How was Sita Born?

According to Valmiki's Ramayana, the state of King Janaka was Dry for several years Suffering from Drought after noticing his public suffering from starvation, king Janka took an ought to plow the farmland by himself to request Devatas for the Rain as per the suggestion of the ministers.

As he completes plowing the Dry Land he found a newly-born baby girl in a furrow, and Rain started. The dry-land of Janakpur kingdom was again Fertile and Harvested with Greenery.

All the people of the Janakpur Recognized the Baby as Divine and a Gift of God to Raja Janaka for his Gratefulness and after the requests of his wife Sunayana, the child-less couple adopted the child and named her Sita as she was found in a furrow.

" Sita is a Sanskrit word which means Furrow "

Accordingly, Sita Ji is Believed to be born on 'Shulka Pakhsha' (a point of time as per rotation of moon), Namvmi (9th Day) of the lunar month of 'Vaishakha' the is celebrated as Sita Navami all across India and Nepal.

In Ramayana, Wife of Shri Ram, Mata Sita is described as the Daughter of Goddess "Bhumi" (Earth) adopted by King Janaka. 

Sita Ji is also known as Janki and Bhaumi.

Janki = Princes of Janakpur / Daughter of King Janaka.

Bhaumi = Dauther of Earth.

Janakpur : Capital of King Janak

Janakpur is the City in Nepal also Known for the Birth Place of Sita Ji, as the Name Suggests Janakpur was the Capital of the Mithila Kingdom of King Janaka During the 7th century BCE.

The Name of City Janakpur itself is named after King Janak who is the Father of Goddess Sita.

Janki Temple Janakpur

The Janki Temple is located at Jankpur, Dhanusa District Nepal is claimed as the Birthplace as well as the Marriage ("The Swamwar of Sita" ) of Mata Sita and Shri Ram.

Janaki temple was build in 1910 it depicts the artesian style of Mughal and Nepali Koiri, It is Believed that Poet Sanyasi Shurkishordas found the Golden Statue of Mata Sita at the place during the 17th Century.

Shurkishordas is considered the founder of Modern Janakpur or Janakpurdham

In the Early 19's Queen Vrisha Bhanu initiated the construction of the Janki Temple, it is Built on the same site where Shurkishordas found the Statue.

Do you Know Janakpur Temple is also Noun as Nau Lakha Mandir?
In 1910 the total cost incurred to build the Janakpur temple was roughly Nine lakh Rupees, thereafter the temple is being also as "Nau Lakha".

Janki Mandir Janakpur

Punaura Dham, Sitamarhi

Punaura Dham is located in the Sitahmarhi District of Bihar, it is a pilgrimage site many devotees of Shri Ram and Mata Janki Visits the Place Every year on Sita Navmi and Ram Navmi.

Sitahmari town is an ancient city with several pilgrimage sites and Temples devoted to Ramayana it is believed that Sita Kund in Janki Mandir is a place where Sita Ji took Agni Pariksha.

The place also consists of Ram Kund dedicated to Shri Ram, Lakshman Kund- Brother Lakshman, Bharat Kund - Brother Bharat, and Shatrughan Kund - Brother Shatrughan.

Janki Mandir, Punaura Dham

Punaura Dham Janki Temple is among the holiest places in Bihar, the temple is believed to be the Birth Place of Mata Sita, the capital of King Janaka as well as the Marriage place of Shri Rama and Sita.

As mentioned already Sita Kund is also in the temple's province which is acknowledged for its hot spring and believed to be a holy place as Sita ji took fire ordeal "Agni Pariksha" in it.

The Punaura Dham Janki Mandir is estimated to have been build about 600 years ago but there are no proofs till now which acknowledges the exact age of the temple or site.

Punaura Janki Mandir, Sitamarhi

Was Sita born in Nepal or India?

During the 7th Century before Christ (around Ramayana) Mithila was the kingdom ruled by King Janak Mithila was a big Kingdom at least covering current Bihar, Jharkhand, Nepal, and many parts of UP.

At That time, there was no border between the current Bihar and Nepal, therefore Possibly and I believe the two cities Jankpur and Sitamarhi were not separate and the distance between the two also supports the statement.

The Distance Between Janakapur to Sitamarhi is just 50 kilometers only.

We are talking about Satyug, being at least 7000 years ago from today, the availability of facts and evidence is naturally not very precise at least geographically and within the city.

The Conflict and Confusion arise as Many historians believe, Sita Ji was Born in Janakpur, Nepal.

while others believe the birthplace to be  Sitamarhi as the Name of the city is named after Mata Sita.

Sitamarhi and Jankpur both Cities are Very close which makes the confusions and conflicts seem to be fair.

Verdict: Birth Place of Sita

Janakpur and Sitamarhi both are ancient cities and extremely prestigious. Both the places are considered holy and divine in our texts and beliefs.

But, What I believe is both are the Birthplace or more accurately the Birth City of Mata Sita, as in History Janakpur and Sitahpmarhi were not separate city instead of a Single City which References as the City of King Janaka.

As Conclusion, I would say Birthplace depends on the devotee and their Faith, both places share the same level of significance in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.

With the most available facts, we can observe that Sitamahri Janki Mandir is older than Janakpur's Janki Temple still, due to lack of facts and information in our Purans and Books, Nothing can be concluded.

Instead, the Birthplace depends on the devotee and their devotion, both the places share the same level of significance in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.

Janakpur's Janki Temple is a Splendid and Buetifull temple on the other hand Punaura Janki Temple is Older and culture-rich yet both have the same level of affection and Importance.

As already mentioned, the Distance between the two is short you can have a round trip visit of no more than 4 hours.

Visting both the temple is a lifetime experience because you will visit the two most important places in the life of Mata Sita and Shri Ram.