Vivah Panchami is a Hindu festival celebrate annually to commemorate the union of Ram and Sita, of Ramayan. The wedding is said to have taken place on the fifth day of the waxing moon in the month of Mangsir(December) during the TretaYug in the holy Mithila region. The day is thought to be auspicious for getting married and starting a new family.
The weeklong festival is celebrated by re-enacting Ram and Sita’s wedding, colorful processions, dance performances attended by both locals and visitors from nearby Indian cities, as well as some from Ayodhya in India.This year Vivah Panchami falls on Sunday December 17th.
Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Pradesh in Nepal, is believed to be the birthplace of Sita and ancient Mithila’s capital. The Janaki Temple, dedicated to Sita in Janakpur, is a rare blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture with a lovely garden that includes VivahMandap (wedding courtyard) dedicated to them.
Janaki Mandir is built in bright white and constructed in an area of 1,480 square metres in the Mithila Kingdom, it is a three-storied structure made entirely of stone and marble. The walls of the temple have beautiful Mithila paintings. All its 60 rooms are decorated with the flag of Nepal, coloured glass, engravings, and paintings, with beautiful lattice windows and turrets. According to legends and epics, King Janak ruled Videha Kingdom from this part of Janakpur during the Ramayana period. His daughter Janaki, during her swayambar, had chosen Lord Rama as her husband and become the queen of Ayodhya. Their marriage ceremony had occurred in the nearby temple, which is also called vivahamandap near the temple itself that was later reconstructed by Amar Singh Thapa. The site was designated as a UNESCO tentative site in 2008.
Pilgrims flock here by the thousands to pay homage to the massive and magnificent Janaki Mandir- Janaki which is name of Sita, the daughter of King Janak. The temple was constructed in 1910 and is a blend of Mughal and local architecture. This is a three-story building and has 60 rooms, making it the largest temple in Nepal.
The temple houses an idol of Sita which was found near Sitamadhi, a town located in Bihar State of India which is also near to Nepal border.
In the southwest corner of Janaki Mandir is VivahMandap, which has been built at the site where the marriage of Ram and Sita was performed.
To celebrate the festival in a managed manner, Janakpurdham Sub-metropolitan City has built an 11,111-square-foot portrait of Ram and Sita for the first time in Janakpurdham.The portrait of Ram and Sita measuring 11,111 square feet was created using rice grain.
The construction committee revealed that a total of 95 quintals of 11 different varieties of rice were used in the construction of the portrait.
After the image was fully prepared, Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Manoj Kumar Sah formally inaugurated it by cutting a ribbon.
To promote Janakpurdham globally on the occasion of the annual Bivah Panchami, the construction committee decided to break a world record by creating the portrait using 11 varieties of rice grains and spending a total of Rs. 2,123,000.
The coordinator of the committee JitendraMahaseth informed that they aimed to break the Guinness Book of World Records, held by a similar-sized picture created in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, and set a new record in Janakpurdham.
