Janki Mandir Janakpur

The Janaki Mandir was built by Queen Brisabhanu Kunwari of Tikamgarh from central India in AD 1911, at a cost of rupees 900,000. In local parlance, the temple is also called Nau Lakha Mandir or Temple of Nine Lakh Rupees. The temple is a three-storey building and has 60 rooms, making it the largest temple in Nepal. The temple houses an idol of Sita which was found near Ayodhya, the kingdom of Ram. The marriage anniversary of Lord Rama and Sita is celebrated in Janakpur every year on Vivah Panchami day which falls in December.In the southwest corner of Janaki Mandir is the Vivah Mandap, which has been built at the site where the marriage of Ram and Sita is said to have been taken place which is also observed throughout Nepal.It is an example of ‘Hindu-Rajput’ architecture. This is considered as the most important model of the Rajput architecture in 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.