Janakpur ( ) was one of the fourteen zones of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, reaching from the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n border in the south to the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

an border in the north and

Sagarmatha Zone Sagarmāthā Zone (, ''"Sagarmāthā Anchal"'') was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructuring of zones into provinces. The headquarters of Sagarmatha is Rajbiraj. ''Sagarmāthā'' is a Nepali word which as per some sources, is ...

in the east and Bagmati and Naryani Zones in the west. The headquarters of Janakpur Zone and its main city was

Janakpur Janakpurdham or Janakpur (), is the capital city of Madhesh Province. This sub-metropolitan city is a central hub for the Maithili language, as well as for religious and cultural tourism in Nepal. The city was founded in the early 18th centur ...

. Close to the Indian border, it is a historic city of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. The city is believed to have been the capital city of King

Janaka Janaka (, IAST: ''Janaka'') is the King of Videha who ruled from Mithila (region), Mithila, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Janaka was married to Sunayana (Ramayana), Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic. The term Janaka ...

, the father-in-law of Lord

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, the son of the then king of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

, Dasharatha. The city was then called 'Mithila Nagari'. The name of Janakpur zone is related to the historic King Janaka and his capital Janakpur. Other cities within Janakpur Zone are Kamalamai (in

Inner Terai The Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal comprise several elongated river valleys in the southern lowland Terai part of the country. These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther sout ...

), Manthali (in Hill & Terai), Bhimeshwor (in

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

) and Bardibas, Dhalkebar, Jaleshwor, Malangwa, Hariwan, Lalbandi, Gaushala Bazar and Matihani (Outer Terai).

Administrative subdivisions

As a zone, Janakpur was divided into six districts; since 2015 the three northern districts have been redesignated as part of

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province (, ''Bāgmatī pradēśa'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered ...

, while the three southern districts have been redesignated as part of

Madhesh Province Madhesh Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal in the Terai region with an area of covering about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it Nepal's most densely po ...

Administrative subdivisions

See also