Punaura Dham, entailing

Janaki Janmasthali Mandir Maa Janaki Janmbhoomi Mandir or Punaura Dham is a proposed temple of the Hindu goddess Sita in Mithila at a site at the Punaura Dham in Sitamarhi district, Bihar, India. In Hinduism the site is considered the place where Sita was found closed i ...

(lit. ''Janaki Birthplace Temple''), revered as the birth place of Mata

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

, the consort 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' ...

, in Punaura village 5 km southwest of

Sitamarhi Sitamarhi is the headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in Tirhut Division, Bihar. The city was named in honour of Sītā, wife of Rāma, who was born in Sitamarhi according to Hindu legends. In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was create ...

city of

Sitamarhi district Sitamarhi is one of the districts in the Indian state of Bihar. Dumra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is a part of the Tirhut Division and is located along the border of Nepal. It is the part of the Mithila re ...

in north Bihar near

India–Nepal border The India–Nepal border is an Open border, open international boundary running between the republics of India and Nepal. The long border includes the Himalayas, Himalayan territories as well as Indo-Gangetic Plain of the subcontinent. The curre ...

. Since this temple has immense religious and spiritual significance for

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, a large number of pilgrims from all over the world visit here every day.

History

Punaura is in the

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

region, also called the ''Tirhut'' or ''Tirabhukti'', with history dating back to the

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

(1500-500 BCE) when it was one of the 16

Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...

of India, covers surrounding areas of Bihar and Nepal. According to

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

, once there was a severe famine in

and the priest there advised the King of

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy ...

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 ...

, to plow the field. When King Janak was ploughing, an earthen pot came out of the ground, in which Mother Sita was in an infant state. The Punaura Dham is believed to be the spot where that earthen pot came out, hence revered as the birthplace of Sita. Since she came out of a furrow when King Janaka was ploughing the land, he adopted her as his daughter and named her Sita, which means “furrow” in Sanskrit and he also gave her the name Janaki, meaning ''daughter of Janaka''.Bihar's Punaura Dham
drishtiias.com, accessed 2 Jul 2025. Behind the Sita Mata temple in Punaura Dham, there is a lake by the name of Janaki Kund. There is a belief about this lake that bathing in this lake gives birth to children.

Management

Shree Janaki Janm Bhumi Punaura Dham Mandir Nyas Samiti, a trust for managing the temple corridor, was formed in 2025.Bihar Cabinet okays Rs 882.87cr for developing Sita's birthplace
rediff.com, 1 Jun 2025.

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In 2025,

Government of Bihar Bihar Government is the State governments of India, state government of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Bihar and its nine Divisions of Bihar, divisions which consist of Districts of Bihar, districts. It consists of an execut ...

announced Rs 882.87 crore plan to redevelop the Punaura Dham, including the construction of a grand Sita Mata temple and pilgrim corridor on the pattern of

Ram Janmabhoomi Ram Janmabhoomi () is the site that, according to Hindu religious beliefs, is the birthplace of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the banks of the Sarayu rive ...

(lit. 'Birthplace of Rama'). In 2024, 50 acre land around the temple was acquired for this purpose at the cost of Rs 120.58 crore.सीतामढ़ी जिले के पुनौरा धाम में मां जानकी जन्मस्थली पर मंदिर निर्माण का शिलान्यास अग्सत 2025 में होगा। नीतीश कैबिनेट की बैठक में इस योजना के लिए मंगलवार को 882 करोड़ रुपये की मंजूरी दी गई है।
livehindustan.com, 1 Jul 2025. From this budget, Rs 137 crore will be spent on the redeveloping the old Punaura Dham Janki Temple and remaining Rs 728 crore for the development of pilgrimage corridor and religious tourism facilities around the temple which will also entail upgrade of Sita-Vatika, Luv-Kush Vatika, new

parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indian religions, Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only ...

(circumambulation) path, kiosks, cafeteria and children's play areas.Bihar govt approves Rs 882 crore for 'Punaura Dham Janki Mandir' revamp ahead of Assembly elections
indiatvnews.com, 1 Jul 2025. "Design Associates Inc", a design consultant which designed Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi temple, has been appointed the design consultant for the Punaura Dham upgrade project.

References

{{Reflist Villages in Sitamarhi district

History

Management

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See also

References