Manraja is a village development committee (VDC) in the

Saptari District Saptari (), is Located in the easternmost part of Madhesh Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its district headquarter is Rajbiraj. Saptari is an Outer Terai district. This district covers an area of and has a population ...

province No. 2 Madhesh Province () is a 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 populated province and ...

, of south-eastern

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 ...

. It has a total area of and sits at an elevation of . It is known for its landmark Shree Raja Ji Than Temple. Manraja is located from East-West Highway, south-west of

Rajbiraj Rajbiraj () is a mid-sized municipality located in the south-eastern part of Madhesh Province of Nepal. The city is also called the "Pink City of Nepal" because the township was designed in 1938 based on influence from the "Indian Pink City" Ja ...

, and north of the Indian border of Laukhi. The distance from Manraja to Nepal's capital,

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

, is approximately . According to the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working in cooperation with the 58 municipalities and the 3,915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the m ...

, the population of Manraja was 4,447, which consisted of 902 households. The village development committee was included in

Bodebarsain municipality Bodebarsain () is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village Development Committee prior to that ...

(Bodebarsain Nagar Palika in Nepali) in 2017.

Religious places

Shree Raja Ji Than Temple

The Shree Raja Ji Than Temple is in the

Bodebarsain Municipality Bodebarsain () is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village Development Committee prior to that ...

of Manraja. The temple was built from ancient stones that were carefully hand-carved with different symbols typical of 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. The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

contains rectangular stones on either side that are approximately high and wide, which are carved with a variety of symbols. Near the roots of trees, there are many fragments of black stones carved with different symbols. According to locals, the statue is known by the name of Shree Raja Ji Baba of Shree

Lakshmi Narayan Lakshmi Narayana (, IAST: ) or Lakshmi Narayan is the dual representation of the Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Lo ...

. The statues of the temple are fragmented. Some theorize that the statues may have been damaged during the spread of Islam into

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. According to a survey conducted by the government of Nepal, the temple is situated on the remains of an older temple as evidenced by some older rectangular hand-carved stones found within the temple. A

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

(imli) tree lives within the temple. The temple is surrounded by various temples dedicated to the God

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

, Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, and the Goddesses

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

and

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

. Every year at

Baishakhi Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi or Mesadi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April or sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern Ind ...

, a puja (prayer service) is performed, and a festival in the Raja Ji Than area celebrates the new year. Festivals are held on auspicious days such as

Ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of the waxing (''Shukla Paksha, Shukla Pakṣa)'' and waning (''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa)'' lunar cycles in a Hindu calendar, Vedic calendar month. Ekadashi is popularly observed within Vaishnavism one ...

Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

Chaturdashi Chaturdashi () is the 14th day ( tithi) of the waxing phase or waning phase of the moon in the Hindu calendar. This is the day prior to new moon (''amavasya'') or full moon (''purnima''). Etymology ''Chatur'' means four and ''dashi'' means the ...

, and

Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one of the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and h ...

. In times of misfortune, people go to the temple to practice

bhajan Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root w ...

, puja,

aarti ''Arti'' () or ''Aarati'' () is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'', in which light from a flame (fuelled by camphor, ghee, or oil) is ritually waved to venerate Hindu deities, deities. ''Arti'' also refers t ...

yagya In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well a ...

hawan In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well a ...

, and other ceremonies. Some people also visit the temple regularly to pray for their wishes to be fulfilled by their god. Sacrificial offerings are often placed within the temple. These include animals (pigeons, goats, etc.), as well as offerings of

kheer Kheer, khir or payasam is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, ...

laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' is a spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent made of various ingredients and sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets." ''Laddus'' are often serv ...

peda Peda () or Pera is an Indian sweet that originated in the city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India. Traditionally prepared as thick, semi-soft round balls, its main ingredients are khoa, sugar and traditional flavourings including cardamom seeds. ...

paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects, the prima ...

, and

supari The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm (''Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 15 ...

. It is a common tradition for people who suffer from ailments, particularly skin diseases, to present four pairs of brinjal (eggplant) as an offering for a cure. The local people of the

Bodebarsain Bodebarsain () is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village development committee (Nepal), Villag ...

region worship at the Raja Ji Than Temple and consider it sacred.

Politics

In Phase 3 of the

2017 Nepalese local elections Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American mag ...

, the

Federal Socialist Forum Nepal The Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal (; Abbreviation, abbreviated FSFN) was a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal. The party came into being on 15 June 2015 with the merger of the M ...

achieved victories in both the mayoral and deputy mayoral posts in the Bodebarsain municipality of the Saptari district. Atish Singh Yadav received 4,547 votes and secured the mayoral post. Ranju Saha received 3,721 votes and won the deputy mayoral post. The mayor's strongest opponent, Amarendra Yadav of RJP-Nepal, received 3,298 votes while the nearest rival of deputy mayor, Renu Saha, received 3,637 votes.

References

"राज्यद्वारा उपेक्षित मधेशको ऐतिहासिक स्थल मानराजा गढी"
''News Today'', 12 April 2016.{{Saptari District Populated places in Saptari District Village development committees in Saptari District