Sitamarhi is the headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in Tirhut Division,

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. The city was named in honour of Sītā, wife of

Rāma 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'' ...

, who was born in Sitamarhi according to

Hindu 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 ...

legends. In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was created within the

Muzaffarpur district The Muzaffarpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. Muzaffarpur district is part of and also the headquarters of Tirhut division. Muzaffarpur district is the financial and un-off ...

. Sitamarhi was detached from Muzaffarpur and made a separate district on December 11, 1972.District Health Action Plan
National Rural Health Mission, Government of Bihar, Retrieved 25 May 2010 The district headquarters is located in Dumra, south of Sitamarhi's main temple.

Geography

Sitamarhi has an average elevation of . Pupri, Bairgania, Sursand and Bhitthamore are all towns on the Indo-Nepal border not far from Sitamarhi.

Culture

Sitamarhi dates back to the time of the ''

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 ...

'' epic, which describes it as the place where King Janaka found the goddess

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 ...

. A temple dedicated to Sita is located at Punaura Dham Sitamarhi. A rock-cut sanctuary from the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

period is also found near Sitamarhi. Several cultural events occur annually in Sitamarhi: Dumra hosts festivities for

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 ...

each spring; a ceremony commemorating the marriage of Ram and Sita happens every year in Janaki Sthan; and the winter festival of Sama Chakeva celebrates brother-sister relationships. On the occasion of Janaki Navami, a spiritual internal circumambulation known as ''Antar Griha Parikrama'' of the city is organised by the religious trust of the Janaki Sthan. The Antar Griha Parikrama is a part of the larger Sitamarhi Dham Parikrama.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Census, Sitamarhi District has a total population of around 106,093. There are around 56,693 males and 49,400 females. 69,507 people are literate, including 39,537 males and 29,070 females. The average literacy rate is 52.04% in total, 60.64% for males, and 42.41% for females. The sex ratio is 899, and the child sex ratio is 872.

Administration

Sitamarhi is a part of the Tirhut Division. Currently, Sitamarhi consists of three sub-divisions and seventeen blocks. Its headquarters are located at Dumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi. The District Magistrate is the top-most official of revenue and civil administration and is assisted by ADM and other district officers. The district has been divided into three subdivisions: Sadar, Pupri, and Belsand. Each is headed by sub-divisional officers either from the IAS (Indian Administrative Service) or BAS (Bihar Administrative Service). Sub-divisional officers are under the direct authority of the District Magistrate. Subdivisions are divided into 17 development blocks where BDOs (Block Development Officers) are charged with carrying out development and welfare projects. Sitamarhi district has 845 revenue villages. The district's judicial system is headed by the District and Sessions Judge, who is in turn assisted by other Judges and Munsiff magistrates posted at district and sub-division levels.

Pilgrimage sites

* Sita Kund * Urvija Kund * Janaki Sthan * Janaki Janmsthali Mandir * Punaura Dham * Haleshwar Sthan * Manokamna Dham, Bariyarpur * Kumari Bua, Sundargama * Hanuman Mandir, Sundargama * Kali Mandir, Sundargama * Paakar Tree, PanthPakar * Gaya Babu Temple Complex, Dayanagar * Shiv Mandir, Dhangar * Baudhi Devi, Dhangar * Shiv Temple, Anhari

Transportation

National Highway 77 connects Sitamarhi to Mehsi,

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district on the banks of Burhi Gandak River, Burhi Gandak river in the Tirhut division of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur distri ...

and

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, and other roads connect the city to adjoining districts. National Highway 227 runs towards Sheohar in the west and the border town Bhitthamore in the east. State highways link Sitamarhi to

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 20 ...

in the east. Sitamarhi Junction railway station is a five-platform station on the

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

–

Raxaul Raxaul is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated at the India-Nepal border with Birgunj city (Nepal). Raxaul is a major railway junction. The other part of Raxaul is Mehsi where litchi ...

– Narkatiaganj line, which was converted to broad gauge in February 2014. Another broad-gauge track connects Sitamarhi to

. Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi Junction to cities including

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

, and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Darbhanga Airport, about away. Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Many private buses (both AC and non-AC) operate between Sitamarhi and

Notable people

* Harnandan Prasad, ICS, zamindar, commissioner and vice chairman of Sitamarhi * Ramcharitra Rai Yadav, freedom fighter, veteran socialist leader, and former member of both the Bihar Legislative Assembly and the

Indian Legislative Assembly * Central Legislative Assembly * State legislative assemblies of India The State Legislative Assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. Me ...

* Ramesh Thakur, former Assistant Secretary-General of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

* Jainandan Prasad Yadav, Indian politician and former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly * Thakur Jugal Kishore Sinha, former Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, freedom fighter, and founder of the co-operative movement * Ram Dulari Sinha, former Union Minister, freedom fighter, and the first female governor from Bihar *

Devesh Chandra Thakur Devesh Chandra Thakur (born 3 July 1953) is an Indian politician from the Janata Dal United, and a member of parliament representing Sitamarhi Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, India. He is a former chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council a ...

, deputy leader of the

Bihar Legislative Council Bihar Legislative assembly also known as Bihar Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India. History A new Province of Bihar and Odisha was created by the Government of India on 12 Decem ...

* Prabhat Jha, politician and journalist * Nawal Kishore Rai, former Member of Parliament * Sanjay Prasad IAS,

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

(IAS) officer * Sitaram Yadav, former Member of Parliament * Ram Kumar Sharma, former Member of Parliament * Sunil Kumar Pintu, former Member of Parliament * Vikash Jha, journalist and author * Gaurav Sharma, author

References

External links

Main site

Portal of Sitamarhi

Official website of Tirhut Division
{{Tirhut Division Cities and towns in Sitamarhi district Sitamarhi district Places in the Ramayana