Each year thousands of Hindu pilgrims come to Janakpur to celebrate its most famous festivals: ‚Ramnavami‘, the birthday of Lord Rama, and ‚Vivaha Panchami‘, the marriage of Sita and Rama from the famous Indian epic the Ramayana said to have taken place there. Janakpur - City of Festivals -
Vivaha Panchami
Vivaha Panchami
Vivaha Panchami
Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja
Chhath Puja
Dashain
Dashain
Dashain
In autumn the Nepali people celebrate ‚Dashain‘ - the biggest and most important festival in Nepal. Dashain means ten days of celebration of the god Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana as told in the famous Indian epic The Ramayana. Based on this myth, Hindu people pray to the goddess Durga for power to conquer their enemies. Nowadays people kill many animals as sacrifices to their gods and goddesses, and they believe that the more sacrifices they offer, the more power they will get. During the autumn festival of ‚Chhath‘, women line the ponds of Janakpur and the surrounding villages with beautiful plates of offerings to the sun god. At the holy pond of Dhanush Sagar, they immerse themselves waist-deep in the water and hold the offerings to the setting sun. At dawn, they return and perform the same ceremony to the rising sun.