Janakpurdham
Janakpur ( Nepali: जनकपुर ) or Janakpurdham ( जनकपुरधाम ) is a city in the south of Nepal, administrative capital of the district of Dhanusha, and particularly for their role in the Hindu epic Ramayana is an important pilgrimage city for Hindus.
- 3.1 Temple
- 3.2 festivals
- 3.3 ponds and fountains
- 3.4 Art
- 4.1 traffic
- 4.2 Education
- 4.3 Drainage and waste disposal
- 6.1 Literature
- 6.2 External links
- 6.3 footnotes
History and Myth
Today Janakpur is considered the ancient city of Mithila, the capital of the historical Kingdom of Videha and center of the ancient Maithili culture.
The city is mentioned in many scriptures of Hinduism, including the Shatapatha - Brahmana, the Vishnu Purana, the Ramayana of Valmiki, the Mahabharata and the Shrimadbhagabat Mahapuran. This Vedic scriptures, epics and Puranas are the main sources for the historical and cultural development of Janakpur.
The Shatapatha - Brahmana describes how the king Mathava Videgha, led by his priest Gotama Rahugana, the river Sadanira ( Gandaka ) crossed and founded the kingdom of Videha. The city of Mithila was the capital of Videha Empire comprised the large parts of the Terai and extending from the river Kali Gandaki to the Sapt Koshi and into present-day Indian Bihar into it. As Gotama Rahugana composed many hymns in the Rig Veda, the founding of the Maithili kingdom is believed in the Vedic period.
One of the most important references to Mithila / Janakpur is the great epic Ramayana of sage Valmiki. Then here was Sita, the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi was born, and married the prince Rama. According to tradition, once King Janak of Mithila found her as a baby when plowing in the furrow produced by her mother, the earth. The king took Sita, the name means " furrow ", as the daughter on, and soon they had grown into a beautiful, clever and coveted by men girl. When her marriage was imminent, many free found, which were asked by their father to the test: The person should his daughter married, who would be able to draw the bow of the god Shiva - a fact to which his no mortal capable would. All have failed. However, when Rama was his turn, he not only managed to draw the bow, he broke it even in two parts. Sita was deeply impressed by the prince and married him. Janakpur is valid since the 16th century as an important place of pilgrimage after hermit should have discovered some figures of Rama and Sita and part of the mystical bow of Shiva in the local jungle.
Geography
Geographical location
Janakpur is located in the Terai ( Nepalese part of the Gangetic Plain), in the south of Nepal about 20 km north of the Indian border and about 400 km south- east of Kathmandu. The city lies at an altitude of about 70 meters on level ground without significant differences in height. It is bounded on the west by the river Dudhmati, to the east by the river Jaladh. Janakpur is the administrative capital of Dhanusha district.
Climate
Janakpur is one of the hottest cities of Nepal. The climate is characterized by high humidity, subtropical summers with temperatures up to 40 ° C and mild winters with temperatures rarely below 10 ° C.
Population
The following table shows the development of the population of the town of Janakpur.
( *) - Estimate
The population growth rate is 3.05 % per year. According to the latest census of 2011, 51 838 men and 45 938 women living in 19,183 households. 2001 lived next 33.240 married men and women in monogamous marriage 376 men and women in marriages with multiple wives. The illiteracy rate in Janakpur was 34 %, with approximately every 4th man could not read and write (24% ) and about every second woman ( 45%). Of the children of school age ( 26 745 ) visited about 69 % of the boys ( 9474 ) and 59 % of girls ( 7,615 ) school.
The population consists of about 80 different castes and ethnic groups, the largest among them 2001 were Brahman -Hill ( 7868 ), Sudhi ( 6828 ), Yadav ( 6535 ), Teli ( 5836 ), Muslim ( 5538 ), Brahman - Terai ( 3584 ), Kayastha ( 3491 ) and Kurmi ( 3116 ). The religion of the majority of the population is Hinduism ( 92.6 %), next are about 6.9% to Islam, other religions (Buddhism 0.4 %, 0.02%, Jainism, Christianity 0.02 %) are minorities. With approximately 84% ( 62 261 ) is the native language of most inhabitants Maithili, at about 10% ( 7.978 ) is Nepali, more of total twelve occurring languages are Urdu (781), Rajsthani ( 574 ) Hindi ( 561 ) and Newar ( 493 ).
Culture and sights
Temple
In Janakpur, there are over 120 temples, which is why it is also called the city of temples. Two are outstanding in their meaning: the Janaki Temple, and the Rama temple. Janaki is a name of Sita, daughter of King Janaka and wife of Rama.
The Janaki temple is located in the heart of the city, it was built in 1911 AD established after 12 years of construction. It is a gift to the Queen Brikha Bhanu Kuwari Tikamagarh of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. These donated 900 000 rupees, because their desire for a son was fulfilled, after she had made the pilgrimage to Janakpur to worship Janaki. Therefore, the temple also Naulakha Mandir is called - " The 900,000 rupees stamp". Your arms cartridge ziehrt the north gate. The construction of the temple in the Mughal architecture, as was popular in India in the 17th century, is unique in Nepal. The Rama Temple is the central point of the Ramnavami festivals. It was established in 1882 A.D. built by King Rana Bahadur and thus is the oldest in the city. Its design is the best example of Pagoda style in Nepal. The building was renovated in 1927 under Maharaja Chandra Shamsher.
Festivals
The people of Janakpur are very religious and celebrate many festivals throughout the year. When several days Dasain in October is celebrated the victory of good over evil. On the tenth day Rama killed the demon Ravana. Because of the special relationship of the city Janakpur to Rama is celebrated the Dasain festival in Janakpur particularly enthusiastic. This is not only evidenced by the many pilgrims who visit the city at this time, but also in the large number of sacrificed animals, mostly goats, on the ninth day of the festival.
The Festival Chhath Parva in November is popular for its unique connection to Janakpur and especially in women. It is dedicated to the worship of the sun god Surya, which is why you also called Surya Shashti. This festival, one of the holiest, lasts four days. Every year, countless pilgrims to worship the sun god in one of the many sacred ponds of the city.
Sita Vivaha Panchami in December that the marriage of Sita and Rama, the hero of the Ramayana celebrates, takes place throughout Nepal and India. The focal point of the celebrations, however, lies in Janakpur, because according to tradition, the marriage took place here. Also, this festival attracts thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India as Sita and Rama are among the most revered Hindu deities.
Other important festivals are Navabarsha ( mid-April), Nag Panchami (July / August), Janau Purnima and Rishi Tarpani (July / August), Krishna Ashthami (August), Teej ( August / September), Chaurchan (September), Deepawali and Lakshmi Puja (November), Maghe Sankranti or Sankranti Tila ( mid-January ), Basanta Panchami (February), Maha Shivaratri (February), Holi or Fagu -wa (March) and Ramnawami (March).
Ponds and fountains
The town of Janakpur has always been known for its many sacred ponds and fountains. Today, there are 68 sacred ponds, called Sar, and seven sacred well, called Kup. Pilgrims perform ritual ablutions especially in those ponds, which have a special mythological significance. According to tradition, some were of King Janak Rama washed the feet of the pad Prakshalan Sar. Since these systems are, however, maintained by the City Council only slightly, both the structural condition as well as the pollution of the water is questionable.
Art
The women in Mithila are internationally renowned for their traditional art, the Mithila painting. They decorate the exterior walls of their mud houses on special occasions, such as weddings or certain religious holidays, with designs and figures from mythology and their daily lives, as well as with abstract symbols and patterns. Ever since 1989, the Janakpur Women's Development Center ( JWDC ) founded these traditional paintings are made on paper and are as Janakpur Paintings become known. The artists of Janakpur are among the best known contemporary artists in Nepal.
Economy and infrastructure
Traffic
For inter-regional traffic Janakpur is through the Dhalkewar - Bhithamod - Highway to the major east-west Mahendra Highway in the north, and India connected to the south. Supra-regional bus connections to Kathmandu, Pokhara, among others
Janakpur has a regional airport ( IATA code: JKP; ICAO code: VNJP ), which lies south of the city. There are several daily connections to Kathmandu ( flight time about 25 minutes).
Janakpur is the only city in Nepal which is connected to a railway line. The 1935 entered service line has a length of 51 km, of which only 29 kilometers are traveled by the Nepal Railways at the moment. The daily service on trains transport passengers and cargo, they are particularly used by many commuters as well as pilgrims.
Education
In Janakpur, there are branches of the Tribuwahn University Kathmandu with the disciplines of medicine, engineering, humanities, business and education.
Drainage and waste disposal
The city administration Janakpur maintains approximately 120 km of road. In 2000 there were only 0.5 km sewer, which, though continually expanded, but often on an open roadside drains.
According to a survey in 2003, every inhabitant Janakpurs produces about 0.15 kg of waste per day, which incurred approximately 15.3 tons of waste per day in the entire city. From the staff of street cleaners about 3 tons of waste per day are collected trash container does not exist, it does not separate between different types of waste, including medical waste is not separated. For the disposal of the collected waste neither landfills nor composting or recycling facilities are available, the waste is instead dumped outside of town along the highway.
Personalities
- Dr Ram Baran Yadav ( born February 4, 1948), politician, since 2008 Minister of Nepal