GATEWAY OF JANAKPURDHAM WITH HISTORY OF MITHILA DHAM

Accounts of ascetics, pandits and bards indicate that Janakpurdham was founded in the early 18th century. The earliest description of Janakpurdham as a pilgrimage site dates to 1805. Earlier archaeological evidence of the presence of an ancient city has not been found. King Janaka's palace is thought to have been located in ancient Janakpur as it is thought to be capital of the Kingdom of the Videhas. According to the Hindu Epic Ramayana, he found a baby girl in a furrow, named her Sita and raised her as his daughter. When she was older, he offered her in marriage to anyone who was able to lift the bow of Shiva, left near Janakpur a thousand years earlier. Many royal suitors tried, but only Rama, prince of Ayodhya, could lift the bow. According to an old song, this bow was found northeast of Janakpur.^[4]
Until the 1950s, Janakpur was a cluster of rural hamlets inhabited by farmers, artisans, priests and clerks who worked for the monasteries that controlled the land. After independence in India, Janakpur expanded to a commercial centre and became the capital of the Dhanusa District in the 1960s.^[1]
As Asmit and Sita are major figures in Hinduism, Janakpur is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus all over the world.

Ram-Sita Marriage place

According to the first millennium text Shatapatha Brahmana, the Maithil king Māthava Videgha crossed the Sadānirā (Gandaki River), led by his priest Gotama Rahugana, and founded the Kingdom of Videha with Janakpur as capital city. As Gotama Rahugana composed many hymns of the Rigveda, these events must date to the Regvedic period.^{[citation needed]}
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and final Tirthankara of the Jain religion, are said to have lived in Janakpur. The region was an important centre for history of Mithila during the first millennium.^{[citation needed]}