JALESHWOR, DECEMBER 13

The fervor of Vivah Panchami celebrations has gripped Mithila region these days. This time-honoured festival commemorating the wedding of Hindu god Ram and goddess Sita is observed with all the associated rituals for a week each year in Mithila.

Various cultural programmes and religious rituals are organised for a week from Matihani of Mahottari to Janakpurdham of Dhanusha in celebration of the Vivah Panchami. The fervor of this traditional festival can be witnessed throughout the Mithila region of Nepal and India this time also.

The wedding of Ram and Sita is enacted on the occasion of Vivah Panchami and as per the tradition, the bridegroom's party arrives in Janakpurdham from Ayodhya, India for the wedding. According to the scriptures, lord Ram, son of king Dasharath of Ayodhya married goddess Sita, daughter of king Janak of Janakpurdham during the Treta epoch. The marriage was solemnized in Janakpurdham.

Hundreds of saints, holy men, ascetics and hermits from the Mithila region, including the mahantas from famous shrines of India arrive in Janakpur to partake in the festivities on the occasion.

The tradition is that hundreds of thousands of devotees arrive from Ayodhya for a week for observing the Vivah Panchami festival. A procession accompanied by scores of horse-drawn chariots, dancing and singing troupes and decorated elephants along with the bridegroom arrives in Janakpurdham from there.

The bridegroom's procession travels to Janakpur via Matihani every year since a week ahead and a special worship is also held at the Laxmi Narayan temple at Matihani. The soil required for the wedding ritual under the Vivah Panchami is excavated from the Laxmi Sagar located in front of the Laxmi Narayan temple.

The Vivah Panchami falls on December 17 this year and the devotees from Ayodhya have started arriving here for the festivities since two days back.

The bridegroom's party coming from Ayodhya enters Matihani, Mahottari first and is accorded a rousing welcome by the residents of Matihani, with garlands and sprinkling of flower petals and vermillion. The party stays overnight in Matihani and partakes in the 'Matkor' ritual, said Rabindra Das Baishnav, the head priest of Laxmi Narayan Temple.