Celebrations In Sasuraal: Nepal’s Janakpur Eagerly Awaits Ram’s Return To Ayodhya

Rangbhoomi in Janakpur Dham, the pilgrimage centre in Dhanusa is where Ram is believed to have lifted and broken Shiva’s bow. 

The historic judgement of the Supreme Court on Ram Janmabhoomi and the bhoomi pujan of the Ram Mandir held in Ayodhya during August 2020 were welcomed by the people of Nepal and among them, the devotees of Ram and Sita. 

In January 2023, people at Janakpur Dham in Nepal’s Dhanusa district would witness a unique Mahapooja – a grand ceremonial offering of rituals at the Janaki Temple. 

The Mahapooja was dedicated to a special arrival from Galeshwar Dham of Kaligandaki. It was a Shaligram Shila heading to the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.  The temple premises erupted with a celebration from devotees, sadhus and sants, as the Mahapooja commenced in the presence of Mahantha Ram Tapeshwar Das of the Janaki temple and other dignitaries from Madhes.

Decked Up In Devotion For ‘Son-in-Law’

In Nepal, celebrations of Ram Navmi and Sita Vivah in Janakpur are part of a Sita devotee’s generational memory. 

On these two occasions, the mortal depiction of Ram, with a bhakta in the “vesh” of Ram emerging in celebrations and processions, at Janakpur, captivates the devotee. When Dr Devi Prasad Panthi visited Janakpur 20 years ago, he felt the pride that is associated with Ram as Sita’s husband, and as the son-in-law of Maharaja Janak in the depictions displayed at the temple premises. 

Dr Panthi’s early memories of the Janaki Mandir in Janakpur come from the depictions of Sita’s childhood at the sacred spaces of Janakpur Dham. “The episodic depth in those depictions placed within glass boxes at the temples of Janakpur Dham, the Janaki Mandir central to the devotee’s darshan, make home in any young devotee’s heart and live forever.” The devotee’s gaze then witnesses similar episodes coming to life in the nagar yatras where the “jhankis” depicting the episodes of Sita’s life, as mentioned in the Ramayana, move the devotee to tears. 

From Janakpur, the people of Nepal can see a groundswell build around the Ram Mandir. “What one saw during the rituals performed to mark the departure of the Shaligram Shila from Janakpur Dham in Nepal to Ayodhya, was just a glimpse of the Ram Bhakti and the sentiment for Ram Mandir that people of Janakpur have in their hearts.” Kishori Sah, a resident of Janakpur, Nepal, told this author that he was one of the bhaktas who were part of the procession dedicated to the Shaligram Shila, from Janakpur Dham to Ayodhya. 

He added, “Going by the surge in the dharmic sentiment of people of Janakpur after the Shaligram Shila arrived from Galeshwar Dham to Janakpur and went from Janakpur to Ayodhya, we are thinking of placing a request for a sacred space dedicated to Janakpur Dham in the Ram Mandir premises. Janakpur ko Ayodhya mein sthhan milna chahiye.” 

In the resurgence of dharma following the building of Ram Mandir, members of the Gorkha community and members of the Nepali community, see their task of preserving dharma in similar terms. 

Pandit Govind Prasad Panthi, a well-known member of the Gorkha samaj in Dehradun told this author: “Dharma is part of the Gorkha’s emblematic pride, where protecting Sanatan, seema (border) and Gau (cow) has the supreme place. Ram is central to a Gorkha’s devotion and life. . .A Gorkha cannot imagine his life in Sanatan without his devotion for Ram and without Ram. Janakpur is the abode of that sentiment and emotion.” 

The battle cry of “Jai Ma Kali” has guided the Gorkha’s confrontations for the protection of his civilisation. That civilisation is Bharat – whole and one. His devotion for “Ma Sita” has signified his worship of Ram. And so, he is able to direct his devotional representations to not one but two destinations of his dharmic inclinations. Janakpur Dham and Ayodhya. 

Both the destinations, though in different countries, fall in the same Bharatvarsha. 

Devotion Moves Shila In Sita’s Janakpur, Shila Moves Ram Bhakta in Ayodhya

This year, Janakpur Dham became central to a historic moment which would define the cultural ties between Nepal and India for centuries. 

River Gandaki in Nepal is the abode of the Shaligram Shila. Pt. Govind Panthi narrates from his memory, moving his fingers over a map of Nepal as he traces the route of Gandaki and the river’s distance from Janakpur Dham. “The rainy season, which lasts around 3-4 months, sees the Krishna Gandaki river in its raudra roop.

"The waters of the river swirl around the Shaligram Shilas, encircling them in her might. The banks of the river cradle several sacred spaces.

"It is pious to the Gorkhas and the people of Nepal. The Shaligram Shila itself is Narayan-rupi – as per the Puranic contexts.

"With the great gesture of sending the Shila to Bharat, the people of Nepal and Gorkhas have shown the importance of the Krishna Gandaki river and the Shila to Sanatan and Sanatanis.”

For a meaningful pause in its journey to Ayodhya, the Shaligram Shila brought from Galeshwar Dham was worshipped and witnessed by devotees at the Janakpur Dham.  

When this author went to finally get the darshan of the Shaligram Shila, the mammoth spiritual purpose flashed under the sharp sun. It’s hard to tell whether “Ram” scribbled in the Devanagari with finger dipped in red and saffron was an act in devotion of a Sita bhakta in Nepal or a Ram bhakta in Ayodhya. 

“Nepal Galeshwar Dham se aayi Devshila” – reads a painted caption on a board, with two saffron flags erected on either side. 

Locals told this author that the caption was placed in order to help the devotee who came with several queries on the Shaligram Shila. Ayodhya-wasis at the Karyashala told this author that since February, when the Shila arrived from Janakpur, “thousands and thousands of devotees have come to catch a glimpse of it.” 

The devotees make offerings of marigold and prasad to the shila, moved by the emotion of this meaningful journey the Shaligram stone has made from Sita’s abode to Ram’s. 

Devotion can move rocks. Rocks can move devotees. In the Yuddha Kanda of Valmiki’s Ramayana, Hanuman carries a whole mountain (Sumeru) in order to bring the Sanjeevani Booti to heal Lakshman – as suggested by Sushena. Mahakavi Tulsidas gave this episode an immortal expression, through his lyrical brilliance in the Hanuman Chalisa, where Ram, after this incident, tells Hanuman that he is as dear to him as a brother as Bharat himself. 

Rocks build eternal kinship. As they have – between Nepal and Bharat – since Treta Yug. 

The Shift From 'Roti-Beti ka Rishta' Political Jargon To ‘Ram Sita Vivah’

The sacred vivah that happened in Treta Yuga should define Bharat Nepal ties in Kaliyuga. 

When they talk about Sita, Janakpur and the deep spiritual relationship that Ayodhya and Janakpur share, they mention that it precedes and should precede the phrase "roti beti ka rishta", which is part of the political jargon when it comes to describing the deep cultural ties between India and Nepal and is often used by politicians. 

This author believes that the change must begin from Uttarakhand, where, at the Raghunath Mandir in Devprayag, the tradition of the wedding procession of Ram imparting on a journey to Janakpur, Sita's abode, on Ram-Sita vivah adds its own fervour to devotion, and where the Gorkha sentiment and the emotion for Nepal are part of the preserved heritage.  

“With the great gesture of sending the Shaligram Shila to Bharat, the people of Nepal and Gorkhas in particular have shown what the Ram Mandir means to them.” 

Ramping Up Ram Sita Vivah Celebrations – The Key To The Conversion Challenge 

“The Gospel is spreading across Nepal, a Hindu Majority nation” – this is the opening line in a BBC documentary. The issue of conversion of Hindus to Christianity in Nepal, a secular state since 2015, has been covered regularly by the media.

A report in Times Now says that Nepal now has the fastest growing Christian population in the world. “From no Christian in 1951, now around 5.5 lakh in Nepal,” it says.  In 2017, Nepal enacted a law to curb evangelism – criminalising religious conversions. Christians called the step “regressive. 

Dr Devi Prakash Panthi said, “The impact is on the poor. Gareeb logon ko, kamzor logon ko pakad ke…(the poor and vulnerable are in the grip), nishchit hee iska bahut negative impact hai (it definitely has a negative impact.” 

He adds that when India got Narendra Modi as the prime minister and when Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, “many Hindus of Nepal felt that the two leaders in India will help in making Hindu dharm stronger in Nepal.”

He adds, “Par hamare liye unke dwara jis ddhang se awaz aani chahiye thee, Ram Sita, Bramha,Vishnu, Mahesh ko lekar… wo aayi nahin (however the way these two leaders were expected to raise their voice on the resurgence surrounding Ram, Sita, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, for us, did not happen).”

Members of the Gorkha samaj this author met believe that the building of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the growing cultural zeal that binds Ayodhya with Janakpur Dham can play a role in helping the Gorkha samaj living in India. The cultural rejuvenation resulting from the inauguration of Ram Mandir is expected to come as a relief for the Nepali Hindu samaj. “It is an area of concern for Gorkhas in Nepal as well as in India,” they said.