Sita Bibaha Panchami: Divine Wedding

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Hindus celebrate the wedding anniversary of Sita and Rama in Janakpur on the fifth day of the bright fortnight in the Marga (November-December) of the Nepal Samvat; the day is called Sita Bibaha Panchami. On this occasion, we decorate the idol of Sita as a bride in preparation for the marriage with the Rama’s idol decorated as a bridegroom. We perform the Hindu rituals of marriage ceremony to the idols of Sita and Rama. This day is the most auspicious day for wedding.

Devotees celebrate the wedding anniversary of Hindu demigods Sita and Rama enthusiastically. Many devotees from across the border and other countries visit Janakpur to watch this annual festival of the divine wedding.

Janakpur was the capital city of ancient kingdom called Mithila. It was once a flourishing state. A king called Janak ruled the Mithila kingdom at that time. He was a pious king. However, he was without progeny.

A legend has it that the king wanted to perform a fire-worship called Yagya. As it was customary at that time, he himself needed to level the ground with a golden plow for making an altar. While he was leveling the ground, the golden plow brought a girl child up to the surface on its tip. Seeing a cute girl child, King Janak became so happy that he took the child to his queen immediately, and they adopted her. They named her Sita from the word “sitay” means the tip of a plow. Thus, Sita became the daughter of King Janak and his queen.

Another legend has it that once Ravan: the king of Lanka imposed tax on the ascetic holy men. They had nothing for paying off the tax imposed on them. So, they collected their blood in an earthen pot, sealed it and sent it to King Ravan with a note attached to it. The note said that the earthen pot contained the amount of the tax they needed to pay to the king but the king should be careful to open it. King Ravan became very concerned with the caution of the holy men. So, the king asked his attendants to take the earthen pot sent by the holy men for the payment of the tax to as far as possible from his kingdom and leave it there. They took it to the foothills of the Himalaya, and left it there. Sita was born out of it and King Janak found her while plowing the land.

Sita grew into such a beautiful lady that the king had difficulty to find a suitor matching up to her beauty and personality. So, King Janak was concerned with it very much. One day, the king saw Sita dusting the Shiva dhanu, and moving the Shiva dhanu very easily. The king was surprised by her strength and power.

Lord Shiva presented the bow to King Janak in appreciation of the offerings he made to the lord. The bow was named Shiva dhanu, as Lord Shiva gave it to the king. It was so heavy that even a strongest person had difficulty to move it.

Hence, King Janak thought out a condition for finding a suitor with the strength matching up with Sita’s strength. The condition he set was anyone who could lift the Shiva dhanu (Shiva’s bow) and break it up would receive the hands of Sita. King Janak sent the message of marriage with the condition to all princes and kings, and announced the date for the wedding of Sita with that condition.

Dignitaries such as princes and kings sent the return-message of their acceptance of participating in the contest for winning the hands of Sita because they were fascinated by the beauty and personality of Sita. King Janak made preparation for the contest fitting to the grandeur of all brave princes and kings rather than for a marriage ceremony. He made a grand arrangement of the seats for all dignitaries to sit around the Shiva dhanu.

At that time, two young princes called Rama and Laskman both sons of King Dasharath of Ayodhyaya were serving the holy ascetic man called Bisvamitra in helping him in performing fire-worship keeping the demons away from the performance of the fire-worship.

Bisvamitra with his telepathic vision saw that King Janak was holding a grand contest for giving Sita in marriage to a winner of the contest. He also knew that Sita was the incarnation of Goddess of Wealth called Laskmi; Rama was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. When gods and demons churned the milk ocean, Laskmi came out of it. Lord Vishnu: preserver of the Hindu world married Laskmi.  So, Bisvamitra thought that none other than Rama could lift the Shiva dhanu and marry Sita.

So, Bisvamitra told the princes that king Janak was holding a grand contest for giving Sita in marriage to the winner of the contest; the king had organized the contest of lifting and breaking the Shiva dhanu for giving the winner of the contest Sita in marriage; hence, they should go and watch the contest and then the marriage of Sita with the winner of the contest in Janakpur. He took Rama and Laskman ostensibly to watch the contest for the hands of Sita.

When Bisvamitra along with the two princes entered the palace courtyard packed with almost all renowned dignitaries ready to test their luck in the contest, king Janak stood up from his throne and welcomed him along with the two princes, and assigned them to special seats.

Sita was in a Hindu wedding set, and was ready with her wedding-flower garland to put around the neck of the winner-the-suitor who could lift and break the Shiva dhanu.

King Janak once again announced the condition for marriage to the audience of dignitaries, and then he introduced Sita to them. Thereafter, he declared opened the contest of lifting and breaking the Shiva dhanu for winning the hands of Sita.

A host introduced a prince or a king to the audience in turn and then called on him to come forward to the stage and lift the Shiva dhanu into air and break it.

Princes and kings one after another went to the stage and attempted to lift the Shiva dhanu. However, none of them could even move it not to mention lifting it, and then the king called Ravan of Lanka famous for his strength went to the stage with confident in lifting the Shiva dhanu. With all his power, he lifted it a half way; unfortunately for him, he went off balance, and got buried under the Shiva dhanu.

Watching all those mighty princes and kings failing in even lifting the Shiva dhanu, King Janak thought that he might have set an impossible condition of the marriage of his daughter.

At that moment, Bisvamitra got up from his seat, and addressed King Janak and the audience of dignitaries that if the king would give his permission he would like to give the chance of lifting the Shiva dhanu to one of the princes who accompanied him.

King Janak reluctantly agreed to the Biswamitra’s proposal. Some of the princes and kings giggled at the Biswamitra’s proposal, thinking how could the young chap lift such a bow that none of the mighty princes and kings could even move it.

All brave princes and kings were stunned when the holy man signaled Rama to go to the stage and give it a try. Prince Rama walked seriously to the stage, and bow down before the Shiva dhanu, uttered mantras at it, concentrated his mind on it, held the Shiva dhanu firmly by his left hand, and with all his power lifted it up, and held it for sometime in the air to demonstrate it to all the dignitaries participating in the contest in the palace courtyard. Then, he held another end of it by his right hand and broke it up sending a crashing thunder shaking the three worlds such as heaven, earth and underworld.

Even today, some splinters of the Shiva dhanu broken by Rama are preserved in stone in the Janakpur area, not very far from the place where an annual festival of the anniversary of the marriage ceremony is held. People hold those splinters with the utmost esteem.

Flowers were showered on Rama from heaven. All princes and kings were puzzled. However, it was the greatest relief for King Janak.

Sita’s attendants holding her hands led her to Rama.  Sita looked straight at Rama, and put the garland she had been holding such a long time around his neck ending the greatest contest of that time. Thus, Sita got married to Rama in Janakpur: capital of the Mithila kingdom.

Hindu Nepalis and devote Hindus from all over the world assembly in Janakpur every year to celebrate the marriage anniversary of Sita and Rama on the fifth day of the bright fortnight in the Marga. On this occasion, devote Hindus decorate the idol of Sita as a bride and that of Rama as a bridegroom, and take them on the decorated elephant around the town of Janakpur.

A religious festival is held in Janakpur to commemorate the memorable marriage ceremony of the two divine figures. Thus, Janakpur is the hometown of Sita: incarnation of the Goddess of wealth called Laskmi who came to this world to be with Rama who in turn was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu who also came to the world in a human form to eliminate the demonic power prevailing in the form of corruption on the earth at that time. Therefore, it is a very auspicious day for all Hindus. So, some Hindu Nepalis perform marriage ceremony and any other meritorious rituals and rites on this day, as the day is the most favorable one for holding such auspicious events.

Note: The divine wedding is on November 21, 2009. All devotees are invited to this wedding in Janakpur, Nepal