Sitamarhi

▪ India

      town, extreme northern Bihar state, northeastern India. It lies on the western bank of the Lakhandai River in the fertile Middle Ganges (Ganga) Plain. Sitamarhi is a station on the North Eastern Railway and is connected by roads with the Nepal frontier. It is a commercial centre trading in rice, timber, oilseeds, and hides. A large Ramanavami fair, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, is held in spring with considerable trade in pottery, spices, brass ware, and cotton cloth. A cattle fair held in Sitamarhi (Sītā) is the largest in Bihar state. The town is sacred as the birthplace of the goddess Sita (Sītā) (also called Janaki), the wife of Rama. According to Hindu (Hinduism) mythology, Sita was born out of an earthen pot while her father, King Janaka, was ploughing the fields nearby, praying for rain. It is claimed that the king built a tank (water reservoir) at the place where Sita was found. Sitamarhi has a pond and a temple dedicated to Sita, as well as the Hanuman, Mahadeva, and Ganesha temples.

      Agriculture is the principal occupation of the surrounding area, and rice, wheat, bajra (pearl millet), pulses (legumes), corn (maize), sugarcane, and oilseeds are grown. Local industries produce cotton textiles, tanned leather, milled rice, hydrogenated vegetable oil, wood carvings, and metalware. Pop. (2001) town, 56,766.

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