There is a big town called Janakpurdham in the terai. During Ramnawami a big festival is held there. It remaind the King Janaka and his daughter, Janaki or Sita. In ancient times, Janakpur was known as Mithila. It was the capital of the famous kingdom of Videha. Janakpur was the centre of learning. Among the kings of Videha, Janak was the most famous. His real name was Sri Dhoj. He was a learned and wise king. His court consisted of learned people.
While King Janaka ruled Janakpur, Dasaratha was the king of Ayodhya. Rama, the eldest son of Dasaratha was married to Sita. Sita was the daughter of Janaka, who was also known as Janaki. The Ramayana, a great Hindu epic, is the story of Rama and Sita.
2. GAUTAMA BUDDHA
Kapilbastu, one of the districts in Lumbini zone in the terai region. It was once the
Siddhartha was always curious about the mysteries of life. Siddhartha realized that human life is full of suffering. Siddhartha saw a sick man, an old man and a dead man. Siddhartha used to think about the worries about human life. Siddhartha used to ask himself: why do people suffer from diseases? Why do people grow old? Why do they die? What is the remedy of all these troubles? Siddhartha was anxious to know the answer to such questions. At the age of 29, he left his wife and son, parents and relatives, wealth and properly. Then Siddhartha set out at midnight in search of knowledge and truth of life.
Siddhartha went to many places, and made contact with many people, but Siddhartha was not satisfied. Siddhartha sat for meditation in
Gautama Buddha preached his first sermon at Sarnath. Gautama Buddha laid stress on four Noble Truths which are as follows:
- There is sorrow in life,
- There is a cause of this sorrow,
- The cause is desire,
- If desire is removed, sorrow can also be removed.
The Eight fold paths are:
1. Right beliefs,
2. Right thinking,
3. Right speech,
4. Right action,
5. Right occupation,
6. Right desire,
7. Right conduct and
8. Right meditation
Gautam Buddha advised to follow the ‘middle paths’. There should not be be much pleasure in life nor total withdrawal from the pleasure.
Gautama Buddha preached his religion for forty-five years. At the age of eighty, Gautama Buddha died at Kushinagar. After his death, many people preached Buddhism. Ashoka, the Mauryan king of
3. ARANIKO
Araniko, who is also known as Balabahu, was a famous architect during the reign of Jay Bhimdev Malla. The Chinese Emperor, Kublai Khan, wanted to build a golden stupa in
Araniko was a talented architect. He built several pagado-type monastries and stupas in
Araniko settled down in
4. SITA
King Janka had a daughter named Sita. She was also known as Janaki. Sita was a beautiful lady and was dear to her parents. King Janaka had promised that the person who could break his massive bow would be the one to marry Sita. Many brave princes, kings tried to break the bow but no one could. Ram the eldest son of the King Dasaratha of Ayodhya broke the bow. Then Sita was married to Ram.
After marriage, Ram was exiled for fourteen years. As a true wife, Sita also accompanied Ram to the forest. They had to face a lot of trouble there but Sita bore it all without complaining. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka kidnapped Sita from the forest. Ravana wanted to marry Sita but she did not agree although Ravana threatened to kill her. Sita was faithful to Ram in deed, and thought. At last, Ram killed Ravana and rescued Sita. Ramayana, the great Hindu epic is the story of Ram and Sita.
Sita had many noble qualities. Some of them are as follows:
· Strong belief in faith and religion.
· Hardwork, intergrity, social values and high moral character.
· Kindness to the poor and helpless.
· Devotion to her family and to her country.
· Love and affection to the people.
Sita is recognized as the ideal Hindu woman and a glory of
5. BHRIKUTI
Bhrikuti is another noble daughter of
Bhrikuti promoted Nepalese art, religion and culture in