Sitamarhi

For the temple, see Sita Samahit Sthal.

Sitamarhi is the headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in Tirhut Division.^[5] The city was named in honour of Sītā, wife of Rāma, who was born in Sitamarhi according to Hindu legends.^[6]

Sitamarhi
City
Clockwise from top: Goddess Sita, Janaki Sthan Mandir, Bagahi Math
Sitamarhi Location in Bihar, India
Coordinates: 26.6°N 85.48°E / 26.6; 85.48
Country	India
State	Bihar
District	Sitamarhi
Elevation	56 m (184 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	106,093
Languages
• Official	Hindi
• Additional official	Urdu[2]
• Regional languages	Bajjika [3]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	843302, 843301, 843331,843323, 843325 (Sitamarhi)[4]
ISO 3166 code	IN-BR
Vehicle registration	BR-30
Lok Sabha constituency	Sitamarhi
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Sitamarhi
Website	sitamarhi.nic.in

In 1875, a subdivision for Sitamarhi was created within the Muzaffarpur district.^[7] Sitamarhi was detached from Muzaffarpur and made a separate district on December 11, 1972.^[8] The district headquarters is located in Dumra, five kilometres (3 mi) south of Sitamarhi's main temple.^[9]

Geography

Sitamarhi has an average elevation of 56 metres (184 ft).^[10]

Pupri, Bairgania, Sursand and Bhitthamore are all towns on the Indo-Nepal border not far from Sitamarhi.

Culture

Sitamarhi dates back to the time of the Ramayana epic, which describes it as the place where King Janaka found the goddess Sita.^[11]

A temple dedicated to Sita is located at Punaura Dham Sitamarhi.^[12] A rock-cut sanctuary from the Mauryan period is also found near Sitamarhi.^[13]

Several cultural events occur annually in Sitamarhi: Dumra hosts festivities for Rama Navami each spring; a ceremony commemorating the marriage of Ram and Sita happens every year in Janaki Sthan;^[14] and the winter festival of Sama Chakeva celebrates brother-sister relationships.^[15][16]

Demographics

As of the 2011 Census, Sitamarhi District has a total population of around 106,093. There are around 56,693 males and 49,400 females. 69,507 people are literate, including 39,537 males and 29,070 females. The average literacy rate is 52.04% in total, 60.64% for males, and 42.41% for females. The sex ratio is 899, and the child sex ratio is 872.^[17]

Religion in Sitamarhi (2011)[18]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			80.06%
Islam			17.23%
Buddhism			1.28%
Jainism			0.45%
Christianity			0.14%
Sikhism			0.01%
Others			0.22%

Administration

Sitamarhi is a part of the Tirhut Division. Currently, Sitamarhi consists of three sub-divisions and seventeen blocks. Its headquarters are located at Dumra, five kilometers south of Sitamarhi. The District Magistrate is the top-most official of revenue and civil administration and is assisted by ADM^{[definition needed][19]} and other district officers.

The district has been divided into three subdivisions: Sadar, Pupri, and Belsand. Each is headed by sub-divisional officers either from the IAS (Indian Administrative Service) or BAS (Bihar Administrative Service). Sub-divisional officers are under the direct authority of the District Magistrate. Subdivisions are divided into 17 development blocks where BDOs (Block Development Officers) are charged with carrying out development and welfare projects.^[20] Sitamarhi district has 845 revenue villages. The district's judicial system is headed by the District and Sessions Judge, who is in turn assisted by other Judges and Munsiff magistrates posted at district and sub-division levels.^[21]

Pilgrimage sites

• Sita Kund
• Urvija Kund
• Janaki Sthan
• Janaki Janmsthali Mandir
• Punaura Dham
• Haleshwar Sthan
• Manokamna Dham, Bariyarpur^{[citation needed]}
• Kumari Bua, Sundargama^{[citation needed]}
• Hanuman Mandir, Sundargama^{[citation needed]}
• Kali Mandir, Sundargama^{[citation needed]}
• Paakar Tree, PanthPakar^{[citation needed]}
• Gaya Babu Temple Complex, Dayanagar^{[citation needed]}
• Shiv Mandir, Dhangar^{[citation needed]}
• Baudhi Devi, Dhangar^{[citation needed]}
• Shiv Temple, Anhari^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

National Highway 77 connects Sitamarhi to Mehsi, Muzaffarpur and Patna, and other roads connect the city to adjoining districts. National Highway 227 runs towards Sheohar in the west and the border town Bhitthamore in the east. State highways link Sitamarhi to Madhubani district in the east.^[22]

Sitamarhi Junction railway station is a five-platform station on the Darbhanga–Raxaul–Narkatiaganj line, which was converted to broad gauge in February 2014. Another broad-gauge track connects Sitamarhi to Muzaffarpur. Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi Junction to cities including New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Mumbai.^[23][24]

The nearest airport to Sitamarhi is the Darbhanga Airport, about 82 kilometres (51 mi) away.^[25]

Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Many private buses (both AC and non-AC^{[definition needed]}) operate between Sitamarhi and Patna.^[26]

Notable people

• Harnandan Prasad, ICS, zamindar, commissioner and vice chairman of Sitamarhi
• Ramcharitra Rai Yadav, freedom fighter, veteran socialist leader, and former member of both the Bihar Legislative Assembly and the Indian Legislative Assembly
• Ramesh Thakur, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Jainandan Prasad Yadav, Indian politician and former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly
• Thakur Jugal Kishore Sinha, former Member of Parliament, freedom fighter, and founder of the co-operative movement^{[citation needed]}
• Ram Dulari Sinha, former Union Minister, freedom fighter, and the first female governor from Bihar
• Devesh Chandra Thakur, deputy leader of the Bihar Legislative Council
• Prabhat Jha, politician and journalist
• Nawal Kishore Rai, former Member of Parliament
• Sanjay Prasad IAS, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer
• Sitaram Yadav, former Member of Parliament
• Ram Kumar Sharma, former Member of Parliament
• Sunil Kumar Pintu, former Member of Parliament
• Vikash Jha, journalist and author
• Gaurav Sharma, author