Highlights
- Punaura Dham — Sita's birthplace temple, Sita Kund and the furrow shrine..
- Janaki Mandir, town — The older temple; evening aarti..
- Haleshwar Sthan — Shiva temple King Janaka is said to have founded, 3 km..
- Panth Pakar — Ancient banyan where Sita's palanquin rested on the way to Ayodhya..
The Ramayana says King Janaka of Mithila was ploughing a field in a rite to end a drought when the ploughshare struck a casket, and in it was a girl he named Sita — 'furrow'. Punaura, five kilometres south-west of Sitamarhi town, claims the field; a temple, a tank called Sita Kund and a hall of painted Ramayana scenes mark it, and a large new complex is under construction to match Ayodhya.
The older Janaki Mandir in town centre was built around a hundred years ago by a Tirhut ascetic and is where the town's Ram Navami and Vivah Panchami crowds gather. Across the border, 60 km north, Janakpur in Nepal has the great Janaki Mandir where Sita's wedding is re-enacted each December — the two towns are one pilgrimage.
Sitamarhi is also Mithila proper: Maithili spoken on the street, Madhubani-style painted walls in the villages, makhana (fox-nut) ponds everywhere, and a slow border-town rhythm that very few outside visitors ever see.
Chapter 01
What to see
- 01
Punaura Dham
Sita's birthplace temple, Sita Kund and the furrow shrine.
- 02
Janaki Mandir, town
The older temple; evening aarti.
- 03
Haleshwar Sthan
Shiva temple King Janaka is said to have founded, 3 km.
- 04
Panth Pakar
Ancient banyan where Sita's palanquin rested on the way to Ayodhya.
- 05
Janakpur, Nepal
Day trip across the open border (Indians need no visa).
Practical
Getting there
Fly
Darbhanga Airport (DBR) 70 km; Patna (PAT) 140 km.
Train
Sitamarhi Junction, on the Darbhanga–Raxaul line; direct trains from Patna, Delhi and Kolkata.
Road
140 km from Patna via Muzaffarpur, 3.5 hours. 60 km to Janakpur.
On the map · Sitamarhi is at 26.5951°N, 85.4808°E in Sitamarhi district, about 149 km (3½ h) by road from Patna.
Before you go · Best time to visit · Safety, dress code & money · What to eat nearby
Practical
Distances from Sitamarhi
Road distance and realistic driving time on Bihar roads — plan around these, not the straight line on a map.
From the gateway cities
| Muzaffarpur → Sitamarhi | 70 km | 1½ h |
| Darbhanga → Sitamarhi | 83 km | 2 h |
| Patna → Sitamarhi | 149 km | 3½ h |
| Gaya → Sitamarhi | 268 km | 6½ h |
| Bhagalpur → Sitamarhi | 276 km | 6½ h |
To nearby places
| Sitamarhi → Darbhanga | 83 km | 2 h |
| Sitamarhi → Madhubani | 84 km | 2 h |
| Sitamarhi → Kesaria Stupa | 89 km | 2 h |
| Sitamarhi → Vaishali | 99 km | 2 h |
| Sitamarhi → Sonepur Mela & Hariharnath | 134 km | 3 h |
| Sitamarhi → Thawe Mandir | 143 km | 3½ h |
| Sitamarhi → Lauriya Nandangarh | 150 km | 3½ h |
| Sitamarhi → Patna | 151 km | 3½ h |
| Sitamarhi → Maner Sharif | 159 km | 3½ h |
| Sitamarhi → Kusheshwar Asthan | 162 km | 4 h |
| Sitamarhi → Kanwar Lake | 165 km | 4 h |
| Sitamarhi → Ugratara, Mahishi | 168 km | 4 h |
Estimates: road ≈ 1.3 × straight-line, ~40 km/h average. All Bihar distances →
