Back in December, I visited Janakpur, in the south of Nepal. Janakpur is famous for the Janaki Mandir, a temple dedicated to the Goddess Sita, who was consort of Lord Rama. The temple was built in 1910 on the site where, in 1657, a golden statue of the goddess was found. Sita is also known as Janaki, the adopted daughter of King Janak, who—according to legend—found her while he was ploughing in a ritual ceremony. The temple is an important destination for Hindu pilgrims.

By the day, it looks like this:

At night, however, it looks like this:

The temple is full of devotees day and night. Musicians have been playing continuously, 24 hours a day, for the past 20 years.

The pujas are amazingly crowded, with people straining to photograph the idols of the gods inside the sanctuary (despite the “Don’t take picture” signs). I, at least, used a long lens from outside the temple.

If you tour the museum on the temple grounds, you can see dioramas of the life of Sita. Here is a selection: the figure with the blue skin is Lord Rama.

One more set of photos: