Bivah Panchami in Janakpur

To commemorate their marriage ceremony the garlands of Rama and Sita are exchanged in the midst of thousands of people. Thousands of devotees assemble here to watch this grand marriage cermony. They chant the slogans of Rama and Sita.

By R D Rakesh

Mithila has been a legendary land since time immemorial. Its past has been written in golden letters in the history of Mithila. It has been a miraculous and marvelous land from the time of the Ramayan period. The great poet, Tulasi Das has described the enchanting beauty of Janakpur, the capital city of ancient Mithila in the following lines:

" As they (Rama and Lakshman) went, they saw the beautiful royal garden, where reigned eternal spring enhanced by its loveliness. It was planted with charming trees of various kinds and overhung with beautiful creepers of varied hue."

He further states the natural beauty of the royal garden of the King Janak " rich in fresh leaf, fruit and flower, they put to shame even celestial trees by their luxuriance. The feathered choir of the cuckoos, koels, parrots and partridges warbled and graceful peacocks danced. In the centre of the garden, was a lovely lake take, which shone bright with flights of steps made of many-coloured jems. Its limpid water contained variegated lotuses and was vocal with the cooing of water fowl and the of bees humming."

Both the Lord Rama and his brother Lakshaman were delighted to see the good garden and the lovely lake. Most lovely must have been that which delighted even Rama (lit. the delighter of all) !

Those golden days of the Ramayan period have gone. Now Janakpur is a small town of temples, and ponds. Their remains narrate the glorious past of Janakpur today. It is now the headquarter of Dhanusha district. No past grand grandeur is left behind now.

Janakpur is a place of pilgrimage no doubt but it has lost its glorious past importance. The bow-breaking ceremony was performed on the auspicious occasion of Bivah Pancami that is on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of December (Marg-Poush). An arena was prepared for the contest of the bow at Rangbhoomi which is now near by the famous Janaki temple. The great poet TulsiDas has described the preparation of the contest in the following lines.

"The two brothers reached the eastern quarter of the city where the ground had been prepared for the tournament. In the midst of a fair and spacious paved area a spotless altar had been richly adorned."

He further described: "On all the four sides of this alter were erected broad plateforms of gold to be occupied by the princes. Not far behind and surrounding them on all sides shone another circular of plateforms of some what greater hight and beautiful in every way, and where the citizens might come and sit. Close to these were constructed spacious and beautiful pavilions, glistening white and painted in diverse colours."

Sita was a paragon of beauty. She was wandering with her girl companions thither and thither in the royal garden. She plucked fresh flowers to worship Girija, her favourite goddess. After bathing in the lovely lake, she went with her friends to worship Girija’s temple. She offered worship with deep devotion and begged of the goddess a handsome spouse worthy of her. By chance Rama and Lakshman also went to visit the royal garden. Rama saw beautiful Sita with his own eyes. He was over whelmed and wondered to see her unparalleled beauty. Tulasi Das has described this meeting of both in the following lovely lines:

"Hearing the tinkling of her bangles, the small bells on her girdle and the anklets, Rama thought within himself and then said to Lakshamna,

"It sounds as though Cupid has sounded his kettle drum, ambitious to conquer the universe."

After witnessing Sita’s wonderful beauty Rama drew the conclusion that she is no other than Janaki, daughter of Janak for whom the contest of the bow is going to be held. Tulasi Das has aptly right to say this fact:

"Dear brother, this is no other than Janaka’s daughter, to win whom the contest of the bow is being held. She has been escorted by her girl companions to worship Gauri and is moving about in the garden diffusing light all about her."

The Birth of Sita:-

A big drought occurred in the kingdom of Mithila. ing Janak himself tilled and sanctified the land in the capital of Mithila, Janakpur. He discovered a beautiful baby girl laying in a furrow. He brought that baby to the palace where she grew up into a beautiful princess. When she reached in marriage able age then Janak held a great bow-breaking ceremony where in the one could bend the divine bow of shiva. This bow was given to the king Janak as a gift by Lord Shiva. He who would win in the contest would marry Sita. Princes and Kings come to the contest from far and wide, but no mody could bend the tremendous and powerful bow.

It so happened that Rama and his brother were in the vicinity of Janakpur with his Guru (Teacher) Vishwamitra. They were also invited to that historical contest. Rama with his Guru’s permission broke the bow into three pieces. Its breaking sounded like an earthquake. After breaking the bow the lovely Sita put the wedding garland to Rama’s neck. There was universal applause. Gods and goddesses showered flowers from heaven. All men and women thronged to see this marvelous meeting of Eternal lovers.

A grand marriage ceremony was held where in Rama’s there brothers Lakshman, Bharat and Satrughan were also married to Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutikriti respectively. They all circumambulated the sacrificial fire. They were blessed by the king Janak and queen Sunaina and by their Gure also.

Since then this festival of celestial marriage performed through out Nepal and India but the focal point of attraction is in Janakpur, the birthplace of Janaki. Janakpur is considered to be a pious place of piilgrimage. Thousands of people visit Janakpur from different parts of India and Nepal to offer worship at the famous temples of Rama and Janaki. They also watch and witness the cermonial marriage procession. A grand procession starts from Rama Mandir. It passes through Janaki Mandir and ends at the Rangbhoomi (where celestial bow breaking ceremony held) Idols of Rama, and Sita are taken in procession to the site of revelry. To commemorate their marriage ceremony the garlands of Rama and Sita are exchanged in the midst of thousands of people. Thousands of devotees assemble here to watch this grand marriage cermony. They chant the slogans of Rama and Sita. All rituals of Maithili marriage are performed here. The whole atmosphere is resounded with musical bands. The devotes perform all marriage rituals in the Janaki temple at night in which sages, Brahmins and priests take part with interest and enthusiasm.

A big fair is also held on this auspicious occasion at janaki temple. Hundreds of hermits, sages, devotees come to attend this fair. All shop are decorated with multicoloured electric bulbs. Businessman do good business during the fair. Ramlila is also performed by local artists on this occasion during night time for several days sometimes theatre companies also come to entertain the visiting devotees. All necessary things are available at different stalls. They also have brisk business. Main center of attraction is Janaki temple. So it is decorated nicely to attract the visiting devotees. A good arrangement is done by the Govt. The registered saints and sages are provided with free food and lodging during the fair. janakpur becomes the meeting place of relatives also. All local people have guests in good number and they enjoy it very much.

According to the custom of Maithili marriage the next day, the idol of Sita is carried amidst a great fanfare to Ram Mandir. It is called farewale ceremony. Many precious things are offered as a dowry. Rama’s idol dressed as the bridegroom and Sita’s idol dressed as the bride are placed under a beautifully decorated palanquin on the back of a caprisoned elephants. In the Maithali region still this palanquin is carried by four men at the time of marriage ceremony. It is followed by musical band and a bevy of marriage attending men. This is called Barat in the local language. Now a days in this procession elephants, horses bullock carts and pilgrims take part. Thus this festival of faith ends after several days. This festival reminds us the great event of the Ramayan period every year. We remember Rama, the incarnation of God and Sita incarnation of goddess whom we still worship with respect. Sita is considered as the highest example of ideal womanhood. She is beautiful, pious, honest, courteous, loyal whole life to her husband Rama. According to the Devi Upnished.

"Sita consort of Rama is Nature. She is the primordial power, the embodiment of divine splendor. She is the heaven attained through penance, the nature of the universe conscious and unconscious, that which knows and that which does not know."

Maithali women still have never dying faith in her chastity and follows her foot steps in every walk of life to make their life ideal and happy.

Reconstructing Bamiyan Buddhas

On show are 30 works of Indian painter Prakaash Chandwadkar, prints of Nepali artist Ragini Upadhyay-Grela, canvases of Finnish painter Juha Holopainen, as well as installation works of four other Nepali artists Sunita Rana, Sudarshan Rana, Ashmina Ranjit and Gopal Kalapremi. The themes of all the works at the show revolve around the Bamiyan icon, writes Ranjana Pradhan

In Kathmandu, where public outcry over the untimely destruction of the standing Buddha was probably louder than elsewhere last March, the lovers of heritage are collecting donations and  channeling them to a Switzerland-based private company in their attempt to aid the reconstruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, writes Ranjana Pradhan

That was a black day in the history of mankind. It was a day when the whole world wept, especially the Buddhist communities. Humble pleas from religious and political leaders alike fell on the deaf ears of the Taliban, the Muslim fundamentalists, who ruled most of Afghanistan up until last month when the Northern Alliance, backed by the US army, finally regained control over Afghanistan, the war-ravaged South Asian nation. On a cool sunny afternoon of March 12, 2001, the Taliban ruthlessly bombed and finally destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas, one of the outstanding sculptures ever created, igniting worldwide condemnation. Hewn from a cliff face, the tallest Buddha statue stood there for more than 1,500 years.

No more. Now, as the pieces or remnants of what otherwise were the statues of Bamiyan Buddhas lie scattered in northern Afghanistan, lovers of heritage and the arts living around the world are hopeful that the pieces could be collected to pave the way for the reconstruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Hopes are high in Nepal, too, where the apostle of peace was born more than 2,500 years ago. They want the Bamiyan Buddhas to stand up again, and look at the world from its imposing height. Well, that does not sound impossible in a world where engineers and heritage experts have worked together to renovate such crumbling monuments like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After months of renovation aimed at stopping the centuries’ old tower’s leaning process, officials in Italy opened it for public viewing in early December.

In Kathmandu, where public outcry over the untimely destruction of the standing Buddhas were probably louder than elsewhere last March, the lovers of heritage are collecting donations and channeling them to a Switzerland-based private company in their attempt to aid the reconstruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. The company is said to be keen on reconstructing the destroyed statue. And not only the lovers of art and Buddhist monks, foreign diplomats too have extended their helping hand for the cause of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

"We can make this world a better place to live in if only there is compassion in the hearts of people," said a visibly elated Chokyi Nyima Rimpoche, a Buddhist monk, at the start of a fundraising exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallary, Babarmahal last week. "I can see so many people interested in peace, harmony and compassion, which is so very important in today’s world. I get the feeling that lots of artists have the good intention of spreading peace."

Jointly launched by Nepal Heritage Society (NHS) and Siddhartha Art Gallery, the programme plans to collect funds for the reconstruction of the destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas through the sales of paintings and donations from the general public. Said Sangeeta Thapa, Director of the Gallery, who has been instrumental in organizing the fundraising event, "We are shocked at this irreversible loss of world heritage The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas has struck an emotional and spiritual cord in everybody’s heart. Nepal has already been prey to large scale idol thefts. However, the destruction of an idol of so much importance by the Taliban seemed even more painful."

On show are 30 works of Indian painter Prakaash Chandwadkar, prints by Nepali artist Ragini Upadhyay-Grela, canvases of Finnish painter Juha Holopainen, as well as installation works of four other Nepali artists— Sunita Rana, Sudarshan Rana, Ashmina Ranjit and Gopal Kalapremi. The themes of all the works at the show revolve around the Bamiyan icon. A video film by Jeong Myeong Kyeong, Kim Hong Sung, Paek Kyung Hoon and Son Jin Sook will also be shown throughout the exhibition.

The Australian Ambassador to Nepal, Crispin Conroy, was also present at the start of the exhibition. He said, "Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha surely is a tragic loss, and the homage to that statue and that cultural heritage should be highly encouraged." The exhibition that was inaugurated on 15th December will continue till January 10, 2002.

On March 12, the Director General of UN’s Education, Science and Culture Oranization (UNESCO), KoichiroMatsuura confirmed in a statement released that the Talibans had destroyed the ancient Buddha statues at Bamiyan which was a wonder for tourists, scholars and connoisseurs of art and scholars for many centuries. The origin of the exceptional sculpture work dates back to second century, when travellers came upon Bamiyan and glorified the place with two colossal Buddha statues under the patronage of Emperor Kanishka, a passionate promoter and patron of Buddhism.

The vast statues were painted in gold and other colours and coated with reinforcements to withstand the rigours of climatic changes in the hilly terrain. The two gigantic statues of the Buddha, one 175 feet in height and the other 125 feet in height with smaller ones in different directions, had always been a source of inspiration for many.

The destruction of these statues and the plunder of the places of religious worship have hurt the sentiments of many people all over the world. Pratima Pande, Vice President of the Nepal Heritage Society, who went to Bamiyan when she was a little girl, said, "When I saw the Bamiyan Buddha, the sheer size and the knowledge that it was the tallest Buddha in the world made me wonder out aloud and marvel at it." But the tallest Buddha statues cease to exist just as his message of peace is turning ever more elusive as war rages on in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

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