The Janaki temple of Janakpurdham is a centre of reverence and faith for the Hindu religious people and the main attraction for tourists. There was a neem tree (Azadirachta indica) in place of the present known temple. At the end of the 17th century, the priest of the Sitaram temple in Lohagarh, central India, Shri Sur Kishore Das had also seen the neem tree when he came to Janakpurdham, the capital of ancient Mithila. These saints described this place of the Janaki temple as the site where the palace of King Janak stood.
Mahatma Sur Kishore Das used to worship Sita as his daughter and he said that King Janak was his brothers. When Saint Sri Sur Kishore Das came to this place in the late 17th century, the area was under the kingdom of Makwani king Sen Dynasty. After Sur Kishore Das, his disciple Prayag Das became Mahanta.
King Mani Sen of Makwanpur donated over 1400 bighas (933 Hec.) of land to the temple in 1784, and after the arrival of Tikamgarh king Pratap Singh Jharkhand in India, the place was heard by his queen. They came here for a pilgrimage, at that time there were no descendants of the king and queen. They vowed that if they have child in future the queen will build temple worth Nine Lakh coins (Mudra), then the queen had child and as promised to build a magnificent temple, the queen spent Rs 9 lakhs to build Janaki temple. That is why the Janaki temple is also called Naulakha mandir.
The Janaki Temple in Janakpurdham is 49555 sq. ft. and 50 ft. tall, is one of the most magnificent and huge temples in Nepal. Construction of this temple was completed in 1911 AD. Both the Mughal and Rajasthani-style combined with Sish Mahal and basements of the temple. Religious festivals like Vivaha Panchami, Ramnavami, Jhula, etc. are being celebrated. On these occasions, millions of tourists come to visit from abroad.
According to religious tradition, Vivah Panchami is celebrated like the marriage of Ram Janaki’s according Mithila tradition and customs. Many Pandit, saints and philosopher come during procession along with hundreds of thousands of people and increase the importance of Janaki Mandir.
Janaki Mandir’s sanctorum statue of Ram Janaki is ancient and legendary. The sanctorum of Hanumanji is located in the south east corner of the temple and the idol of Saint Sur Kishore Das, the founder in the east north. Locals, intellectuals complain that the statue of Tikamgarh Kings and queens, the donor who built this magnificent and fascinating Janaki temple, has not been publicly visible.
