The Vivah Panchami festival is being celebrated throughout the county on Monday by worshipping and paying homage to Ram and Sita.

The day is magnificently celebrated at the Janaki temple of Janakpurdham of Dhanusha by organising a marriage ceremony of Ram and Sita.

The religious and cultural festival is observed on the fifth day of Marga Shukla Paksha, according to the Hindu calendar.

Every year, a marriage procession of Ram arrives in Janakpurdham from Ayodhya, India, for the occasion.

As per the mythology, it was on this day that lord Ram and goddess Sita were married during the Treta Yuga.

Thousands of devotees gather in Janakapur on the day to mark the day with gaiety and religious wedding ceremony of Ram and Sita.

The marriage ceremony of Rama and Sita takes place at the Rangabhoomi ground in Janakpurdham. It is believed that all the 330 million deities are present to witness the marriage ceremony.

As per the religious tradition, idol of lord Ram is brought in a decorated colourful palanquin accompanied by a procession and musical band.

According to our Janakpur correspondent Dhirendra Prasad Sah, Janakpurdham is crowded with devotees for the last three days.

The marriage ceremony of Ram and Sita has begun from a week. As part of the week-long Vivah Panchami celebration, the Phulbari Leela (Flower Gardern Tale) was performed at the Vivah Mandap in Janakpurdham on last Thursday.

All preparation for marriage ceremony has been completed. Barabigha Rangabhoomi of Janakpurdham is cleaned to organise the marriage ceremony.

Many tents have been pitched in different parts to accommodate devotees who arrive from several places to attend the celebration. In lack of

tents compared to the high number of devotees, many pilgrims have been forced to stay under open sky of the temple premises, footpath, pond area other open ground.

Traffic management has become difficult because of unmanaged vehicles parked on the road side. The vehicle movement has been prohibited towards Janaki temple from Shiva Chowk in the east, Ram Chowk in the south, Ramananda Chowk in the west and Khanepani in the north because of heavy traffic.

According to District Police Office Dhanusha, security system has been made tight seeing the crowd for the ceremony. Nepali Police and Armed Police Force personnel have been mobilised in big numbers.

Patrolling teams have been mobilised in civil dress to control robbery, theft, fighting and other misbehaviour in the crowd of devotees.

The main temple, Janaki Temple is grandly decorated for the ceremony with electric lights and flowers. It has managed drinking water, electric lights and toilets, said Sital Sah, president of Grand Janakpur Area Development Council.

This time, spiritual leader Satpal Maharaj and Minister for Tourism of Uttarakhand State of India are coming with the procession from Ayodhya with hundreds of Saints and Sadhus.

The ceremony concludes on Tuesday after seeing off the participants of the marriage ceremony.

Matkor ceremony held

Meanwhile, the Matkor ceremony, a sacred function, completed on the fifth day of the week-long Ram Sita Vivah Panchami on Sunday.

As part of the week-long wedding, the Matkor ceremony completed Sunday afternoon in the Gangasagar Lake in Janakpurdham, after taking the girl, who is doing the role of Mother Sita, and excavating soil from the lake.

It is customary to use the excavated soil in the altar made in the wedding mandap to be built at the Janaki temple.

Janaki's idol was placed in an artistically decorated chariot, and the image of Janaki was taken to the Gangasagar for the matkor ceremony, escorted by security personnel, along with procession of the Nepali Army.

Devotees including saints, yogis, ascetics, and monks from Janaki temple participated in the Matkor ceremony.

Women sing different kinds of traditional folk cultural songs in Matkor. There will be a symbolic wedding ceremony on Monday afternoon and Swayambar at night at the wedding mandap constructed on the premises of the Janaki temple.

Ramkalewa will be held on Tuesday. In Ramakalewa, there is a custom of serving food as prasad to the people and the members of marriage procession who come from, Ayodhya, India.

On the occasion of Vivah Panchami, the government of Madhes province has also announced a public holiday on Monday and schools in Janakpurdham have been closed for three days to mark the festival.