Sitamarhi

Sitamarhi is a historic town of north Bihar, close to the Nepal border, and today it lends its name to Sitamarhi district. The district was carved out of Muzaffarpur on 11 December 1972, but its administrative headquarters is at Dumra, about 5 km south of Sitamarhi town. This shift is linked to a defining modern event: the great Bihar–Nepal earthquake of January 1934, which devastated Sitamarhi; afterward, the headquarters was moved to Dumra as the district’s administrative centre.

Beyond administration, Sitamarhi’s identity is deeply rooted in the Mithila tradition and the Ramayana landscape. Punaura Dham, a revered site in the district, is widely regarded as the birthplace of Mata Sita. Local religious belief says King Janak discovered Sita in a golden pot while ploughing here, and the spot is remembered as Sita Kund. These associations have made Sitamarhi a steady pilgrimage destination, linking it spiritually with Janakpur in Nepal and other Mithila centres.

Over the decades, the town and its hinterland have remained shaped by borderland movement, agriculture, and market life, while district formation in 1972 and the post-1934 relocation to Dumra anchored modern governance. In 2020, the city’s civic administration was upgraded as Sitamarhi Municipal Corporation, and better services.