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Nepal
celebrates 'marriage made in heaven' with India
Friday December 10, 2010 05:23:49 PM,
Sudeshna Sarkar,
IANS
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Kathmandu:
Bands played joyously, Brahmins chanted mantras and women showered
flowers as Nepal Friday celebrated a "marriage made in heaven"
thousands of years ago and forming one of its earliest social
links with India.
The temple town Janakpur in southern Nepal along the Indo-Nepal
border, where Hindu epic Ramayana comes alive this time every
year, is witnessing the replay of marriage of Ram, the Hindu icon
and exemplary king who is also regarded as an incarnation of Hindu
god Vishnu, with Nepal's daughter Sita, brought up by legendary
king Janak, after whom the town is named.
Every year, the Janaki temple in Janakpur, dedicated to Sita,
re-enacts the celestial wedding in the Ramayana, celebrating the
virtuous king's prowess over the bow.
Thousands of devotees and holy men flock to Nepal from India to
witness the annual ritual.
While a young boy and a girl are dressed up as Ram and Sita, the
public ground near the temple becomes the venue of Ramleela,
actors staging the exploits of Ram who with his army of monkeys
vanquished demon king Ravan and razed his kingdom across the
ocean.
A party of 1,001 people -- the bridegroom's retinue - had arrived
from Ayodhya in India, regarded as the region where Ram once
ruled.
Traditionally, they are accommodated in the Ram temple and after
six days of pre-marriage rituals, which includes worshipping the
legendary bow of Hindu god Shiva that Ram was credited with
mastering, the procession goes to the Janaki temple for the
wedding ceremony.
On Friday, floats depicting Ram, his devoted brother Lakhman and
other notable characters from the Ramayana went around the town
cheered by people.
The final wedding rituals, accompanied by fireworks and music,
will take place at the public ground in the evening.
Vivah Panchami, the celestial wedding date, underscores the deep
religious ties between India and Nepal as well as social. Even
today, hundreds of Nepali families give their sons and daughters
in marriage to Indians across the border and vice versa.
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