Janakpur ( ne, जनकपुर अञ्चल ) was one of the fourteen zones of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, reaching from the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n border in the south to the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an border in the north and Sagarmatha Zone in the east and

Bagmati , "Tiger Gate") , source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = Confluence with Kamala River , mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India , mouth_coo ...

and Naryani Zones in the west. The headquarters of Janakpur Zone and its main city was

Janakpur Janakpurdham or Janakpur ( ne, जनकपुर, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in Dhanusha District, Madhesh Province, Nepal. The city is a hub for religious and cultural tourism. A headquarter of Dhanusha district, ''Janakpur'' is also the capi ...

. Close to the Indian border, it is a historic city of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The city is believed to have been the capital city of King

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hras ...

, the father-in-law of Lord

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, the son of the then king of

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

Dasharatha Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He h ...

. The city was then called 'Mithila Nagari'. The name of Janakpur zone is related to the historic King Janaka and his capital Janakpur. Other cities within Janakpur Zone are

Kamalamai Kamalamai (former name: Sindhulimadi; ne, सिन्धुलीमाडी) is a municipality in Sindhuli District, in the Bagmati Province of central south Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 39,413 people in ...

(in Inner Terai) and Bhimeshwor and

Bardibas Bardibas is a municipal area (municipality) and a town located in Mahottari District of Madhesh Province of Nepal. It is located at latitude: 26°54'6.84" to 27°08'46.90" and longitude: 85°47'42.67" to 85°56'42.97". The municipality is surround ...

, Dhalkebar, Jaleshwor,

Malangwa Malangwa (Nepali: मलंगवा) is a town, a municipality, and the headquarters of Sarlahi District in Province No. 2 of Nepal. The district's oldest municipality, it is in parliamentary constituency 2. From the Mahendra Highway south of N ...

Hariwan Hariwan Municipality is one of the new municipalities declared by the Government of Nepal on May 18, 2014. It is located in Sarlahi District Janakpur zone, Nepal. It is formed by the joining of four contemporary Village development committees ...

Lalbandi Lalbandi is a Municipality in Sarlahi District in the Janakpur Zone of south-eastern Nepal. The municipality was established on 18 May 2014 by merging the existing Parwanipur VDC, Netragung vdc, Jabdi, Lalbandi and Pattharkot VDCs. At the time ...

, Gaushala Bazar and Matihani (Outer Terai).

Administrative subdivisions

Janakpur was divided into six districts; since 2015 the three northern districts have been redesignated as part of

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province ( ne, बाग्मती प्रदेश, ''Bagmati Pradesh'') is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest provinc ...

, while the three southern districts have been redesignated as part of

Province No. 2 Madhesh Province ( Nepali/ mai, मधेश प्रदेश) is a province of Nepal that was formed after the adoption of the Constitution of Nepal. It is Nepal's most populous province, and smallest province by area. It borders Province N ...

Administrative subdivisions

See also