Manraja is a village development committee (VDC) in the

Saptari District Saptari ( ne, सप्तरी जिल्ला}), a part of Madhesh Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its district headquarter is Rajbiraj. Saptari is an Outer Terai district. This district covers an area of and has ...

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 ...

, of south-eastern

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 ...

. It has a total area of and sits at an elevation of . It is known for its landmark Shree Raja Ji Than Temple. Manraja is located from

East-West Highway East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, south-west of

Rajbiraj Rajbiraj ( ne, राजविराज) is a mid-sized municipality located in the south-eastern part of Madhesh Province of Nepal. Rajbiraj is the district headquarters of Saptari and is the eighth largest city in the province. The township of ...

, and north of the Indian border of Laukhi. The distance from Manraja to Nepal's capital,

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, is approximately . According to the

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...

, the population of Manraja was 4,447, which consisted of 902 households. The village development committee was included in

Bodebarsain municipality Bodebarsain ( ne, बोदेबरसाइन) is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village ...

(Bodebarsain Nagar Palika in Nepali) in 2017.

Religious places

Shree Raja Ji Than Temple

The Shree Raja Ji Than Temple is in the

Bodebarsain Municipality Bodebarsain ( ne, बोदेबरसाइन) is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village ...

of Manraja. The temple was built from ancient stones that were carefully hand-carved with different symbols typical of the

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

region. The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

contains rectangular stones on either side that are approximately high and wide, which are carved with a variety of symbols. Near the roots of trees, there are many fragments of black stones carved with different symbols. According to locals, the statue is known by the name of Shree Raja Ji Baba of Shree

Lakshmi Narayan Lakshmi Narayana or Lakshmi-Narayan ( sa, लक्ष्मी-नारायण, IAST: ) is the dual representation of the Hindu deities Vishnu, also known as Narayana, and his consort, Lakshmi, traditionally featured in their abode, Vaikunth ...

. The statues of the temple are fragmented. Some theorize that the statues may have been damaged during the spread of Islam into

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. According to a survey conducted by the government of Nepal, the temple is situated on the remains of an older temple as evidenced by some older rectangular hand-carved stones found within the temple. A

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

(imli) tree lives within the temple. The temple is surrounded by various temples dedicated to the God

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, and the Goddesses

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...

and

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

. Every year at

Baishakhi Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...

, a puja (prayer service) is performed, and a festival in the Raja Ji Than area celebrates the new year. Festivals are held on auspicious days such as

Ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an Vedic calendar month - the '' Shukla Pakṣa'' (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the ''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa ...

Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri ( IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu c ...

Chaturdashi In the Hindu calendar, Chaturdashi is the 14th day (Tithi) of the waxing phase or waning phase of the moon. This is the day prior to new moon ('' Amavasya'') or full moon ('' Pournami''). It has a great significance to Bengalis, as goddess Tara app ...

, and

Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

. In times of misfortune, people go to the temple to practice

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

, puja,

aarti ''Arti'' (Sanskrit: Ārātrika, Hindi: Ārtī) is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, often part of '' puja'', in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. ''Arti(s)'' also refers to the songs sung in praise of the d ...

yagya Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

hawan Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

, and other ceremonies. Some people also visit the temple regularly to pray for their wishes to be fulfilled by their god. Sacrificial offerings are often placed within the temple. These include animals (pigeons, goats, etc.), as well as offerings of

kheer Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur whe ...

laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat (ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or ...

peda Peda () or Pera is a sweet dish hailing from the Indian subcontinent. It originated from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India. Usually prepared in thick, semi-soft, its main ingredients are khoa, sugar and traditional flavorings including cardamom see ...

paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects. The practice ...

, and supari. It is a common tradition for people who suffer from ailments, particularly skin diseases, to present four pairs of brinjal (eggplant) as an offering for a cure. The local people of the

Bodebarsain Bodebarsain ( ne, बोदेबरसाइन) is a municipality of Saptari District, Madhesh Province. It lies in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. It was officially upgraded to become a municipality in 2016, which otherwise was a Village de ...

region worship at the Raja Ji Than Temple and consider it sacred.

Politics

In Phase 3 of the

2017 Nepalese local elections The 2017 Nepalese local elections were held in Nepal in three phases on 14 May, 28 June and 18 September in 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities. It was the first local level election t ...

, the

Federal Socialist Forum Nepal The Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal ( ne, संघीय समाजवादी फोरम, नेपाल; abbreviated FSFN) was a democratic socialist political party in Nepal. The party was formed on 15 June 2015 from the merger of the Ma ...

achieved victories in both the mayoral and deputy mayoral posts in the Bodebarsain municipality of the Saptari district. Atish Singh Yadav received 4,547 votes and secured the mayoral post. Ranju Saha received 3,721 votes and won the deputy mayoral post. The mayor's strongest opponent, Amarendra Yadav of RJP-Nepal, received 3,298 votes while the nearest rival of deputy mayor, Renu Saha, received 3,637 votes.

References

"राज्यद्वारा उपेक्षित मधेशको ऐतिहासिक स्थल मानराजा गढी"
''News Today'', 12 April 2016.{{Saptari District Populated places in Saptari District VDCs in Saptari District