Vivah Panchami विवाह पंचमी

Vivah Panchami commemorates the wedding of Rama and Sita, held according to the Ramcharitmanas in the city of Janakpur, the capital of Mithila in what is now Nepal. The story begins with the swayamvara of Sita, where the great bow of Shiva was placed before the assembled kings, and only Rama could lift and string it. After the bow broke, King Janaka offered his daughter, and the marriage of all four brothers to the four princesses of Mithila was solemnised. The festival falls on the fifth day of the bright half of Margashirsha.

Janakpur's Janaki Mandir stages a grand re-enactment each year, with a procession of Rama's party arriving from Ayodhya and ritual performances of the wedding. Ayodhya also holds celebrations, and Ram Katha is recited in many temples across India. In Maithili tradition, folk songs of banter between the families, called gaali, accompany the ritual.

A curious point is that in some regions people avoid choosing this day for real weddings. The reason given is that the life of Sita after the wedding included exile, separation and difficulty, and families prefer not to invite that memory to a new household. This is a regional belief, particularly in Mithila, and not a rule followed by all communities, so families should rely on their own priest and calendar. Others treat the day as a good time for fixing an engagement or beginning the search for a match. Reading the Balakanda of the Ramayana or the wedding chapters of the Manas is a quiet way to mark it.