| Mithila Jhulnotsav मिथिला झूलनोत्सव | |
|---|---|
 View of Ram Jhulan Bhawan (Jhulaghar) at the premises of the Lakshminarayan Matha. Photo captured by Santosh Chaudhary. | |
| Nickname | Jhulan Puja |
| Genre | Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita in Mithila |
| Begins | Tritiya Shukla Paksha Shravan (Hariyali Tritiya) |
| Ends | Purnima Tithi Shravan (Rakshabandhan) |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Lakshminarayan Matha |
| Countries | India and Nepal |
| Years active | Treta Yuga |
Mithila Jhulnotsav (Maithili: मिथिला झूलनोत्सव) is a fifteen-day festival celebrated in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent. The major celebration of the festival is organised at the premises of the Lakshminarayan Matha in the Matihani town of the Mahottari district and Janaki Mandir in Janakpur of the Dhanusha district in the Madhesh Pradesh province of Nepal.[1][2]
Description
It is an annual festival celebrated with great pomp and show dedicated to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita in the region. During the period of the festival, a grand cultural fair known as Mithila Jhulnotsav Mela or Jhulan Mela is held at the premises. The festival is believed to be existing since the Treta Yuga of Ramayana.[3][4] The tradition of celebrating this festival at premises of the Lakshminarayan Matha in Matihani has been going on since about 250 hundred years ago. It was started by then Maan Mahant Ramdas Vaishnav of the matha.[1] Apart from the Lakshminarayan Matha, it is also traditionally celebrated at several other monasteries (Matha) and temples in the Mithila region of India and Nepal.[5]
Celebration in Janakpur
The Mithila Jhulnotsav is also celebrated at the famous Janaki Mandir in the city of Janakpur in Nepal. In Janakpur, it was started by Adi sant Sannyasi Shurakishordas in the year of Bikram Samvat 1787.[2]
Dates
The fifteen-day annual celebration of the Mithila Jhulnotsav begins with jaighosh (loudly chanting) of Jai Shree Sitaram. The festival starts on the Tritiya tithi of the Shukla Paksha in the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar. This day is also known as Hariyali Tritiya. The festival is concluded with Rakshabandhan on the Shravan Purnima. It is concluded by cutting the rope of the Jhula along with worshiping Lord Rama and Goddess Sita and chanting Sitaram at the Purnima night time.[1]
Observances
Every evening at six o'clock during the festival, the ashtadhatu idol of Lord Lakshminarayan inside the Lakshminarayan Mandir at the monastery is brought on a silver throne to the Jhulaghar (Ram Jhulan Bhawan) in the premises by the sadhu-saint and Mahant chanting Jai Shree Sitaram with music and instruments. After that Lord Lakshminarayan is worshipped there and from eight o'clock in the night, the idol is swung in a religiously decorated swing. During this period various cultural programs are conducted there.[1]
During the ritualistic observance, a large number of devotees from more than twenty neighboring villages near the Indo-Nepal border fluck to the Jhulaghar for performing worship, darshan and watching the Jhulan ceremony of the God. They also enjoy the festival's fair organised at the premises.[1]
References
- "जय श्रीसीताराम के जयघोष के साथ शुरू हुआ पंद्रह दिवसीय झूलनोत्सव - Fifteen day Jhunotsav started with Jai Shree Sitaram's cheers". Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- रासस (2025-08-03). "झुलनोत्सवले उमङ्गीत मिथिला". देशसञ्चार. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- "मटिहानी में पारंपरिक 15 दिवसीय झूलनोत्सव मेला शुरू लोगों में मान्यता है कि त्रेतायुग से अब तक परंपरा चली रही - Madhawapur News". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 2025-07-29. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- "झुलनोत्सवको रमझम". Nepali Headlines,Nepal News, Nepali News, News Nepal. 2015-08-19. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- रौनक, कर्णालीखबर :: मिथिलाञ्चलमा झुलनोत्सव पर्वको. "मिथिलाञ्चलमा झुलनोत्सव पर्वको रौनक". मिथिलाञ्चलमा झुलनोत्सव पर्वको रौनक. Retrieved 2026-06-25.