Bibah Panchami

Each December, during Bibah Panchami, the Hindu world re-enacts and celebrates the marriage of Ram to princess Sita, as told in the epic, Ramayana. King Janak (Sita's father) proposed a test of strength for the suitors of his daughter. To prove their worth, suitors had to string the great bow of Lord Shiva.

Kings, Chieftains and warriors visited from afar but no man could even lift the bow. Ram, however, lifed the bow with ease and when he tried to string it, the bow shattered into pieces. Ram and Sita were married in Janakpur (now in eastern Nepal) and their marrieage is celebrated to this day. Each year, idols of Ram and Sita are taken on procession and their marriage re-enacted during a week long religious fair. Bibah Panchami reflects the devotion of Hindus to Ram, perhaps the most popular of the incarnations of Vishnu, and to Sita - model of the ideal Hindu woman.