Janki Ghat, Ayodhya: The Ghat and Temple of Goddess Sita, Timings and Visit Guide

ॐEssential info at a glance

ॐJanki Ghat timings and aarti

The temple and ghat are open every day from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM and again from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and entry is free. The aartis are the loveliest moments: the morning aarti around 6:00 to 7:00 AM, and the evening Sandhya aarti around 6:00 to 7:00 PM, close in time to the grand Saryu aarti at the main riverfront, which is around 6:00 PM in winter and 7:00 PM in summer. But at Janki Ghat, the air is filled at almost every hour with the sweet, ceaseless chant of Sita-Ram, and to sit here in its loving devotion is a joy at any time.

ॐJanki Ghat: the ghat and temple of Goddess Sita

Janki Ghat is one of the most tender and beloved of all the holy places of Ayodhya, for it is dedicated to Goddess Sita herself, known lovingly as Janki, the beloved consort of Lord Ram. On the banks of the sacred Saryu, at Pramod Van, stands the Janki Ghat Sita temple and its ashrams, a peaceful and devotional haven where Sita and Ram are worshipped together as the divine couple, in the sweet and intimate tradition of Ayodhya. Day and night, it is said, the loving chant of Sita-Ram rises here without ceasing; and pilgrims come to the ghat and the temple to bathe in the holy river, to take the darshan of Sita-Ram, and to rest in the deep, loving peace of the place. It is a haven of devotion to the divine mother of all.

ॐSita, Janki, the divine mother

To understand Janki Ghat is to understand Sita, one of the most revered and beloved figures in all our tradition, the very ideal of womanhood and the divine feminine. She is Janki, the daughter of the great and righteous King Janaka of Mithila, who found her, the tradition tells, as a baby in the furrow of a ploughed field, a daughter of the Earth herself; and she is honoured as an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, come to earth as the consort of Vishnu in his form as Ram. She won the hand of Lord Ram at her swayamvara, when he alone could lift and string the mighty bow of Shiva; she followed him, out of pure love, into the fourteen years of forest exile; she bore the long ordeal of her abduction by Ravana and her captivity with unbroken purity and courage; and through all the sorrows and trials of her life she shone with a devotion, a patience, a dignity and a quiet strength that make her, to this day, the beloved ideal of every woman and the tender mother of every devotee. At Janki Ghat, it is she who is worshipped first and best, the divine mother Sita.

ॐThe loving worship and the annakshetra

Janki Ghat is a home of the rasik tradition of Ayodhya, the sweet and intimate way of devotion in which Sita and Ram are adored not from afar but as the beloved divine couple, served and sung to with the tenderest love, in a bhava of pure sweetness. And so this is a place filled with song: the Sita-Ram kirtan is kept here, in some of its ashrams, around the clock, so that the very air is sweet with the names of the divine pair. The Janki ashrams are also famous for their warm hospitality to pilgrims: many run an annakshetra, a free kitchen serving pure, wholesome food to all who come, and offer clean and peaceful lodging for those on pilgrimage, in the true spirit of seva. To spend time here is to be wrapped in an atmosphere of loving devotion and gentle welcome.

ॐThe ghat, the holy dip and the Sita trail

Janki Ghat is a bathing ghat on the sacred Saryu, and here the pilgrim may take the holy dip, the Saryu snan, believed to wash away the sins of lifetimes, in the river of Ram and Sita's own city; the grand Saryu aarti is close by at the main riverfront. And Janki Ghat is one of the beautiful Sita trail of Ayodhya, the sites dedicated to the divine mother: the Kanak Bhavan, the golden palace given to Sita as her home; the Sita Ki Rasoi, her sacred kitchen; the Sita Kund, the pond she is said to have created; and the Chhoti Devkali, the shrine of her family goddess. To follow the Sita trail, honouring the divine mother at each of her places, is a beautiful pilgrimage, and Janki Ghat, her own ghat and temple, is a lovely part of it.

ॐThe divine mother's ghat, in my own words

By Rajeev Sharma, guide with Experience My India

Janki Ghat is one of the sweetest places I bring my guests to in all of Ayodhya, because it is the place of our Mother Sita, Janki. I tell them: here it is Sita who is worshipped first, the daughter of the Earth, the consort of Ram, the ideal of every woman, the tender mother of every devotee. And the moment we arrive, they feel it, that loving, gentle atmosphere, the sweet Sita-Ram kirtan going on and on, day and night. It touches people very deeply, a softness they do not always feel at the grander temples.

I love to tell my guests that this is a home of the rasik way, where Sita and Ram are loved as the divine couple, served with the tenderest devotion; and I always show them the annakshetra, where any pilgrim can eat pure food for free, which moves them. I take them for the holy dip at the ghat, and I fit Janki Ghat into the whole Sita trail, Kanak Bhavan, Sita Ki Rasoi, Sita Kund, so my guests honour the divine mother at all her places. It is a tender, loving, peaceful haven, and I never let a devotee, especially the women I bring, miss the ghat of Mother Sita.

In more than forty years of guiding, the loving peace of Mother Sita's ghat is among the sweetest things I share with pilgrims.

ॐWhat to see and do

• Take the darshan of Sita-Ram, the divine couple, at the Janki Ghat temple.
• Sit in the sweet, ceaseless Sita-Ram kirtan and the loving devotion of the place.
• Attend the morning or evening Sandhya aarti.
• Take pure food at the annakshetra, the free kitchen for pilgrims.
• Take the holy dip at the ghat, and follow the Sita trail of Ayodhya.

ॐHow to reach Janki Ghat

Janki Ghat is at Pramod Van, in the New Colony area, near the Saryu, easily reached on foot or by e-rickshaw, and close to the core temples and the riverfront.

It sits naturally with the Sita trail and the riverfront.

ॐBest time to visit and how to plan it

• Pair it with Kanak Bhavan, Sita Ki Rasoi, Sita Kund and the Saryu aarti.
• Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the darshan, the kirtan and the ghat; longer to eat and rest.

For Ayodhya, or a combined Kashi and Ayodhya pilgrimage, planned end to end, see our tour packages.

ॐAccessibility for elderly and mobility limited visitors

• The temple and ashrams are reachable by road and generally welcoming; check on any steps to the sanctum and the ghat.
• The peaceful atmosphere and the ashrams' hospitality suit a gentle, restful visit for elderly pilgrims.
• The annakshetra and clean lodging are a great convenience for those who wish to rest and eat.
• We arrange transport and plan a gentle Sita trail visit within your Ayodhya day.

ॐEtiquette for visiting

• This is a place of loving devotion; be respectful, and join the kirtan gently if you wish.
• Remove footwear before the temple, and dress modestly, especially for the holy dip.
• Take the annakshetra food with humility and gratitude, and do not waste it.
• Do not litter or put plastic in the river, and mind the steps near the water.

ॐOur guided Sita trail and Ayodhya tours

We are a Varanasi and Ayodhya based operator, a unit of Experience My India, with more than forty years of guiding pilgrims across Kashi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj. Entry and darshan are free, so what we offer is the story and the planning: a guide who tells the tender story of Mother Sita and the loving rasik worship, the whole Sita trail of Ayodhya, and the riverfront and the aarti, woven into a fuller day of the holy city, with special care for the women and families who so love the ghat of Sita.

Inclusions and exclusions are stated up front, with any taxes and conditions, and no charge appears later that was not named. Darshan and the annakshetra food are free; our charge is only for guiding and services. See all our tour packages for the full range.

Experience My India is a travel operator, not the temple or ashram administration. Darshan and the annakshetra food are free; our charge is only for our guiding and services. Timings and rules are set by the temple and can change.

ॐNearby sacred sites in Ayodhya

Janki Ghat is one of the Sita-dedicated sites of Ayodhya, near the riverfront.

For the Ram Mandir darshan and its free Sugam booking, see our Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir guide.