The origin of the city has legendry association with Sita, the wife of Lord Ram. According to the mythology Sita sprang to life out of an earthern pot, when Raja Janak was ploughing the field somewhere near Sitamarhi, to please Lord Indra and ask him to bless the land with rain. It is believed that later, Raja Janak dig out a tank at the place where Sita emerged. After her marriage, he set up the stone figures of Rama, Sita and Lakshman to mark the place. An ascetic, named Birbal Das, came to know the site, where Sita was born and which had turned into a jungle, by divine inspiration.