From which kingdom did Sita originate?

From which kingdom did Sita originate? Sita originated in Mithila, the ancient kingdom of Videha.

In the Ramayana, Sita is associated with Mithila because King Janaka ruled there and raised her as his daughter. The epic describes Janaka discovering the infant Sita while ploughing a ritual field; he adopted her and she became known as Janaki, meaning “daughter of Janaka,” and Maithili, meaning “princess of Mithila.”

Mithila was centered in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its traditional territory spanning parts of present-day Bihar in India and the Nepalese Terai. Janakpur in Nepal and Sitamarhi in Bihar are both linked with Sita’s birth in different traditions, so the exact modern birthplace is debated. That geographical debate does not change the conventional epic answer: Mithila.

Readers sometimes confuse Mithila with Ayodhya, Rama’s homeland, or Lanka, Ravana’s kingdom. Sita belonged to Mithila before her marriage to Rama took her to Ayodhya.