Kanak Bhawan

Kanak Bhawan, also known as Sone-ka-Ghar or the House of Gold, is a temple to Ram and Sita a short way north-east of the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. Legend says Queen Kaikeyi gave Sita a golden palace as a wedding gift, and the temple stands for that palace. The present building was rebuilt from the ground up by Rani Vrish Bhanu Kunwari in 1891, in the Bundela style of Bundelkhand.

A central hall entered by arched doors on three sides leads to the sanctum, which holds three pairs of Ram and Sita images, each with gold crowns. The largest pair was installed by the Rani; the middle pair is credited to King Vikramaditya; the smallest is said to have been given by Krishna to a hermit who meditated on Ram here. The Phool Bangla festival between April and July covers the temple in flowers, the Jhula festival in August places the deities on a silver swing, and on Sharad Purnima in October darshan is held in the open courtyard. Holi is also celebrated with great energy.