Near Kamtaul in Darbhanga district lies Ahilya Asthan, the spot where — by the Ramayana — sage Gautama’s wife Ahalya, turned to stone by a curse, was restored to life by the touch of Rama as he journeyed to Mithila for Sita’s swayamvara. The temple here, built between 1662 and 1682 under the rulers of the Darbhanga Raj, is counted among the earliest Ram-Janaki shrines.
Annual fairs gather at Ahilya Asthan on Ramnavami and Vivaha Panchami. The neighbouring Gautam Asthan, with its sacred kund, recalls the ashram of the sage Gautama and the ancient tradition of Nyaya philosophy for which Mithila became famous.