According to legend, Pariyar is the place where Lakshmana accompanied Sita during her banishment at the behest of his brother (and her husband) Rama. The place (which was then covered by forest) then became known as "Parhar", from the Sanskrit word meaning "to turn out" or "let go" — or, in this case, divorce. Tradition also holds that Sita gave birth to her sons Lava and Kusha here; they were trained in archery by the sage Valmiki and grew up to become formidable warriors. At one point Rama performed the Ashvamedha horse sacrifice by setting the horse Shyambaran loose to wander the countryside and announcing that whoever caught the horse would in doing so be declaring war on him. Lava and Kusha themselves caught the horse at Pariyar, thus leading to a war between Rama and his own sons, whom he did not know. In the temple of Someshwar Mahadeo, there are many arrowheads on display which were supposedly used during this fight; more are sometimes uncovered in the bed of the Ganges.
