Mahottari District (Nepali: महोत्तरी जिल्ला) is one of the 8 districts of of Madhesh Province of Nepal. The district, with Jaleshwar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,002 km2 (387 sq mi) and had a population of 553,481 in 2001, 627,580 in 2011 and 705,838 in 2021 census. Its headquarters is located in Jaleshwar, a neighbouring town of the historical city of Janakpur. The name Jaleshwar means the ‘God in Water’. One can find a famous temple of Lord Shiva in Water there. Jaleshwar lies at a few kilometres distance from the Nepal-India border and has a majority Maithili population.