https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=JanakaJanaka - Revision history2026-07-30T20:51:42ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Janaka&diff=361981&oldid=prevCleanupBot at 07:00, 11 December 20222022-12-11T07:00:03Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox character<br />
| series = [[Ramayana]]<br />
| image = Janaka welcomes Rama.jpg<br />
| caption = Janaka welcoming [[Rama]] and his father [[Dasharatha]] in [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]]<br />
| spouse = Sunayana<br />
| children = [[Sita]], [[Urmila]] (Daughters)<br />
| parent = Hroshhoroma (father)<br />
Keikasi (mother)<br />
| relatives = [[Nimi (Vedic king)|Nimi]] (ancestor) Kushadhwaja (Brother) Chandrabhaga (sister-in-law)[[Mandavi]] (niece) [[Shrutakirti]] (niece)<br />
| lbl21 = Birth place<br />
| data21 = [[Videha Kingdom]]<br />
| lbl22 = Death place<br />
| data22 = Videha Kingdom<br />
}}<br />
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'''Janaka''' was an ancient [[Hindu]] king of [[Videha]] which was located in [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]], approximately in the 8th or 7th century BCE,.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=41–52}} The rulers of the Videha kingdom were called Janakas. He also appears in epic [[Ramayana]] as a father of [[Sita]]. His original name was Seeradhwaja{{cn|date=April 2019}} and he had a brother named Kushadhwaja. His father's name was Hroshhoroma, a descendant of the king [[Nimi (Vedic king)|Nimi]]. <br />
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Janaka is revered as being an ideal example of non-attachment to material possessions. He was intensely interested in spiritual discourse and considered himself free from worldly illusions. His interactions with sages and seekers such as [[Ashtavakra]] and Sulabha are recorded in ancient texts. His relationship with adopted daughter Sita led her to be called Janaki Mata. The city of [[Janakpur]] in [[Nepal]] is named for him and daughter Sita.{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|p=44}} The Videha (or [[Mithila (ancient)|Mithila]]) kingdom was located between east of [[Gandaki River]], west of [[Mahananda River]], north of [[Ganga]] river and south of [[Himalayas]].<ref name=Jha1997>{{cite book |author=Jha, M. |year=1997 |chapter=Hindu Kingdoms at contextual level |title=Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&lpg=PA30&pg=PA27 |pages=27–42 |publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd |location=New Delhi|isbn=9788175330344 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mishra, V. |year=1979 |publisher=Mithila Prakasana |location=Allahabad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FBuAAAAMAAJ&q=area+of+mithila |title=Cultural Heritage of Mithila | access-date=28 December 2016 | pages=13}}</ref><br />
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==Ancestry==<br />
King [[Nimi (Vedic king)|Nimi]] was the first ruler of the Videha kingdom. Then king Mithi supposed the name Mithila came after him. His son king Janaka(1st), was the first Janaka. Then after three successors came king Devraat and after Devraat the 15th successor was Hroshhoroma, Janaka's father.<br />
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==Janaka in Vedic literature==<br />
[[File:Jana and darma chitchat.jpg|thumb|left|Janaka and darma chitchat]][[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|right|thumb|250px|[[Videha]] and other kingdoms of late [[Vedic India]]]]<br />
[[File:Yajnavalkya and Janaka.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Yajnavalkya]] teaches Brahma Vidya to King Janaka.]]<br />
Late [[Vedic literature]] such as [[Shatapatha Brahmana]] and [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] mention a certain King Janaka (c. 8th or 7th century BCE) as a great [[philosopher-king]] of Videha, renowned for his patronage of Vedic culture and philosophy and whose court was an intellectual center for [[Brahmin]] sages such as [[Yajnavalkya]], [[Uddalaka Aruni]], and [[Gargi Vachaknavi]].{{sfn|Raychaudhuri|2006|pp=41–52}} Under his reign, Videha became a dominant political and cultural center of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>[[Michael Witzel]] (1989), ''Tracing the Vedic dialects'' in ''Dialectes Dans Les literatures Indo-Aryennes'' ed. [[Colette Caillat|Caillat]], Paris, 97–265.</ref><br />
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==In other literature==<br />
Janaka is the father of [[Sita]], the wife of [[Rama|God Ram]] in the Hindu epic [[Ramayana]]. His conversation with [[Ashtavakra]] is recorded as [[Ashtavakra Gita]], wherein he is depicted as one [[Moksha|realised]] and this tested by the sage Ashtavakra. Many spiritual teachers have referred to this writing often translating and deducing its meaning.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vanita|first=Ruth|title=Full of God:Ashtavakra and ideas of Justice in Hindu Text|journal=Religions of South Asia|volume=3|number=2|year=2009|url=https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/ROSA/article/view/6641|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Radhakamal|last=Mukerjee|year=1971|title=The song of the self supreme (Aṣṭāvakragītā): the classical text of Ātmādvaita by Aṣṭāvakra|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn=978-81-208-1367-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hL-0qeeuVVIC }}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Kings of Mithila]]<br />
* [[Maithil]]s<br />
* [[Trikaranasuddhi]]<br />
* [[Pravahana Jaivali]]<br />
*[[Ancient Mithila University]]<br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
===Citations===<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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===Sources===<br />
*'' Dictionary of Hindu Lord and Legend'' ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dhallapiccola<br />
*{{citation|author=Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra|author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|title=Political History of Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1KObc_qaXYC|year=2006|publisher=Cosmo Publications|isbn=81-307-0291-6}}<br />
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{{Ramayana}}<br />
{{Mahabharata}}<br />
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[[Category:7th-century BC Indian monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:Characters in the Ramayana]]<br />
[[Category:7th-century Nepalese people]]</div>CleanupBot