https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Karala_JanakaKarala Janaka - Revision history2026-07-31T22:10:40ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Karala_Janaka&diff=508475&oldid=prevDeveloper.mubin at 19:11, 5 May 20262026-05-05T19:11:41Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Related|[[Janaka]]|[[King Nimi]]|[[King Mithi]]|[[Videgha Mathava]]|[[Shanti Parva]] of [[Mahabharata]]}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}<br />
{{Infobox royalty<br />
| name = Karala Janaka<br />
| title = King Karala Janaka<br />
| reign = [[Dvapara Yuga]]<br />
| reign-type = Monarchy<br />
| birth_place = [[Mithila region]]<br />
| era name = <br />
| regnal name = Videha Raj Karala Janaka<br />
| house = Kingdom of Videha<br />
| house-type = Country<br />
| religion = [[Hinduism]]<br />
| embed = <br />
| royal house = <br />
| dynasty = [[Janaka]] Dynasty<br />
| module = [[Court of King Janaka]]<br />
| death_cause = Curse by a victim Brahmin<br />
}}<br />
'''Karala Janaka''' ( Sanskrit: '''कराला जनक''' ) was one of the kings during the periods of [[Janaka]] Dynasty in the kingdom of [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]]. Most of scholars has accepted King Karala Janaka as the last King in the Janaka Dynasty of the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] Kingdom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kumar |first=Dharmendra |date=1999 |title=MITHILA AFTER THE JANAKAS (A Critical Appraisal of the Nature of State) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144072 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=60 |pages=51–59 |jstor=44144072 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref> According to the available literary texts related to [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]], it is evident that there may be two different kings with the same name ''Karala Janaka'' in different periods of time in the ancient Mithila Kingdom. The one which is mentioned in [[Shanti Parva]] of [[Mahabharata]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vanita |first=Ruth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSRXEAAAQBAJ&q=karala+janaka |title=The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics: Debates on Gender, Varna, and Species |date=2021-12-31 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-267601-6 |language=en}}</ref> and the other as the last King in the Janaka lineage mentioned in the [[Arthashastra|Arthshastra]] of [[Chanakya]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2023-10-25 |title=Vasiṣṭha Karāla Janaka Saṃvāda |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/samkhya-thoughts-in-the-mahabharata/d/doc1210301.html |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> <br />
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Professor [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|Raychoudhari]] identifies Karala Janaka with the king ''Kriti Janaka'' of Mithila in the [[Puranas]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Vijayakanta |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Cultural_Heritage_of_Mithila.html?id=8FBuAAAAMAAJ#%20janaka |title=Cultural Heritage of Mithila |date=1979 |publisher=Mithila Prakasana |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Description in Mahabharata ==<br />
In the [[Shanti Parva]] of [[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]], there is a philosophical dialogue between Guru [[Vasishtha|Vashishtha]] and King Karala Janaka known as ''Vashishtha Karala Janaka Samvad''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Misra |first=Munindra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSebEAAAQBAJ&q=karala+janaka |title=Vyas Gita: In English Rhyme |date=2022-11-09 |publisher=Munindra Misra |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Debroy |first=Bibek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_5REAAAQBAJ&q=karala+janaka |title=Brahma Purana Volume 2 |date=2022-01-24 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-91149-78-9 |language=en}}</ref> The dialogue is about the teaching of [[Samkhya|Shamkhya]] philosophy to the king Karala Janaka by the Vedic sage Brahmarshi [[Vasishtha|Vashishtha]]. It describes the Twenty five ''tattvas''. These tattvas are described with slight difference from the Sāṃkhya philosophy. Shanti Parva describes twenty five tattvas in five ''Sargas'' called ''Vidya Sarga'', ''Avidya Sarga'', ''Bhutasarga'', ''Vaikrtasarga'' and ''Bhautika Sarga''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2023-10-25 |title=The Nature of Sāṃkhya thoughts |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/samkhya-thoughts-in-the-mahabharata/d/doc1210320.html |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><br />
=== Concept of Purusha and Prakriti ===<br />
Once King ''Karala Janaka'' was confused in understanding the meaning of [[Purusha]] and [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]] in [[Samkhya|Shamkhya philosophy]]. He mistakenly understood "''Purusha''" as man ( male gender ) and "''Prakriti''" as woman ( female gender ). He told Guru [[Vasishtha|Vashishtha]] that the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti is same as the reproductive relation between male and female. Male and female of all the creatures unite to reproduce. He further said that father contributes bone, sinews and marrow, and mother contributes blood, skin and flesh to their children. But this was a false analogy. Then Guru [[Vasishtha|Vashishtha]] replied to the king that you had understood the superficial meaning of the texts not the real meaning. He further clarified the real meaning of the texts. He told that all the parts of the body including skin, blood, flesh, bones, and sinews etc come from [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]] not from [[Purusha]].{{fact|date=August 2024}}<br />
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Guru [[Vasishtha|Vashishtha]] further quoted "''Matter can arise from matter only not from spirit. But Prakriti itself is sexless and genderless, though the things that arise from it acquire sex and gender''".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vanita |first=Ruth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSRXEAAAQBAJ&q=%22Karala+Janaka%22+-wikipedia |title=The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics: Debates on Gender, Varna, and Species |date=2021-12-31 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-267601-6 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Description as last King in Janaka Dynasty ==<br />
It is said that [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] was ruled by the [[Janaka]]s for more than five centuries and the last king of the Janaka dynasty was ''Karala Janaka'', who was overthrown along with his kingdom and family through a popular uprising and died.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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=== Death of Karala Janaka ===<br />
King Karala Janaka, who was on a pilgrimage to ''Yogeshwara'', saw the crowd of people with curiosity, there he saw a young and beautiful wife of a [[Brahmin]] and being lustful he forcibly took her into the city. Then the [[Brahmin]] became angry and went into the city crying and cursed "Why does the city not break down where such an evil soul resides?" It is said that because of his curse the earth cracked there and consequently the king along with his entire family got buried in it. This story is mentioned in [[Arthashastra|Arthshastra]] and ''[[Buddhacharita|Buddhacharitra]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=mithila-after-janakas directory listing |url=https://archive.org/download/mithila-after-janakas/ |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kautalya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ag89KaFH8SsC&q=karala+janaka |title=The Kautilīya Arthaśāstra: Sanskrit text with a glosary. Pt. 1 |last2=Kangle |first2=R. P. |date=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-0042-7 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== After the Death of Karala Janaka ==<br />
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After the death of Karala Janaka, [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] became a republic and a constituent part of the [[Vajjika League|Vajjian]] confederacy, which was later destroyed by King [[Ajatashatru]] of [[Magadha]]. But according some scholars, [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]] remained monarchy even after the end of [[Janaka]] Dynasty.<ref name=":1" /><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Kings of Videha]]<br />
[[Category:Mithila (region)]]<br />
[[Category:Ramayana]]<br />
[[Category:Mahabharata]]<br />
[[Category:Indian monarchs]]</div>Developer.mubin