Janakpur

Mithila, the birth place of Hindu goddess, Sita and the great medieval poet Vidyapati, was part of the ancient kingdom of Videha during the later Vedic age. Tirabhikti was another name from Mithila, which was first to make contact with oriental cultures, and consequently strengthened its own.

Mithila, the birth place of Hindu goddess, Sita and the great medieval poet Vidyapati, was part of the ancient kingdom of Videha during the later Vedic age. Tirabhikti was another name from Mithila, which was first to make contact with oriental cultures, and consequently strengthened its own.

Historically, the name Mithila has been more frequently used for a somewhat fluid cultural region than for a definite political or geographical unit. The Land of Mithila comprised the present districts Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Vaishali, Muzzaffarpur, Champaran, Mongyr, Saharsa, and Purnea of North Bihar, India and Terai under Nepal lying between the districts of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Saptari, Rautahat, Sunsari and Morang. Its total area was 25,000 sq miles.

Mithila was the center of spiritual as well as intellectual discourses and discussions. In the history of human thought, it has carved out for itself a place of unique distinction .The origin of Mithila is shrouded in mystery. There are varieties of stories regarding this aspect. According to Ramayana (great Hindu epic) an early king of Videha dynasty was Mithi by name. Thus it is clear that the name Mithila was conferred to the capital of Videha was conferred to the capital of Videha from that very Mithi. This very king Mathav of Mithila was called as Mahadev by the Buddhista.

The Buddhist literature does know Jayanta but speaks of Mithila only accordance to Dipavams, Mahavamse, Majjim Nikaya King Makahdava is regarded as the founder of a royal line at Mithila, who left the worldly life when he saw grey hair on his head. According to Digh-Nikaya Mahagovinda-Suttanta, Mithila was founded by Mahagovinda, the steward of king Renu. This in the Buddhist tradition, the founder of the royal line Videha was Mahadeva, who was represented as the king of Mithila. The Kalpasutra, Jain literature, gives a list of forty-two rainy seasons spent by Mahavira Jain, since he renounced the life of householder. As per the commentary of Kalpasutra, Mithila was the capital of the prosperous kingdom of Videhas. It is identified with Janakpur, a small town in southeast of Nepal.

Mithila has witnessed the rise and fall of great monarchies and republics. Long before the advent of the Buddha, and also during his life time, the eight clans including the Videhas and the Lichhavis in habiting this land formed the confederation of the Vrijis and established the famous republic, probably the oldest one in the history of the world. The Maurya dynasty and subsequently Gupta dynasty ruled this territory. The exit of Guptas was promptly followed by Karnata dynasty under the leadership of Nayadev in 1097. The foundation of this new dynasty- Karnata or Simaron dynasty- ushered in a new era, an era of kingdom- making. Under Nanyadev and his descendants, Mithila gradually recovered her old glory and became a unique center of philosophy, law and literature.

In the early nineteenth century, Prithivi Narayan Shah of Gorkha Kingdom, unite the several kingdoms of hills and plains and became the founder of modern Nepal. Since then Mithila Kingdom merged in two countries Nepal and India.

At present, the town of Janakpur, in the northern Nepali section of Mithila, is believed to be Janak's old capital. Now, Janakpur is a Hindu pilgrimage site with legendary history. The Ramayana records a dynastic marriage between Prince Rama of Ayodhya and Sita, the daughter of Raja Janak of Mithila. And Sita is a maithi girl.Each year Janakpur celebrates Ram’s birthday and his marriage anniversary. People come to Janakpur from all over the world to see the Janaki Mandir, a Mogul- style temple dedicated to Sita. Janakpur was once the capital of a kingdom called Maithili whose territory extended into present day Bihar and it remains today the center of Maithili culture in Nepal.

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