Janaka

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Janaka
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Portrait of Janaka, c. 1803-1804 CE
Maharaja of Videha
PredecessorHrasvaroman
SuccessorBhanumaan Janaka
BornSiradhvaja
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Mithila, Videha[1]
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SpouseSunayana
IssueSita
Urmila
HouseVideha
DynastySuryavamsha
FatherHrasvaroman
MotherKaikasi
ReligionHinduism

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Janaka (Template:Langx, IAST: Janaka) was the King of Videha, who ruled from its capital, Mithila, in the Hindu itihasa Ramayana. Janaka was married to Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The term Janaka was also the title adopted by all the kings of Videha, who were the descendants of the King Nimi and his son King Mithi. The King Mithi is considered the first King of Videha who was titled with the term Janaka.[2]

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 the ancient texts.[3]

File:Raajshri Janak Temple Janakpur Dhanusha Nepal Rajesh Dhungana.jpg
The temple dedicated to the King Janaka as deity in his capital city Janakpur. The temple is known as Shree Rajarshi Janak Mandir.

Legend

Birth and ancestry

File:Ashtavkra and Janaka.jpg
Conversation Between Astavakra and King Janaka

Janaka, originally named Sīradhvaja, was born to King Hrasvaroman of Mithila and his wife Kaikasi. The Videha kingdom was situated historically between the Gandaki River to the east, the Mahananda River to the west, the Himalayas to the north, and the Ganga river to the south.[4][5] Janaka had a younger brother named Kushadhvaja.[6] Upon ascending to the throne as the King of Mithila, Janaka faced an attack from the King of Samkasya, Sudhanvan. In the ensuing war, Janaka emerged victorious by defeating and killing Sudhanvan, after which he appointed his brother Kushadhvaja as the new King of Samkasya.[7]

King Nimi was the first ruler of the Videha kingdom. Janaka was descended from Vishnu in the following order:—Brahmā—Marīci—Kaśyapa—Vivasvān—Vaivasvata—Ikṣvāku—Nimi—Mithi—Udāvasu—Nandivardhana—Suketu—Devarāta—Bṛhadratha—Mahāvīra—Sudhṛti—Dhṛṣṭaketu—Haryaśva—Maru—Pratvantaka—Kīrtiratha—Devamīḍha—Vibudha—Mahīdhraka—Kīrtirāta—Mahāroman—Svarṇaroman—Hrasvaroman—Janaka.[8]

Marriage and children

File:The Birth of Sita - Raja Janaka of Mithila carrying her in his lap.jpg
Janaka carrying Sita to Mithila, after he found her while ploughing
File:Janaka welcomes Rama.jpg
Janaka welcoming Rama and his father Dasharatha to Mithila

Janaka was married to queen Sunayana. According to Ramayana, Janaka and Sunayana found Sita while ploughing as a part of a yagna and adopted her. Sita is considered as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi.[9] Sunayana later gave birth to Urmila on Jaya ekadashi, who is an avatar of goddess Nagalakshmi.[10][11]

When Sita reached adulthood, Janaka conducted her svayamvara, which was won by Rama. Alongside the wedding of Rama and Sita, Urmila married Rama's younger brother Lakshmana.[12][13]

Establishment of Shivalingas

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". According to legend, it is said that King Janaka was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He established some Shivalingas around the corners of the capital city Janakpur for performing his penance in the ancient Mithila Kingdom. The four major Shivalingas established by him on the four corners of his capital city Janakpur were Kalyaneshwar Mahadev Mandir, Jaleshwar Mahadev Mandir, Kshireshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir and Sapteshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir.[14] Similarly he is also credited for building the temples Haleshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir at Haleshwar Sthan in Sitamarhi and Kapileshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir at the outskirts of Janakpur Dham.

Later role in Ayodhya

Janaka accompanied Bharata to Chitrakoot, where Bharata went to persuade Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to return to Ayodhya.[15] After Rama returned from the exile and was then crowned the King of Kosala, Janaka became an important figure in his court. Rama would also take Janaka's advice on many important occasions.[16]

Assessment

File:Yajnavalkya and Janaka.jpg
Yajnavalkya teaches Brahma Vidya to King Janaka.

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.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Under his reign, Videha became a dominant political and cultural center of the Indian subcontinent.[17][18]

File:Yajnavalkya.jpg
Memorial Statue of Yajnavalkya at the entrance of the Uchchaith Bhagawati Mandir near the Benipatti town in the Madhubani district of the Mithila region of Bihar in India.
File:Gargi Vachaknavi.jpg
Memorial Statue of the Brahmvadini Gargi Vachaknavi at the Uchchaith Bhagawati Mandir

Literature

File:Fresco on the inner walls of a Nirmala Sikh temple depicting Raja Janak, at Naurangabad, Punjab.jpg
Fresco on the inner walls of a Nirmala Sikh temple depicting Raja Janak, at Naurangabad, Punjab

Janaka's conversation with the sage Ashtavakra is recorded in the Ashtavakra Gita, wherein he is depicted as one who is realised and this was tested by the sage Ashtavakra. Many spiritual teachers have referred to this writing often translating and deducing its meaning.[19][20] Similarly the philosophical dialogues between the king Janaka and the sage Parashara is recorded as Parashar Gita.[21]

Films

Television

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thakur, Ripunjay Kumar (1 March 2022). "Historical Geography of Early Medieval Mithila: From Videha to Tirhut". New Archaeological & Genological Society, Kanpur, India. ISSN 2348-8301. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jha, Makhan (1997). Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7533-034-4.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ramayana | Summary, Characters, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jha, M. (1997). "Hindu Kingdoms at contextual level". Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective. New Delhi: M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 27–42. ISBN 9788175330344.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thakur, Ripunjay Kumar (1 March 2022). "Historical Geography of Early Medieval Mithila: From Videha to Tirhut". New Archaeological & Genological Society, Kanpur, India. ISSN 2348-8301. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mishra, V. (1979). Cultural Heritage of Mithila. Allahabad: Mithila Prakasana. p. 13. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lakshmi Lal (1988). The Ramayana. Orient Longman. p. 20. ISBN 9780861318056.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Janaka". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sutherland, Sally J. "Sita and Draupadi, Aggressive Behavior and Female Role-Models in the Sanskrit Epics" (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.www.wisdomlib.org (24 June 2012). "Urmila, Urmilā, Ūrmilā: 9 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  11. ^ Dictionary of Hindu Lord and Legend (Template:ISBN) by Anna Dhallapiccola
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Book 2 (Ayodhya-kanda): Chapter 27 - Princess Sita entreats Rama to allow her to accompany him". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Smriti Dewan (2021). Urmila: The Forgotten Princess. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9789390252916.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."प्रभु श्रीराम के मिथिला आगमन से जुड़ा मध्यमा परिक्रमा का इतिहास, जान‍िए कहां-कहां होती है पर‍िक्रमा - History of Madhyama Parikrama related to the arrival of Lord Shri Ram in Mithila know where the Parikrama takes place". Jagran (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buck, William (8 June 2021). Ramayana. Univ of California Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-520-38338-8.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Chapter 9: 171. Rama Becomes King". Press Book. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  17. ^ Michael Witzel (1989), Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes Dans Les literatures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, 97–265.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thakur, Ripunjay Kumar (1 March 2022). "Historical Geography of Early Medieval Mithila: From Videha to Tirhut". New Archaeological & Genological Society, Kanpur, India. ISSN 2348-8301. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Vanita, Ruth (2009). "Full of God:Ashtavakra and ideas of Justice in Hindu Text". Religions of South Asia. 3 (2). Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mukerjee, Radhakamal (1971). The song of the self supreme (Aṣṭāvakragītā): the classical text of Ātmādvaita by Aṣṭāvakra. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1367-0.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.www.wisdomlib.org (25 October 2023). "Parāśara-gītā (Summary)". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Telugu Review: 'Sri Rama Rajyam' is a must watch". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dalrymple, William (23 August 2008). "All Indian life is here". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."StarPlus' Siya Ke Ram: Everything you should know about the show". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush". PINKVILLA. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ramyug first impression: Kunal Kohli's retelling of Lord Ram's story misses the mark". The Indian Express. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shrimad Ramayan Review, Episodes 1 and 2: A cinematic visual spectacle on small screen". Pinkvilla. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.

Sources

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