Ancient History and Myths
Ancestor of the first mythical King of this region was Nimi, who ruled in Sarasvati river region. As per the mythological tales, Nimi died due to curse placed on him by his Guru - Sage Vashista. After his death there was a period of anarchy. The sages then gathered and implored the spirit of Nimi to reassume human form. The dead body of Nimi was placed in a churn in hope that the dead body of Nimi would reaasume human form. Sages succeeded in their effort and MITHI (means soil) emerged from churn.The tribe, initially ruled by Nimi, left the Sarasvati region under the leadership of Mithi and after long period of wandering finally settled on the banks of Sadanira,now identified as Gandaka. Thereafter this region is known as Mithila. The name Mithila is derived after Mythical King MITHI. He established the capital of his kingdom at Mithilapuri and hence the region came to be called MITHILA. Since he was born out of body of his father, he was called JANAK. After this, the Kings of Mithila were called Janak. The most famous Janak was Seeradhwaja Janaka, father of Sita. He was 21st Janak of Mithila. This Dynasty was also called VIDEH JANAKS. There were 52 kings in the dynasty of Videh Janak. However, archaeological evidence is lacking to realistically assess the period of their migration.
The region was originally known as Videha. The kingdom of Videha is mentioned for the first time in Yajurveda Samhita. Mithila, the capital of Videha is mentioned in Buddhist Jatakas, the Brahamanas the Puranas (described in detail in Brhadvisnu Purana and various epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. A list of Kings is mentioned in Mahabharata and Jatakas. All the kings we known as Videha or Janak. There were total of 52 kings in this dynasty.
Read more about this topic: List Of Kings Of Mithila
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