Court of King Janaka

According to Puranas, Mithi was the first king, who ascended the royal throne at the court of King Janaka in Mithila. He was the son of the King Nimi in the ancient Kingdom of Videha. In the text Brihada Vishnu Purana, there is a list of 54 Janakas, who later ascended the royal throne at the court of King Janaka in Mithila. In the epic Ramayana, the court of King Janaka is famous for conducting Sita Swayamvara competition for the marriage of the princess Sita of Mithila. In the competition, the kings or princes of all the kingdoms in the ancient Indian subcontinent (Āryāvarta), participated. The competition for the legendary Sita Swayamvara is a major event in the Ramayana. There was a condition in the competition. The condition for winning in the competition of was to lift the legendary bow Pinaka of Lord Shiva kept at the court of King Janaka. In the ceremony of the Sita Swayamvara, Lord Rama along with his brother Lakshmana and Guru Vishwamitra also arrived. They were welcomed by the King Janaka at the court. In the competition no one was able to lift the legendary bow Pinaka. Then in last, Lord Rama successfully lifted the legendary bow and finally it was broken. After the legendary bow Pinaka was broken, the sage Parshurama angrily came to the court of the King Siradhwaja Janaka, to know who had broken it. According to Upanishads, the court of King Janaka was the centre of attraction for Vedic scholars all over the subcontinent. It is associated with the philosophical text Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The eminent Vedic scholar Yajnavalkya became famous from the scholarly Bahudakshina Yajna held at the assembly of the court. He later codified the Hindu law in his text Yagyavalkya Smriti. The court of King Janaka was a prominent seat for Sanskrit and Vedic learning in Mithila. In Mahabharata, the Vedic sage Vedas Vyasa sent his own son Shuka to the court of King Janaka for learning spritual knowledge from the philosopher King Janaka. In the texts Puranas and Mahabharata, there is description about an examination taken by the King Janaka to test the knowledge and understanding of the young scholar Shuka. == Ministers and advisors ==

According to the records of the Hindu texts, King Janaka used to appoint his ministers and advisors from the victorious scholars participating in shastrarthas (scholarly debates) organised by the King Janaka at his court. During the period of King Siradhwaja Janaka in the Ramayana, the chief advisor at the royal court of the King Janaka was Shatananda, the son of the Vedic sage Maharshi Gautama. In the text Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, there is mention of a Brahmin scholar Ashvala as the chief advisor of King Janaka during the occasion of the scholarly contest Bahudakshina Yajna at the assembly of the court. Later, when the little Ashtavakra grew up and attained the age of tenth, he came to know the reason of the death of his father. After knowing the reason of the death of his father, he pledge to challenge and defeat Acharya Bandi at the court of the King Janaka in Mithila. Then, he along with his maternal uncle Shvetaketu went to the court of King Janaka in Mithila. When they approached to the gate of the court, the gatekeeper stopped them to enter the assembly of the court. But suddenly when the King Janaka got notice of the arrival of the two young Brahmins at the gate of the court, he ordered the gatekeeper to allow them to enter at assembly of the court. The young Ashtavakra, after entering at the assembly of the court, challenged Acharya Bandi to do Shastrartha with him. Acharya Bandi accepted the challenge, but in the Shastrartha he was defeated by the young Brahmin Ashtavakra. Later, after the defeat of Acharya Bandi, the King Janaka appointed Ashtavakra as his chief advisor. Later, Ashtavakra preached the philosophy of self to the King Janaka at his court. The philosophical discourse between the sage Ashtavakra and the King Janaka is recorded as the text Ashtavakra Gita. In the Shanti Parva section of the text Mahabharata, there is mention of a King Janaka, whose advisor was the Vedic sage Parashara, the father of Veda Vyasa. The Vedic sage Parashara preached the King Janaka about the philosophy of karma-sanyasa. The philosophical discourse between the Vedic sage Parashara and the King Janaka is recorded as the text Parashara Gita. In Moksha-dharma Parva sub section of the section Shanti Parva in the text Mahabharata, once King Janadeva Janaka asked a hundred acharyas of his court philosophical questions about salvation, but none of them could give satisfactory answers to his questions about salvation. Then by chance a sage named Panchashikha entered to the court and he told the king the means of attaining salvation. The King Janadeva Janaka was satisfied and impressed by the answer of the sage Panchashikha. After that he abandoned his hundred acharyas and appointed Panchashikha as his chief advisor. Then, the chief advisor Panchashikha at the court, taught Janadeva Janaka about the philosophy of Brahmavidya and Shankhya Shastra. == Ladies scholars at the court ==

The Vedic texts mention the presence of ladies scholars called as Brahmavadini at the court of King Janaka in Mithila. During the contest of the Bahudakshina Yajna, the Brahmavadini Gargi Vachaknavi was present at court. She debated with the sage Yajnavalkya and asked questions related to the principle of ultimate existence. The sage replied to all her questions. in Mithila - Photo captured by Santosh Chaudhary Similarly during the period of the King Dharmadhwaja Janaka, the other Brahmavadini Sulabha arrived at his court. She debated with the king. The debate between the lady scholar Sulabha and the King Dharmadhwaja Janaka is mentioned in the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata. In the text, the debate between Sulabha and Janaka, is narrated by Bhishma to Yudhishthira during their philosophical discourse. == Vedic Parishad ==

The Vedic Parishad at the court of King Janaka refers to the council of learned Brahmins, which held philosophical debates among the learned Brahmins. It was basically a council of debate at the court of King Janaka in Mithila. According to Vidyabhushana, the science of logic developed out of the Vedic parishad. Some renowned logicians in the council of debate were Ashtavakra, Akshapada Gautama, and Yajnavalkya, etc. The Vedic sage Akshapada Gautama at the court of King Janaka was the founder of the foundational text Nyaya Sutra in the tradition of Nyaya school of the ancient Indian Philosophy. The philosophy of Nyaya Shastra is one of the six schools in the ancient Indian Philosophy. == References ==