The name Maithili is derived from the word
Mithila, an ancient kingdom of which King
Janaka was the ruler (see
Ramayana). Maithili is also one of the names of
Sita, the wife of King
Rama and daughter of King
Janaka. Apart from Charyapadas, there has been a rich tradition of folk culture, folk songs and which were popular among the common folks of the Mithila region. After the fall of the
Pala Empire, disappearance of
Buddhism, establishment of the
Karnat dynasty and patronage of Maithili under Harisimhadeva (1226–1324) of Karnāta dynasty dates back to the 14th century (around 1327 AD).
Jyotirishwar Thakur (1280–1340) wrote a unique work
Varna Ratnakara in Maithili prose. The
Varṇa Ratnākara is the earliest known prose text, written by
Jyotirishwar Thakur in
Mithilakshar script, In 1324,
Ghyasuddin Tughluq, the emperor of
Delhi invaded Mithila, defeated
Harisimhadeva, entrusted Mithila to his family priest and a great Military Scholar Kameshvar Jha, a
Maithil Brahmin of the
Oiniwar Dynasty. But the disturbed era did not produce any literature in Maithili until
Vidyapati Thakur (1360 to 1450), who was an epoch-making poet under the patronage of
Shiva Simha Singh and his queen
Lakhimadevi. He produced over 1,000 immortal songs in Maithili on the theme of love of
Radha and
Krishna and the domestic life of
Shiva and
Parvati as well as on the subject of suffering of migrant labourers of
Morang and their families; besides, he wrote a number of treaties in
Sanskrit. His
love-songs spread far and wide in no time and enchanted
saints,
poets and
youth.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw the divine light of love behind these songs, and soon these songs became themes of
Vaishnavism in
Bengal. As a young man,
Rabindranath Tagore, driven by curiosity and a spirit of experimentation, composed a series of poems in imitation of these songs under the pseudonym
Bhanusimha. Vidyapati influenced the religious literature of
Assam,
Bengal, and
Utkala Kingdom. The blending of languages during the later period gave rise to artificial literary dialects like
Brajabuli in Bengal, and
Brajavali in Assam. The earliest reference to Maithili or Tirhutiya is in Amaduzzi's preface to Beligatti's
Alphabetum Brammhanicum, published in 1771. This contains a list of Indian languages among which is 'Tourutiana.' Colebrooke's essay on the Sanskrit and Prakrit languages, written in 1801, was the first to describe Maithili as a distinct dialect. Many devotional songs were written by Vaisnava saints, including in the mid-17th century, Vidyapati and Govindadas. Mapati Upadhyaya wrote a drama titled
Pārijātaharaṇa in Maithili. Professional troupes, mostly from
dalit classes known as
Kirtanias, the singers of
bhajan or devotional songs, started to perform this drama in public gatherings and the courts of the nobles. Lochana (c. 1575 – c. 1660) wrote
Rāgatarangni, a significant treatise on the science of music, describing the rāgas, tālas, and lyrics prevalent in Mithila. During the
Malla dynasty's rule Maithili spread far and wide throughout
Nepal from the 16th to the 17th century. During this period, at least seventy Maithili dramas were produced. In the drama
Harishchandranrityam by Siddhinarayanadeva (1620–57), some characters speak pure colloquial Maithili, while others speak
Bengali language, Sanskrit or
Prakrit. One notable Malla King who patronised Maithili was
Bhupatindra Malla who composed 26 plays in the Maithili language during his lifetime. After the demise of Maheshwar Singh, the ruler of
Darbhanga Raj, in 1860, the Raj was taken over by the
British Raj as regent. The Darbhanga Raj returned to his successor, Maharaj
Lakshmishvar Singh, in 1898. The Zamindari Raj had a lackadaisical approach toward Maithili. The use of Maithili language was revived through personal efforts of MM Parameshvar Mishra, Chanda Jha, Munshi Raghunandan Das and others. Publication of
Maithil Hita Sadhana (1905),
Mithila Moda (1906), and
Mithila Mihir (1908) further encouraged writers. The first social organisation, Maithil Mahasabha, was established in 1910 for the development of Mithila and Maithili. It blocked its membership for people outside of the
Maithil Brahmin and
Karna Kayastha castes. Maithil Mahasabha campaigned for the official recognition of Maithili as a regional language.
Calcutta University recognised Maithili in 1917, and other universities followed suit. Babu Bhola Lal Das wrote
Maithili Grammar (
Maithili Vyakaran). He edited a book
Gadya Kusumanjali and edited a journal
Maithili. In 1965, Maithili was officially accepted by
Sahitya Academy, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of
Indian literature. In 2002, Maithili was recognised on the
VIII schedule of the Indian Constitution as a major Indian language; Maithili is now one of the twenty-two
Scheduled languages of India. The publishing of Maithili books in
Mithilakshar script was started by
Acharya Ramlochan Saran. == Demand of Classical Language status for Maithili ==