Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c13.s2.15

c13.s2.15

From the second king Mithi Janaka (whom the Rāmāyaṇa makes two) it is said the capital Mithilā was named,¹ and hence the kings were called Maithilas.² From him, too, the kings were also styled Janaka, and this was the family name, for he was the first king Janaka,³ and the Janakas are expressly mentioned as a family,⁴ and two Puranas conclude with the remark that with Kṛti ends the race of the Janakas.⁵ The kings were thus collectively ‘Janakas’, and many are individually so named, as Sīradhvaja,⁶ Dharmadhvaja,⁷ Janadeva,⁸ Daivarāti,⁹ Khāṇḍikya,¹⁰ and also Karāla¹¹ and Aindra-dyumni¹² (who are not named in the genealogy).¹³ The references to ‘Janaka’ in the brahmanical books do not therefore necessarily mean one and the same king, but the name is used generically there¹⁴ according to the brahmanical custom and lack of the historical sense, just as various Vasiṣṭhas and Viśvāmitras are mentioned merely as Vasiṣṭha and Viśvāmitra, and are sometimes confused as one Vasiṣṭha and one Viśvāmitra. Moreover, the brahmanical Bhāgavata says of these Maithilas generally that they were skilled in knowledge of the Ātman,¹⁵ so that it is erroneous to assume that only one Janaka is meant in the brahmanical books.