Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s4.82

c9.s4.82

But Janaka's fame rests not so much on his achievements as a king and a sacrificer, as on his patronage of culture and philosophy. The court of this monarch was thronged with Brāhmaṇas from Kosala, the Kuru-Pañchāla countries and perhaps Madra, *e.g.*, Aśvala, Jāratkārava Ārtabhāga, Bhujyu Lāhyāyani, Ushasta(-i) Chākrāyaṇa, Kahoḍa Kaushītakeya. Gārgī Vāchaknavī, Uddālaka Āruṇi and Vidagdha Śākalya. The tournaments of argument which were held form a prominent feature in the third book of the *Bṛihad-āraṇyaka Upanishad*. The hero of these was Yājñavalkya Vājasaneya, who was a pupil of Uddālaka Āruṇi.³ Referring to Janaka's relations with the Kuru-Pañchāla Brāhmaṇas, Oldenberg observes :⁴ "The king of the east, who has a leaning to the culture of the west, collects the celebrities of the west at his court—much as the intellects of Athens gathered at the court of Macedonian princes."