Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s5: Section III. The Later Vaidehas of Mithila: Nimi and Karāla

Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s5

Language: English

Section III. The Later Vaidehas of Mithila: Nimi and Karāla

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The *Purāṇas* give long lists of the successors of Sīradhvaja Janaka¹ whom Bhavabhūti seems to identify with the contemporary of Yājñavalkya.² With one or two exceptions none of the kings in these lists can be satisfactorily identified with the Videhan monarchs mentioned in the Vedic, Buddhist and Jaina literature. It is, therefore, difficult to say how far the lists are reliable. The identification of any of the kings named in the bardic chronicles with the Vedic Janaka is the most knotty of all problems. We have already noted the arguments that can be urged in support of the view of Bhavabhūti. The mere fact that Sīradhvaja is placed high in the Purāṇic lists does not necessarily prove that he actually flourished long before the extinction of the dynasty. It should be remembered in this connection that Pradyota who was in reality a contemporary of Bimbisāra, king of Magadha, is placed by the Purāṇic chroniclers or scribes some nine generations before that ruler, and Siddhārtha of the Ikshvāku list, a contemporary of Prasenajit of Kosala, is represented as the grandfather of the latter. The evidence of the *Vishṇu Purāṇa*³ suggests that there were at times several collateral lines of Janakas who ruled contemporaneously. The problem of Sīradhvaja must, therefore, be regarded as *sub judice*. In view of the uncertainty about the identification of this king and his proper place in the dynastic list, it is not easy to determine which of the Videhan kings mentioned in the Purāṇic chronicles actually came *after* the contemporary of Āruṇi and Yājñavalkya. The evidence of the *Jātakas*, however, suggests that a king named Nimi, at any rate, ruled after the great Janaka, as he is called the penultimate sovereign of the dynasty. Pargiter¹ places all the kings of the Purāṇic lists down to Bahulāśva *before* the Bhārata war, and apparently identifies his son Kṛiti with Kṛitakshana of the *Mahābhārata*,² a contemporary of Yudhishṭhira. But as there were "Janakas," even after Yudhishṭhira, and as two *Purāṇas* conclude with the remark that with Kṛiti ends the race of the Janakas,"³ the identification of Kṛiti, the *last* of the race, with Kṛitakshana does not seem to be plausible. It is more reasonable to identify Kṛiti of the *Purāṇas* with Karāla Janaka who, as we shall see below, brought the line of Vaideha kings to an end. The only objection to this view is that Karāla is represented as the son of Nimi, whereas Kṛiti was the son of Bahulāśva. But the cognomen Nimi may have been borne by several kings and Bahulāśva may have been one of them. An alternative theory would be to represent Kṛiti and Karāla as the last members of two collateral lines of Janakas.

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¹ *Vāyu*, 89. 18-23; *Vishṇu*, IV. 5. 12-13; 4th edition of this work, pp. 67 ff.

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² *Mahāvīra-charita*, I, verse 14; II, verse 43; *Uttara-Rāma-Charita*, IV, verse 9.

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³ VI. 6. 7 ff. Cf. *Rāmāyaṇa*, I. 72. 18.

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¹ AIHT, p. 149.

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² II. 4. 27.

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³ AIHT, pp. 96,330.

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The Vedic texts mention besides Māthava and Janaka two other Vaideha kings, namely, Namī Sāpya and Para Āhlāra. Macdonell and Keith identify the latter with Para Āṭṇāra, king of Kosala, about whom we shall speak in a subsequent chapter. Namī Sāpya is mentioned in the *Pañchaviṁśa* or *Tāṇḍya Brāhmaṇa*⁴ as a famous sacrificer. His identification with king Namī of the *Uttar-ādhyayana* *Sūtra*¹ Nemi of the *Vishṇu Purāṇa*, and Nimi of the *Makhādeva Sutta* of the *Majjhima Nikāya*, and the *Kumbhakāra*² and. *Nimi Jātakas*³ is more or less problematical. In the last-mentioned work it is stated that a Nimi was the penultimate sovereign of the Maithila family. According to the *Kumbhakāra Jātaka* and the *Uttarādhyayana Sūtra* he was a contemporary of Dummukha (Dvimukha), king of Pañchāla, Naggaji (Naggati) of Gandhāra and of Karaṇḍu (Karakaṇḍu) of Kaliṅga. This synchronism accords with Vedic evidence. Durmukha, the Pañchāla king, had a priest named Bṛihaduktha⁴ who was the son of Vāmadeva.⁵ Vāmadeva was a contemporary of Somaka, the son of Sahadeva.⁶ Somaka had close spiritual relationship with Bhīma, king of Vidarbha, and Nagnajit, king of Gandhāra.⁷ From this it seems very probable that Durmukha was a contemporary of Nagnajit. This is exactly what we find in the *Kumbhakāra Jātaka* and the *Uttar-ādhyayana Sūtra*.

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⁴ XXV. 10. 17-18.

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¹ S.B.E., XLV. 87.

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² No. 408.

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³ No. 541.

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⁴ *Vedic Index*, I. 370

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⁵ *Ibid*, II. 71.

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⁶ *Ṛig-Veda*, IV. 15. 7-10 with *Anukramaṇī*.

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⁷ *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*, VII 34.

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The *Nimi Jātaka* says that Nimi was "born to round off" the royal family "like the hoop of a chariot wheel." Addressing his predecessor the soothsayers said, "Great king, this prince is born to round off your family. This your family of hermits will go no further."

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Nimi's son Kalāra Jaṇaka⁸ is said to have actually brought his line to an end. This king is apparently identical with Karāla Janaka of the *Mahābhārata*.⁹ In the *Arthaśāstra* attributed to Kauṭilya it is stated that "Bhoja,

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⁸ *Makhādeva Sutta* of the *Majjhima Nikāya*, II. 82; *Nimi Jātaka*.

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⁹ XII. 302. 7.

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LATER VAIDEHAS

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known by the name of Dāṇḍakya, making a lascivious attempt on a Brāhmaṇa maiden, perished along with his kingdom and relations; so also Karāla, the Vaideha.'¹ Karāla, the Vaideha, who perished along with his kingdom and relations, must be identified with Kalāra (Karāla) who, according to the *Nimi Jātaka*, brought the line of Videhan kings to an end. The downfall of the Vaidehas reminds us of the fate of the Tarquins who were expelled from Rome for a similar crime. As in Rome, so in Videha, the overthrow of the monarchy was followed by the rise of a republic—the Vajjian Confederacy.

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¹ The evidence of the *Arthaśāstra* is confirmed by that of the *Buddhacharita* of Aśvaghosha (IV. 80). "And so Karāla Janaka, when he carried off the Brāhmaṇa's daughter, incurred loss of caste thereby, but he would not give up his love."

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There is reason to believe that the Kāsi people had a share in the overthrow of the Videhan monarchy. Already in the time of the great Janaka, Ajātaśatru, king of Kāsi, could hardly conceal his jealousy of the Videhan king's fame. The passage "*yathā Kāśyo vā Vaideho vā Ugraputra ujjyam dhanur adhijyaṁ kṛitvā dvau vāṇavantau sapatnātivyādhinau haste kṛitv-opatiṣṭhed*"² probably refers to frequent struggles between the heroes of Kāsi and Videha. The *Mahābhārata*³ refers to the old story (*itihāsaṁ purātanaṁ*) of a great battle between Pratardana, king of Kāsi according to the *Rāmāyaṇa*,⁴ and Janaka, King of Mithilā. It is stated in the Pāli commentary *Param-attha-jotikā*⁵ that the Lichchhavis who succeeded Janaka's dynasty as the strongest political power in North Bihar, and formed the most important element of the Vajjian Confederacy, were the offsprings of a queen of Kāsi. This indicates a belief in later ages that cadets from the royal family of Kāsi established themselves in Videha.