Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s5.8

c9.s5.8

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*.