Tribes in Ancient India c51.29

c51.29

The *Viṣṇupurāṇa* also mentions the Videha country, furnishes a list of its rulers from ancient times, and gives a fanciful account of the origin of the name of Videha and also that of Mithilā, the capital. The story goes that Vasiṣṭha, having performed the sacrifice of Indra, proceeded to Mithilā to commence the sacrifice of King Nimi. On reaching there he found that the king had engaged Gautama to perform the sacrificial rites. Seeing the king asleep he cursed him thus: ‘King Nimi will be bodiless (*videha*, *vi-vigata-deha*), inasmuch as he having rejected me has engaged Gautama’. The king on awakening cursed Vasiṣṭha, saying that he too would perish, as he had cursed a sleeping king. Ṛṣis churned the dead body of Nimi, and as a result of the churning a child was born, afterwards known as Mithi⁶ (supposedly from *manth*, to churn). According to the *Bhaviṣyapurāṇa*, Nimi's son Mithi founded a beautiful city which was named Mithilā after him. From the fact of his having founded the city, he came to be known as Janaka (‘begetter, creator’).⁷ The *Mahāgovinda Suttanta* of the *Dīgha Nikāya* gives another account of the origin of Mithilā, stating that it was built by Govinda.⁸