Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c10.s2.17

c10.s2.17

The *Yājñavalkya Smṛti* is careful to point out that the path of *Dharma* was revealed by Yājñavalkya, the sage of Mithilā, in that country where the black antelope roams.² This has been explained by the fact that Mithilā (Videha) was not included among the four ancient holy lands of Bhāratavarṣa, it nonetheless acquired sanctity because it was approved of as a pure land by the earlier Dharmaśāstra literature.³ Again, in the *Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra* it is recorded that the Kāsi, Kosala and Videha kingdoms had each the same Purohita, Jala Jātūkarṇya.⁴ In another passage of the same text, the relation between the Kosalan king Hiraṇyanābha and the Videhan king Para Āṭnāra is referred to,⁵ while the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* speaks of Para Āṭnāra as a Kosalan King and descendant of Hiraṇyanābha.⁶ All these references make it highly probable that close relations existed between Videhas, Kāsis and Kosalans at an early period.