Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c10.s3.50

c10.s3.50

Mithilā was the capital of Videha,¹ and it was there that Janaka ruled and Yājñavalkya disputed on the concepts of *Ātman* and *Brahman*. The size of Mithilā is frequently given as seven leagues, or about 50 miles in circumference.² Some historians maintain that Mithilā was the name of both the country and the capital,³ but the evidence for this view is very late. We believe that Mithilā applied only to the capital and Videha to the whole country.⁴ The use of the appellation Mithilā for the whole country is attested only in mediaeval times, and it was used along with Tirabhukti, or Tirhut, until the last century. Grierson made the name Mithilā famous again by naming the vernacular language of the region Maithili.