Mithila is a region and was a kingdom situated between the foothills of the Himalayas and the River Ganges of India (North Bihar) and inhabited by Maithils.
Contents
- Ancient history and myths
- Vedic period Videha Kingdom
- Lineage of Janaks
- Janaks after Ramayana
- c 600 BCEc 300 BCE Vajji Mahajanapada
- 6th century to 11th century Pala and Sena rule
- 11th century to 14th century SimroonKarnata Dynasty
- 14th to 16th century Oinwar dynasty
- 1526 to 1577 Period of Anarchy
- 16th century to 20th century Raj Darbhanga
- References
This region was also called Tirabhukti, the ancient name of Tirhut. The Videha or Mithila Kingdom is believed to be bounded on the north by the Himalaya, on the south the Ganges, on the east the Kosi, and on the west the Gandak.
Ancient history and myths
The name Mithila is believed to be derived from the mythical King Mithila. He established the capital of his kingdom at Mithilapuri. Since he was born out of body of his father, he was called Janak. After this, the Kings of Mithila were called Janak. The most famous Janak was Seeradhwaja Janaka, father of Sita. There were 52 kings in the dynasty of Videh Janak. However, archaeological evidence is lacking to realistically assess the period of their migration.
The region was originally known as Videha. The kingdom of Videha is mentioned for the first time in Yajurveda Samhita. Mithila, the capital of Videha is mentioned in Buddhist Jatakas, the Brahamanas the Puranas (described in detail in Brhadvisnu Purana and various epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. A list of Kings is mentioned in Mahabharata and Jatakas. All the kings we known as Videha or Janak. There were total of 52 kings in this dynasty.
Vedic period, Videha Kingdom
During the Vedic period, Mithila was the centre of the Videha kingdom with the capital in the present day city of Janakpur. The rulers of the Videha kingdom were called Janakas.
Lineage of Janaks
The list of Janaks has been compiled from Valmiki Ramayana.
Janaks after Ramayana
Source:
c. 600 BCE–c. 300 BCE, Vajji Mahajanapada
Following the fall of the Videhas, Mithila came under the control of the Vajji mahajanapada which was a confederacy of clans the most famous of which was the Licchavi. The capital was in the city of Vaishali in modern-day Bihar. Mithila under the Vajji's was eventually conquered by the king of Magadha, Ajatashatru.
6th century to 11th century: Pala and Sena rule
Mithila was a tributary of the Pala Dynasty for almost three centuries. The Pala Dynasty were followers of Buddhism and according to some texts they were Kayasthas. Their capital is believed to be located at present town of Balirajgarh (Babubarhi-Madhubani district). The last king of Pal Dynasty was Madanpal. Madanpal was a weak king, as he was defeated by Adishur Samant Sen’s army.
The founder of the Pala Empire was Gopala. He was the first independent Buddhist king of Bengal and came to power in 750 in Gaur by democratic election, which was unique at the time. He reigned from 750 to 770 and consolidated his position by extending his control over all of Bengal. His successors Dharmapala (r. 770-810) and Devapala (r. 810-850) expanded the empire across the northern and eastern Indian subcontinent. The Pala Empire eventually disintegrated in the 12th century under the attack of the Sena dynasty.
Sena Dynasty were followers of Hinduism (Gaud Kayasthas) and hence people of Mithila, being followers of Hinduism, helped Samant Sen in defeating Madanpal. Eminent scholar Vachaspati Mishra (from Village Thardhi in Madhubani district) was from this period,
11th century to 14th century: Simroon/Karnata Dynasty
The Karnata or Simroon dynasty was founded by Nanyadeva with the capital being in Simraon in Mithila. Some theorise that this dynasty was of Parmar Rajput origin.
In the court of Hari Singh Deva the Royal Priest was Jyotirishwar, the author of Varna Ratnakar. Upon Ghyasuddin Tughlak's invasion of Mithila (Tirhut) in 1326 CE, King Harisimhadeva, along with many Maithil Brahmins, fled to Nepal and founded a new dynasty in Nepal.
The dynasty had five kings of note:
14th to 16th century: Oinwar dynasty
In 1326, Ghyasuddin Tughlak attacked and conquered Mithila region. The last king of Karnata Dynasty Harisingh Dev fled to Nepal. In 1353 Firoz Shah Tughlak appointed Pt. Kameshwar Thakur as Karad Raja (Tax Paying King - they were appointed as Kings by Emperors and had to collect and pay taxes, and to maintain army for the Emperor.
Kameshwar Thakur, being of scholarly nature, was unable to collect and pay tax to Firoz Shah Tughlak. Thus, Kameshwar Thakkur was dethroned and his son, Bhogishwar Thakur was made next King of Mithila region. This dynasty was ruled by natives of Mithila who where Maithil Brahmins and belonged to the Kashyap gotra.
The list kings of Oinwar Dynasty is as under:
1526 to 1577: Period of Anarchy
Sikandar Lodhi made his son-in-law, Alauddin, the ruler of this area. During this period, Mogul Empire was beginning to take its root in Delhi. Alauddin was not a successful ruler and for next 50 years, anarchy prevailed in Mithila region. During this period the Gandhawaria Rajputs acquired power ruling various estates in the area particularly in Saharsa.
When Akbar became emperor, he tried to bring normalcy to Mithila region. He came to the conclusion that only after a Maithil Brahmin was made King, peace can prevail and rent can be collected in Mithila. In 1577, Emperor Akbar declared Pt. Mahesh Thakkur as the ruler of Mithila. Pt. Mahesh Thakkur was of the mool, Kharaure Bhaur and hence that dynasty was called ‘Khandwala Kul’ and the capital was made at Rajgram in Madhubani District.