In the Ramayana, Janaka was an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Seeradhwaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhwaja. His father’s name was Hroshhoroma, a descendant of the king Nimi. The rulers of the Videha kingdom were accorded the title Janaka, though this character is the best known bearer of the same.
Janaka is revered as being an ideal example of non-attachment to material possessions. He was intensely interested in spiritual discourse and considered himself free from worldly illusions. His interactions with sages and seekers such as Ashtavakra and Sulabha are recorded in the ancient texts. His relationship with his adopted daughter Sita led her to be called Janaki. The city of Janakpur in Nepal is named after him and his daughter Sita. The Videha (or Mithila) kingdom was historically located between east of Gandaki River, west of Mahananda River, north of the Ganga river and south of the Himalayas.
Ancestry
King Nimi was the first ruler of the Videha kingdom. Then king Mithi, supposedly called by the name Mithila, came after him. His son king Janaka(1st), was the first Janaka. Then after three successors came king Devraat and after Devraat the 14th successor was Maharoma, and Maharoma’s son Hroshhoroma was Janaka’s father.
Janaka in Vedic literature
Janaka and darma chitchat
Videha and other kingdoms of late Vedic India
Yajnavalkya teaches Brahma Vidya to King Janaka.
Late Vedic literature such as Shatapatha Brahmana and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mention a certain King Janaka (c. 8th or 7th century BCE) as a great philosopher-king of Videha, renowned for his patronage of Vedic culture and philosophy and whose court was an intellectual center for Brahmin sages such as Yajnavalkya, Uddalaka Aruni, and Gargi Vachaknavi. Under his reign, Videha became a dominant political and cultural center of the Indian subcontinent.
In other literature
Janaka is the father of Sita, the wife of God Ram in the Hindu epic Ramayana. His conversation with Ashtavakra is recorded as Ashtavakra Gita, wherein he is depicted as one realised and this tested by the sage Ashtavakra. Many spiritual teachers have referred to this writing often translating and deducing its meaning.