Videha (
Prākrit: ;
Pāli
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: ;
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ) was an ancient
Indo-Aryan tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
of north-eastern
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
whose existence is attested during the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later became a
(an
aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
oligarchic
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
), presently referred to as the Videha Republic, which was part of the larger
Vajjika League
The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika (Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east South ...
.
Location
The borders of the Videha kingdom were the
Sadānirā river in the west, the
Kauśikī river in the east, the
Gaṅgā river in the south, and the
Himālaya mountains in the north. To the west of the Sadānirā river, the neighbour of the Vaidehas was the kingdom of
Kosala.
The Sadānirā and Kauśikī rivers remained the respective western and eastern boundaries of the later Videha republic, although its territory covered only the northern part of that of the former Videha kingdom, with the latter hence being called Mahā-Videha ("greater Videha"). The Videha republic was located along the foothills of the Himalaya mountains, in what are now the
Tarāī region and the south-eastern parts of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
including the lower hill ranges, as well as the northern part of what in present time is the Indian state of
Bihār. The
Malla
Malla may refer to: Places
;Bolivia
*Malla, Bolivia, a locality
* Malla Jawira, a river
* Malla Jaqhi, a mountain
* Malla Municipality
* Malla Qullu, a mountain
;India
* Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu
*Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the s ...
republics were the neighbours of Videha to the west of the Sadānirā during the republican period.
Name
The name is the
Prākrit version of the name whose
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
form was . The capital of the Vaidehas was the city of
Mithilā, whose name was derived from that of the Vaideha king Mithi.
History
Monarchic period
The Vaidehas were an Indo-Aryan tribe in the eastern Gangetic plain in the
Greater Magadha
Greater Magadha is a concept in studies of the early history of India. It is used to refer to the political and cultural sphere that developed in the lower Gangetic plains ( Johannes Bronkhorst defines the region to comprise modern day Bihar and e ...
cultural region.
The Mahā-Videha ("greater Videha") kingdom, located between the
Sadānirā river in the west, the
Kauśikī river in the east, the
Gaṅgā river in the south, and the
Himālaya mountains in the north, was founded around 800 BCE, according to the by the king Reṇu with the help of his steward, Mahāgovinda Jotipāla, and claimed by the 5th century CE Buddhist commentator
Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
to have been colonised by the king Mandhātā with settlers from a place he retroactively referred to as ("old Videha"). The Prākrit name , meaning "without walls or ramparts," was an epithet used in the sense of "destroyers of walls and ramparts".
Despite being an Indo-Aryan people, the Vaidehas were not fully Brahmanised, lived in the Indo-Aryan but non-Vedic cultural region of
Greater Magadha
Greater Magadha is a concept in studies of the early history of India. It is used to refer to the political and cultural sphere that developed in the lower Gangetic plains ( Johannes Bronkhorst defines the region to comprise modern day Bihar and e ...
located to the east of the Gaṅgā-
Yamunā confluence along with the similarly Greater Magadhan non-Vedic Indo-Aryan
Kāśya and
Kauśalya tribes, with whom they had close cultural relations from early times, and along with whom the Vaidehas would be continually mentioned in ancient South Asian literature. Brahmanical literature therefore grouped them along with the
Kāśyas,
Kauśalyas,
Māgadhīs, and
Āṅgeyas, as s (meaning "Easterners") not belonging to the , that is the land of the
s where Vedic rituals and customs were followed, and consisting of the areas of the Kuru, Pāñcāla,
Matsya
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...
, and
Śūrasena tribes. Brahmanical literature also referred to the Vaidehas and the Māgadhīs with less prestige than the Brahmanised Kuru-Pāñcālas and with language referring to mixed castes.
The Vaidehas were initially organised into a monarchical regime during the era of the
s, lasting from around 900 BCE to around 700 BCE. One attested king of Mahā-Videha was Mithila, who gave his name to the tribe's capital of
Mithilā.
The Vaidehas were Brahmanised during the later period, shortly after Kosala's Brahmanisation. This Brahminisation of Mahā-Videha happened during the reign of the king
Janaka
Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hras ...
, who was one of the leading patrons of the new doctrine of
and whose
Yājñavalkya was a disciple of the Kuru-Pāñcāla Vedic sage
Uddālaka Āruṇi
Uddalaka Aruni (fl. c. 8th century BCE), (Devanagari: उद्दालक आरुणि) also referred to as Uddalaka or Aruni or Uddalaka Varuni, is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism.Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), ''A comparative history of wor ...
. Janaka and Yājñavalkya together provided spiritual and intellectual leadership to the s of the
. And although Mahā-Videha had not previously been included among the four ancient holy lands of , it came to acquire sanctity because the
s approved of it as a pure land, although the later the
mentions the Vaidehas with contempt, following the earlier Brahmanical tradition of opposition to the non-Vedic Indo-Aryan tribes.
The close relations between the Vaidehas, the Kāśyas, and the Kauśalyas continued after the Brahminisation of these states: at one point Jala Jātūkarṇya was the of all three kingdoms; and the king Para Āṭnāra, who was a descendant of the Kauśalya king Hiraṇyanābha, ruled over both Mahā-Videha and Kosala.
This monarchical period of the Vaidehas lasted between 150 and 200 years, and the maximum estimated number of Vaideha kings during this phase amounts to eight.
Republican period
Shortly before or during the lifetime of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
, around the 7th or 6th century BCE, the
Licchavi tribe invaded the territory of the Mahā-Videha kingdom and temporarily occupied the Vaideha capital of Mithilā, from where they could best administer the territory of Mahā-Videha. The consequence of the occupation of Videha by the republican Licchavikas was that the Licchavikas relatively peacefully overthrew the already weakened Vaideha monarchical system and Janaka's dynasty, and replaced them by a
republican system.
Facing the rising power of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
to the south of the Gaṅgā, the Licchavikas established their republic in the southern part of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom's territory and moved their political centre to
Vesālī, while the new Videha republic centred around Mithilā existed in a limited territory covering only the northern part of Mahā-Videha. Many members of the Vaideha aristocracy who had submitted to the Licchavikas joined them in moving to Vesālī, and therefore became members of the Licchavi ruling aristocratic Assembly. Vaideha politicians also moved to Vesālī and obtained high posts there, such as the Vaideha minister Sakala who had to flee from his colleagues' jealousy and moved to Vesālī where he became a prominent citizen and was elected ; Sakala had two sons, Gopāla and Siṃha, who both married Vesālia women, and Siṃha's daughter Vāsavī married the Māgadhī king
Bimbisāra.
The Licchavikas themselves henceforth became the leading power within the territory of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom, with the Licchavika Assembly holding the sovereign and supreme rights over this territory while the Videha republic was ruled by an Assembly of the
s residing in and around Mithilā, and which governed in the name of the Licchavika Assembly. The Videha republic was thus under significant influence of Licchavi, and it joined the latter as one of the two most important members of the
Vajjika League
The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika (Sanskrit: ) League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (Sanskrit: ), was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribal league which existed during the later Iron Age period in north-east South ...
, which was a temporary league led by Licchavi, with the Vaideha s holding an undetermined number out of the nine non-Licchavika seats of the eighteen-member Vajjika Council. Despite being a prominent member of the Vajjika League, Videha was a minor power within it compared to the Licchavikas and the
Mallakas, and Videha maintained limited autonomy within the league concerning its domestic administration under the supervision of Licchavi, who fully controlled Vaideha foreign policy. The Videha republic's relations with other members of the Vajjika League, such as the Malla republics, were good, although occasional quarrels arose between the various member states of the league.
During the life of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
, Videha abandoned Brahmanism and embraced
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
After the death of the Buddha, the Licchavikas, the Mallakas, and the
Sakyas claimed shares of his relics while the Vaidehas and the
Nāyikas did not appear among the list of states claiming a share because they were dependencies of the Licchavikas without their own sovereignty, and therefore could not put forth their own claim while Licchavi could.
Conquest by Magadha
The relations of the Licchavikas, who led the Vajjika League which the Vaidehas were part of, with their southern neighbour, the kingdom of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
, were initially good, and the wife of the Māgadhī king
Bimbisāra was the Vesālia princess Vāsavī, who was the daughter of the Licchavika Sakala's son Siṃha. There were nevertheless occasional tensions between Licchavi and Magadha, such as the competition at the Mallaka capital of
Kusinārā
Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''.
Etymo ...
over acquiring the relics of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
after his death.
In another case, the Licchavikas once invaded Māgadhī territory from across the
Gaṅgā, and at some point the relations between Magadha and Licchavi permanently deteriorated as result of a grave offence committed by the Licchavikas towards the Māgadhī king Bimbisāra.
The hostilities between Licchavi and Magadha continued under the rule of
Ajātasattu, who was Bimbisāra's son with another Licchavika princess, Vāsavī, after he had killed Bimbisāra and usurped the throne of Magadha. Eventually Licchavi supported a revolt against Ajātasattu by his younger step-brother and the governor of
Aṅga, Vehalla, who was the son of Bimbisāra by another Licchavika wife of his, Cellanā, a daughter of
Ceḍaga, who was the head of both the Licchavi republic and the Vajjika League; Bimbisāra had chosen Vehalla as his successor following Ajātasattu's falling out of his favour after the latter had been caught conspiring against him, and the Licchavikas had attempted to place Vehalla on the throne of Magadha after Ajātasattu's usurpation and had allowed Vehalla to use their capital Vesālī as base for his revolt. After the failure of this rebellion, Vehalla sought refuge at his grandfather's place in the Licchavika and Vajjika capital of Vesālī, following which Ajātasattu repeatedly attempted to negotiate with the Licchavikas-Vajjikas. After Ajātasattu's repeated negotiation attempts ended in failure, he declared war on the Vajjika League in 484 BCE.
Tensions between Licchavi and Magadha were exacerbated by the handling of the joint Māgadhī-Licchavika border post of Koṭigāma on the Gaṅgā by the Licchavika-led Vajjika League who would regularly collect all valuables from Koṭigāma and leave none to the Māgadhīs. Therefore Ajātasattu decided to destroy the Vajjika League in retaliation, but also because, as an ambitious empire-builder whose mother Vāsavī was Licchavika princess of Vaidehī descent, he was interested in the territory of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom which by then was part of the Vajjika League. Ajātasattu's hostility towards the Vajjika League was also the result of the differing forms of political organisation between Magadha and the Vajjika League, with the former being monarchical and the latter being republican, not unlike the opposition of the
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
kingdom of
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
to the democratic form of government in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, and the
hostilities
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
between the
ancient Macedonian king
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
to the Athenian and
Theban republics.
As a prominent member of the Vajjika League, the Videha republic was also threatened by Ajātasattu, and it therefore fought on the side of the other confederate tribes of the league against Magadha. The military forces of the Vajjika League were initially too strong for Ajātasattu to be successful against them, and it required him having recourse to diplomacy and intrigues over the span of a decade to finally defeat the Vajjika League by 468 BCE and annex its territories, including Videha, to the kingdom of Magadha. Mention of the Vaidehas end after the Māgadhī conquest, and
Kauṭilya and
Pāṇini
, era = ;;6th–5th century BCE
, region = Indian philosophy
, main_interests = Grammar, linguistics
, notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit)
, influenced=
, notable_ideas=Descript ...
did not mention them as an independent polity, but instead included them as part of
Vṛji (the country of Mahā-Videha, which by then was known by the name of the Vajjika League).
Social and political organisation
Monarchical institutions
The kings of Videha were titled or , meaning "Lord of Videha."
Republican institutions
The Assembly
Like the Licchavikas, the republican Vaideha
(
aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
oligarchic
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
) had their own ruling Assembly. The Vaidehas, like their Licchavika, Mallaka, Nāyika confederates within the Vajjika League, were a
tribe, and the Vaidehas' Assembly was largely constituted of the heads of the clans of the tribe, although it was smaller than the Licchavika Assembly and the heads of non- clans were allowed to join it:
s were either allowed to become members of the Assembly or, as heads of families, were able to influence it; since Mithilā was a centre of trade, wealthy merchants also either were members of the Assembly or were able to influence it. Of the 84,000 to 100,000 population of Videha, the 6,000 heads of the clans were automatically accorded membership within the Vaideha Assembly (called s, meaning "ruler"), similarly to how membership to the Licchavika Assembly functioned.
Like the Licchavika Assembly, the Vaideha Assembly possessed a
santhāgāra as meeting place, although it normally met only once a year.
The (Consul)
The ("Head of the Republic") was a consul chosen by the citizen body, and who maintained the old title of or ("Lord of Videha"). The position of was accessible only to a who had the support of his clan and of influential people, and criteria for his election included personal leadership, strength, eloquence, and popularity.
Like the Licchavika , the of Videha shared his power with a body of four public officers, consisting of the himself, as well as a ("Viceroy"), a ("General-in-Chief"), and a ("Treasurer").
The Council
Since the Vaideha Assembly met only once a year, it was the Council, that is the inner body of the Assembly, which met more frequently to administer the Videha republic. The Vaideha Council was the body with the supreme authority of the internal administration of the republic, although in practice it held the supreme power of the republic under the administration of the Licchavikas.
This Council was similar to that of the Licchavikas, being composed of members elected from within the Assembly, but was smaller and might have been composed of four s, consisting of the and three councillor s, who were in charge of the public administration of the republic and recommended measures of importance to the Assembly. The Council also received envoys of other states and took important decisions in the name of the Assembly, which had to approve them.
Courtesanry
An unusual custom of the Vaidehas was that every one of their villages and towns had a dancing girl of courtesan, and Videha had a troop composed of panegyrists, music instrument players, and those dancing girls who were considered to be the most beautiful.
At the state level, a beauty competition was held to choose who was the most beautiful woman of the whole state. This woman, who possessed talents and traits such as significant beauty, charm, and was accomplished in dance and music, was not allowed to lead a normal married life, and she was instead chosen to be the
("courtesan of the republic"), and spent her life as a public woman with political influence. One such courtesan of Videha was Piṅgalā, who was mentioned in the , which is a later text.
Legacy
Beginning with the
Gupta
Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
period, the names Mithilā and Tirabhukti replaced that of Videha as the appellation of the
whole former territory of the Mahā-Videha kingdom.
Videha and Mithilā appear in the later
Itihasa texts such as the
Rāmāyaṇa
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
and the
Mahābhārata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, with the heroine of the being the Vaidehī princess
Sītā. The narrative of these epics is based on the monarchical period of Videha.
Rulers
There were 52 ''Janaka'' (kings) ruled Videha dynasty of Mithila-
# Mithi - (founder of Mithila and the first Janaka)
[''Encyclopaedia of Hinduism''. Nagendra Kumar Singh, p. 3239.]
# Udavasu
# Nandivardhana
# Suketu
# Devarata
# Brihadvrata
# Mahavira
# Sudhriti
# Dristaketu
# Haryasva
# Maru
# Pratindhaka
# Kritiratha
# Devamidha
# Vibhuta
# Mahidhrata
# Kirtirata
# Mahorama
# Swarnorama
# Hrisvaroma
# Seeradhwaja
# Bhaanumaan
# Shatadyumn
# Shuchi
# Oorjnaamaa
# Kriti
# Anjan
# Kurujit
# Arishtnemi
# Shrutaayu
# Supaarshwa
# Srinjaya
# Kshemaavee
# Anenaa
# Bhaumarath
# Satyarath
# Upagu
# Upagupt
# Swaagat
# Swaanand
# Suvarchaa
# Supaarshwa
# Subhaash
# Sushrut
# Jaya
# Vijaya
# Rit
# Sunaya
# Veetahavya
# Dhriti
# Bahulaashwa
# Kriti - (last King of Videha or Janaka dynasty, Kirti Janak was atrocious ruler who lost control over his subjects. He was dethroned by public under leadership of
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...
s (Learned Men).
During this period of fall of Videha dynasty, the famous republic of
Licchavi was rising in
Vaishali and Mithila region came under control of Licchavi clan of
Vajji confederacy in around eight century BCE.
[Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972), ''Political History of Ancient India'', University of Calcutta, Calcutta, pp. 106–113, 186–90]
See also
*
Maithils
Maithils (Tirhuta: মৈথিল, Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the M ...
*
Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betw ...
*
Mithila, India
Mithila is a proposed state in India, comprising the Maithili speaking region of Bihar and Jharkhand. The Maithili language has own traditional script, known as Mithilakshar. It is part of the historical Mithila region.
The proposed state w ...
*
Mithila (region)
Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...
*
History of India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
*
History of Hinduism
The history of Hinduism covers a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. It overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in the Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its tradition ...
*
History of Mithila Region
Mithila (, also known as Mithilanchal, Tirhut and Tirabhukti) is a geographical and cultural region located in the Indian subcontinent. It comprises certain parts of Bihar of India and adjoining districts of the eastern Terai of Nepal. The native ...
*
Ancient Mithila University
Ancient Mithila University was an Indian historical university famous for Nyaya Shastra and logical sciences.
Background
Gurukuls of the Vedic period in India can be called the ancient form of university because they had a system of higher ...
*
Janapada and
Mahajanapada
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urba ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
*
*
External links
{{Nepal topics
Gaṇa saṅghas
Mithila
Kingdoms in the Ramayana
Historical Indian regions
History of Bihar
Populated places in Mithila, India
1st millennium BC in India
9th-century BC establishments
5th-century BC disestablishments in India
Dynasties of Nepal
1st millennium BC in Nepal