________________ 435 History and Archaeology of Vaisali to the east of the Gandak, where they cleared the marshes, cultivated the virgin soil, and founded a great and powerful kingdom. This kingdom was in course of time ruled over by king Japaka, round whose name a balo of legend clipgs. Under his rule, according to Hindu mythotogy, the kingdom of Mithila was the most civilized kingdom in India. His court was a centre of learning and attracted all the most learned men of the time; Vedic literature was enriched by the studies of the scholars who flocked there; his chief priest, Yajnavalka, inaugurated the stupendous task of revising the Yajur Vedas; and the speculations of the monarch himself, enshrined in the sacred works called the Upanishads, are still cherished with veneration by the Hindu community. The centre of this enlightened kingdom was apparently in Tirhut; the capital was Mithila, which is probably identifiable with Janakpur, a short distance to the north-east of the frontier of Muzaffarpur, the name still preserving the memory of this famous scholar-king; while Sitamarhi is sacred to Hindu votaries as the site of the miraculous birth of his daughter Sita. Early Historic Period The earliest event, however, which can claim historic reality is the rise of the Vrijjian oligarchical republic, which apparently replaced the old monarchical rule of Videha, while the centre of power shifted from Mithila to Vaisali, the modern Basarh in this district. The Vrijjians included eight confederate claps, of whom the Lichchhavis were the most important, The growing (13] power of the latter, brought them into collision with the powerful kingdom of Magadha, the limits of which roughly corresponded at this time with the modern districts of Patna and Gaya. Bimbisara (cir. 519 B. C.), the founder of the Magadban imperial power, had strengthened his position by matrimonial alliances with the more powerful of the neighbouring States, taking one copsort from the royal family of Kosala, a kingdom to the west of Tirbut, and another from the influential Lichchhavi clan at Vaisali. His murder by his son, Ajatasatru, involved the parricide in war with the aged king of Kosala, whose sister, the queen of the murdered Bimbisara, is said to have died of grief. This war ending with the complete victory of Ajatasatru, bis ambition next induced bim to undertake the conquest of the country now known as Tishut, in which the Lichchbavi clan occupied a prominent position (cir. 490. B. C.). Tho invasion was successful; the Lichchbavi capital, Vaisali, was occupied; and Ajatasatru became master of Tirhut. It is probable* that the invader * Early History of India, by V. A. Smith. I
