When the sages churned the body of Nimi, a child had manifested who was named Janaka. Since, he was not born from a motherly body, hence he was also called 'Videha'.
All the descendants of his dynasty were also known as Videha and Janaka. By the grace of the sage Yagyavalkya, all of them achieved enlightenment. In this very dynasty, Sita was born to 'Seeradhwaja' Janaka.
Marriage of Rama and Sita
Seeradhwaja Janaka was a great scholar and an enlightened person. During the time of Sita's Swayamvara, a custom in ancient
Vishwamitra had brought Shri Rama and Lakshmana to his hermitage with the permission of their father, king Dashrath. The demons did not allow him and other sages to perform religious rites peacefully, so he thought that Shri Rama would protect him and all the other sages from the demons' atrocities. Vishwamitra too had received invitation from King Janaka to be present during the Swayamvara ceremony of Sita. So, he took both Rama and Lakshmana along with him and proceeded towards Mithila. On the way, Shri Rama liberated Ahilya, who had been turned into a stone because of a curse.
When all of them reached Janakpuri enjoying the magnificent natural beauty throughout their way, they took their bath in the holy
When Janaka came to known about Vishwamitra's arrival, he immediately rushed towards the garden to see him, along with his whole family and brought him and Shri Rama and Lakshmana to his palace with great respect. After Vishwamitra took his seat and Shri Rama and Lakshmana sat near his feet, Janaka curious to know about the identities of Shri Rama and Lakshmana asked:
"O lord of the sages, please do not hide anything from me, tell me who are these two children? The supreme Lord in whose thoughts my mind is completely engrossed, does the same Lord manifest in these two children? My mind which has renounced everything and is not the least disturbed by desires is behaving strangely today. The effects which the red-legged partridge has on its heart after seeing the Moon, I am experiencing the same after seeing these two children".
Janaka whose mind and heart was engrossed in thoughts of God, was impressed by the sight of Rama and Lakshmana. The thought of the unseen Almighty vanished from his mind and was replaced by the thoughts of Shri Rama. It was but natural because who would like to run after the unseen, if he is fortunate enough to see the 'real'.
Janaka's affection for Shri Rama was boundless. This is evident in the following incident: After marrying Sita, Shri Rama was on his, way back to Ayodhya along with the marriage procession. Janaka too came along with them to see them off. Dashrath requested him to return back to his palace. But, not willing to let Rama go out of his sight, Janaka refused many times. After repeated insistence of Dashrath, he got down from the chariot with tears in his eyes. He came towards Shri Rama and said:
"O Rama, I do not have words for your praise, you are the 'Swan' swimming in the Mansarovar, compared with the minds of the sages and Lord Mahadeva for the acquirement of whom, the Yogis (recluse) abandon anger, attachment and arrogance and practice yoga".
When Janaka came to know about Rama's exile for the period of fourteen years, he sent his spies to Ayodhya to get information regarding Bharat's intentions. But he was satisfied when he learnt about Bharat's deep love for Shri Rama. Later on, when he went to Chitrakoot to see Rama, he also found Bharat there. So he could neither say anything to Shri Rama nor he could ask anything from Bharat for he feared that it might hurt the feelings of both. Janaka had mystical love for Shri Rama which cannot be described in words. He was the supreme follower of Karma Yoga and one of the twelve 'Bhagwatacharyas'.
JANAKA, The Attainment of God
Once upon a time, king Janaka sent a message to the people in his kingdom:
"If there be amongst you a great scholar, a Pundit, a Mahatma, a Yogi, a Maharishi, a Sage, whoever he may be, let him come and teach me the knowledge of Atma." In his message he said that he expected to attain Atma Jnana, Self-knowledge, within a matter of a few moments of being properly instructed. Even while climbing onto his horse, before he was completely settled on to it, he should have attained Atma Jnana. He said: "If the person offering to teach me Atma Jnana is not able to accomplish this task of providing me an experience of instant illumination, then I don't want to see him, even if he is the greatest scholar, or the most learned person, or the highly educated person in the land."
Well, all the Pundits and Rishis were a little frightened by this requirement. They saw that this would be a severe test on their scholarship and learning, and so none dared to come forth and offer himself to instruct the king and meet the conditions that had been posed.
It was at this point that the boy Astavakra entered the kingdom. While he was going on the road towards the capital city of
He added: "I will gladly solve this problem for the king."
So saying he directly entered the court of Janaka. He addressed the king: "My dear King, I am ready to enable you to experience the knowledge of Atma as you desire.
But this sacred knowledge cannot be taught so easily. This palace is full of Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna. We must leave this place and enter an area of pure Satva." So, they left the palace and went along the road leading out of the city towards the forest. As was the custom whenever the emperor went outside his palace walls, the army followed behind; but Janaka had them remain outside the forest.
Astavakra and Janaka entered the forest. Astavakra told King Janaka: "I am not going to fulfil your wish unless you accept my conditions. I may be only a boy, but I am in the position of a preceptor; and you may be an all-powerful emperor, you are in the position of a disciple. Are you prepared to accept this relationship? If you agree then you will have to offer the traditional gift to the Guru, the Gurudakshina that is given by the Sishya to the Guru. Only after you give your offering to me will I start my instruction to you."
King Janaka told Astavakra: "The attainment of God is the most important thing to me, so I am prepared to give you absolutely anything you want." But Astavakra replied: "I don't want any material things from you, all I want is your mind. You must give me your mind." The king answered: "Alright, I offer my mind to you. Up to now I thought that this was my mind, but from now onwards it will be yours."
Astavakra told Janaka to dismount from his horse and made the horse stand in front of the king and then he told the king to sit down in the middle of the road. Astavakra walked into the forest and sat quietly under a tree. The soldiers waited for a long time. Neither the king nor Astavakra returned from the forest. The soldiers wanted to find out what had happened to them, so one by one, they proceeded to look for them.
When they went along the road leading into the forest, they found the king seated there, in the middle of the road. The horse was standing in front of the king. The king had his eyes closed and sat still almost immobile. Astavakra was not to be seen. The officers were afraid that Astavakra might have exercised some magic spell over the king and had made him lose consciousness. The went to look for the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister came and addressed Janaka: "O King! O King! O King!" But King Janaka did not open his eyes; he did not move at all. The Prime Minister became frightened. Not only the Prime Minister but all the officials were now getting frightened, because the time when the King usually took his food and drink had passed and the king still had not stirred. In this way the day went on and evening came, but the king did not move from his position, sitting there immobile on the road.
Left with no alternative, the Prime Minister sent the chariot back to the city to bring the queen thinking that if the queen spoke to the king, he would surely respond. The queen came and addressed the king: "Rajah, Rajah, Rajah!" The king did not stir; there was absolutely no response from the king. Meanwhile the soldiers searched throughout the whole forest for Astavakra. There, under a tree, Astavakra was seated
peacefully, in absolute calm and serenity.
The soldiers caught hold of him and brought him towards the place where the king was. Astavakra told them: "Why are you all so worried? The king is safe and everything is alright." But still they insisted and brought him before the King seated on the road with his eyes closed, his body completely still. The soldier said:
"Here, look for yourself! See what has happened to the king!".
Until that time, whether the Prime Minister, or the ministers, or the queen or any of the other court officials or common people, had called out and addressed the king, he neither opened his mouth in answer nor opened his eyes in acknowledgment. But now Astavakra came and spoke to the king.
King Janaka immediately opened his eyes and replied, "Swami!"
Astavakra questioned the king: "Well, the ministers have come, and the soldiers have come, and also many others have come, why did you not reply to their entreaties?" Janaka answered:
"Thoughts, words and deeds are associated with the mind, and I offered my mind entirely to you. Therefore before I can use the mind for anything, I need your permission. What authority do I have to speak to anyone or use this mind in any way without your permission and command."
Then Astavakra said: "You have attained the state of God-realization."
Astavakra told Janaka to put one foot in the stirrup and get up on the horse. By the time he had climbed up and seated himself on the horse and put his other foot in the stirrup, he had attained the experience of Atma. Once a person has offered his mind, and with it all his words, deeds and thoughts, then he will not have the authority or the power to perform any actions without the permission of the one to whom he has surrendered his mind.
King Janaka’s Sage
Develop a sense of proportion and a due sense of values. Love the things of the world with the love that is their due and not more. Suka, the purest of the sages and the wisest, was teaching a number of disciples including the wise emperor, Janaka. One day, Suka started his discourse late, for, Janaka had not yet come. The others resented the extra attachment that Suka bestowed on Janaka. They ascribed it to the fact that he was the emperor of the realm; they felt that their Guru was unfortunately moved by those mundane considerations. Suka knew how their imagination was weaving falsehoods and prejudices. So, he decided to cast off this envy from their hearts.
After Janaka came and the discourse lasted for sometime, Suka so managed with his mystic
powers that they could see in the far distance, near the horizon, the city of Mithila, the capital of the
emperor, caught in flames and crumbling in the conflagration.
The disciples were listening to Atma Bodha, the lesson that the Atma alone is real and that all else
is appearance, imposed on the Atma, by the fog of illusion and ignorance. Every other disciple ran off, leaving the class and the preceptor, each on his own self, afraid that the oncoming fire will burn his clothes or books. But Janaka, whose capital city was being reduced to ashes sat unmoved for he knew that what was being consumed by fire was only appearance and not reality. Suka himself asked Janaka to go and assess the damage and try to save what can be saved from the fire.
But Janaka replied that his treasure was the Jnana (wisdom) he was getting from his master and that he was unconcerned about the objective world, approachable by external instruments of knowledge.
At this Suka revealed that the fire was a make-believe, created by him to show others the depth of real scholarship earned by Janaka in contrast to their superficial learning.
King Janaka seeker after the Supreme Truth
Once emperor Janaka approached the sage Yajnavalkya and asked him, "O Sage! please let me know the facts about my previous life". The sage replied, "What is past is past. There is no use in recalling it. You have completed a journey along a road. Do not bother about the road that has been traversed. It does not help in your journey to your glory." Although the sage used many arguments to dissuade Janaka from persisting in his request, Janaka was insistent on knowing about his previous birth.
Yajnavalkya then resorted to his Divine insight and told the Emperor." Janaka, your wife in the present birth was your mother in your previous life". On hearing this, Janaka was shocked. He reflected, "What a wicked person have I been to treat my former mother as my wife! I must give up such a wicked life". From that moment be began to treat his queen as his mother, and giving up all attachments to worldly things, began to pursue spiritual wisdom.
One night, Janaka Maharaja had a dream in which he dreamt that he had lost his kingdom and became a beggar. He was going round the streets of the city begging for alms. The pangs of hunger made him cry. Some kind-hearted persons gave him some food, but to his great misfortune, even that morsel slipped down from his hand. Just then the horror-stricken king woke up from his dream. He found himself in his royal palace.
The king asked himself, "Which is real - the dream world or the conscious world? " The queen who was observing him was also perplexed. They decided to consult the great sage Vasishta. The sage told, "O king, both are real in one sense but there is also another point of view. You became a beggar in the dream world and you are the king in the conscious world. ‘You’ exist in both the worlds. While they are both unreal, ‘You’ alone are real. You are the absolute reality of the dreaming state as well as the conscious state". King Janaka was a seeker after the Supreme Truth (Brahmajnana).
He sought knowledge for the sake of Self-Realisation and not for the sake of creature comforts. He held an assembly of sages where he achieved fame. At that assembly, Gargi carried on a debate with the sage Yaajnavalkya. The debate was based on the scriptures. It was inconclusive. Then Gargi put a question to King Janaka, "What is the mark of a Sthitha prajna?". The king replied, "He is the one, who realises the Oneness of the Absolute". Gargi said, "If you have realised this state of Awareness, you will be conscious of Oneness alone. You are not in that state now. I wish to realise this Awareness."
Gargi said, "Oh King! I have one desire. Will you fulfil it?" "Certainly," replied Janaka. She asked him to marry her. The king said, "I have only one wife, Sunetra. I don’t wish to have any other wife." Gargi said, "You are a great Jnani. You have good eyes and your queen is a good-eyed lady. May I ask what reward you are giving to the great Yaajnavalkya?" The King said, "I shall give him whatever he asks for."
Yaajnavalkya was no doubt a great scholar but he did not have total sense-control.
Yaajnavalkya asked the king, "Give this Gargi to me in marriage. Celebrate our wedding." There was a great uproar in the hall.
The great scholars present there asked, "What is the meaning of Yaajanavalkya’s request? " Gargi then asked Yaajnavalkya, "What is the purpose of a marriage?"
Yaajnavalkya replied, "To have progeny" Gargi said, "No the wife is one-half of the husband Ardhaangi.
This means that she should pursue Dharma together with the husband as a Dharmapatni (a Righteous wife). Marriage is for the sake of pursuing Dharma. It is not for enjoying worldly pleasures. Our emperor enjoys carnal pleasures in his palace. The same is experienced by street dogs. Is that happiness? "
Ashtavakra Gita
The Advaita classic, a dialogue between King Janaka and the sage Ashtavakra.
Janaka:
How is knowledge to be acquired? How is liberation to be attained? And how is dispassion to be
reached? Tell me this, sir.
Ashtavakra:
If you are seeking liberation, my son, shun the objects of the senses like poison.
Practise tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness like nectar.
You are neither earth, water, fire, air or even ether.
For liberation know yourself as consisting of consciousness, the witness of these.
If only you will remain resting in consciousness, seeing yourself as distinct from the body, then even now you will become happy, peaceful and free from bonds.
You do not belong to the brahmin or any other caste, you are not at any stage, nor are you anything that the eye can see. You are unattached and formless, the witness of everything - so be happy.
Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain are purely of the mind and are no concern of yours. You are neither the doer nor the reaper of the consequences, so you are always free.
You are the one witness of everything, and are always totally free. The cause of your bondage is that you see the witness as something other than this.
Since you have been bitten by the black snake of the self-opinion that 'I am the doer', drink the nectar of faith in the fact that 'I am not the doer', and be happy.
Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the understanding that 'I am the one pure awareness', and be happy and free from distress.
That in which all this appears - imagined like the snake in a rope, that joy, supreme joy and awareness is what you are, so be happy. If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound.
Here this saying is true, "Thinking makes it so."
Your real nature is as the one perfect, free, and actionless consciousness, the all-pervading witness - unattached to anything, desireless and at peace. It is from illusion that you seem to be involved in samsara.
Dialogue between King Janaka and Sage Yajnavalkya
'Yajnavalkya, what serves as the light for a man?' asks Janaka.
'The light of sun, O Emperor' the sage said.
'When the sun sets, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man?'
'The moon serves as the light'
'When the sun and the moon have both set, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man?'
'The fire serves as his light'
'When the sun and the moon have both set, and the fire has gone out, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man?'
'Speech (sound) serves as his light'
'When the sun and the moon have both set, the fire has gone out, and speech has stopped, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light a man?'
'The self serves as his light'. This is where the real inquiry into self starts.
The path of devotion: On this path one starts with the faith in possessor of the universal power (God) and thus starts with dual idea of self and the God being separate and long to be united with Him. The inquiry of where is He and how can I see Him, leads to the God within which is his own self.
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