Videgha Mathava (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: विदेघ माथव, ''videgha māthava''; Maithili: विदेह माधव, ''videha mādhav'') was the founder and first king of the

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy ...

kingdom in the ancient

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. Videha is the ancient name of

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

. Videgha Mathava previously lived on the banks of the holy

Sarasvati river The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...

with his philosophical teacher Gotama Râhûgana. According to

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana (, , abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Yajurveda, Śukla Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the ...

, Mathava came to Mithila with his teacher and established the kingdom of Videha.

Etymology

Videgha Mathava is made of two

words ''Videgha'' and ''Mathava''. According to the commentary of Sayana, ''Mathava'' was the name of a son from the King ''Mathu'' from ''Videgha''. Similarly

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

was a son from the Rishi ''Rahugana''. It is believed that the name of the kingdom came to be known as ''

'' after the tribal name ''Videgha'' of ''Mathava''.

Story of Videgha Mathava

The story of Videgha Mathava is narrated in

Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' (, , from यजुस्, "worship", and वेद, "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Edito ...

. According to

, Videgha Mathava migrated from the

valley possibly area between (Multan and Sindh) to the middle

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

valley. He travelled towards east with

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

( fire ) but stopped at the river Sadanira (Gandak). Then Videgha Mathava asked to Lord Agni that where he abided now. Lord Agni then said that your abode was at the east of the river Sadanira. It is said that Lord Agni ordered Videgha Mathava to establish the new kingdom of "

" Lord

burned away the vegetation on the other side of the river Sadanira, so that the tribe could settle there. In later times, the Sadanira formed the boundary between the kingdoms of

and Koshala . He had taken his tribe to the plains of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

which had dense vegetation in the east. This is the Theory of Aryanisation of

Videha Kingdom Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy ...

in the eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

References

{{Improve categories, date=March 2023 Mithila Kings of Videha