01A king who lived like a sage
The Janaka of the Ramayana is Seeradhvaja, king of Videha at Mithila, of the line of Nimi; his younger brother Kushadhvaja ruled Sankashya. The kings of this house all bore the title Janaka, and they were rajarshis, rulers who knew Brahman. The Upanishads place a Janaka of Videha at the centre of the debates with Yajnavalkya, and in the Bhagavad Gita Shri Krishna names Janaka as one who reached perfection through action alone. Seeradhvaja kept a great yajna going when Vishvamitra arrived with two princes.
02The bow and the furrow
Janaka told the princes how Shiva’s bow came to his house. Shiva had raised it at Daksha’s yajna and then given it to the devas, who placed it in trust with Devarata, sixth in descent from Nimi. Later, ploughing the ground for a yajna, Janaka found a girl in the furrow and raised her as his own. He declared she would marry only the man who could string the bow. Kings came, could not lift it, and in their anger besieged Mithila for a year, until Janaka won an army from the devas through tapas and drove them off.
03Four daughters for four sons
When Rama broke the bow Janaka sent fast riders to Ayodhya. Dasharatha came with his sons and Vasishtha, and each king recited his line. Janaka gave Sita to Rama and his own daughter Urmila to Lakshmana; Kushadhvaja’s daughters Mandavi and Shrutakirti were given to Bharata and Shatrughna, all four weddings on one day under Uttara Phalguni. Valmiki does not bring Janaka to Chitrakoot; his visit there is in the Ramcharitmanas.
Janakpur, in the Tarai of Nepal, is held to be his Mithila, and the Janaki Mandir there draws pilgrims for Vivah Panchami in Margashirsha.
Famous verses
इयं सीता मम सुता सहधर्मचरी तव। प्रतीच्छ चैनां भद्रं ते पाणिं गृह्णीष्व पाणिना॥
Janaka at the wedding: this is Sita, my daughter, your companion in dharma. Accept her, and may good be with you; take her hand in yours.Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda 73.26–27