The Court of King Janaka (Maithili: à ¤Âà ¤¨à ¤ à ¤¦à ¤°à ¤¬à ¤¾à ¤°) refers to the scholarly assembly at the royal court of the Vedic king Janaka in the ancient Kingdom of Videha also known as Mithila in the Indian subcontinent. Apart from being a royal court, it was a major centre for the scholarly assembly in the Indian subcontinent, where scholars and Brahmins from the different parts of the subcontinent gathered to take part in the scholarly conferences held at the court. The court of King Janaka in the ancient Indian subcontinent has been mentioned in the major Vedic texts Ramayana, Puranas, Mahabharata, Brahmana and Upanishads, etc. It is an important location described in the legendary stories of the epic Ramayana. Lord Rama and Goddess Sita in Hinduism were married at the court of King Janaka in Mithila.
In the epic Ramayana, the court of King Janaka is famous for conducting Sita Swayamvara competition for the marriage of the princess Sita of Mithila. In the competition, the kings or princes of all the kingdoms in the ancient Indian subcontinent (ÃÂryÃÂvarta), participated. The competition for the legendary Sita Swayamvara is a major event in the Ramayana. There was a condition in the competition. The condition for winning in the competition of was to lift the legendary bow Pinaka of Lord Shiva kept at the court of King Janaka. According to Upanishads, the court of King Janaka was the centre of attraction for Vedic scholars all over the subcontinent. It is associated with the philosophical text Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The eminent Vedic scholar Yajnavalkya became famous from the scholarly Bahudakshina Yajna held at the assembly of the court. He later codified the Hindu law in his text Yagyavalkya Smriti.
In Mahabharata, the Vedic sage Vedas Vyasa sent his own son Shuka to the court of King Janaka for learning spritual knowledge from the philosopher King Janaka. In the texts Puranas and Mahabharata, there is description about an examination taken by the King Janaka to test the knowledge and understanding of the young scholar Shuka.
According to the records of the Hindu texts, King Janaka used to appoint his ministers and advisors from the victorious scholars participating in shastrarthas (scholarly debates) organised by the King Janaka at his court.