The name Mithila' goes back to
Puranic times. It occurs in the Mahabharata and
in Pali literature cording to the Puranic tradition
the name has been derived from that of Mithi
(son of Nimi) King of Aodhya and grandson of
Manu who founded a kingdom which was called
Mithila after him. It is associated with Valmiki,
Ashtavakra, Yajnavalkya, Udayana, Mahavira,
Kanada, Jaimini and Kapila as well as the
women philosophers, such as, Gargi, Maitreyi,
Bharati and Katyayani. After the era of the
Ramayana it is said that the three seats of culture
in Vedic perio Kosala, Kasi and Videha - merged
to form the Vajíans confederacy and the centre
of political gravity shift from Mithila to
Vaishali.