Ashtavakra is a revered Vedic sage in Hinduism. His maternal grandfather was the Vedic sage Aruni, his parents were both Vedic students at Aruni's school. Ashtavakra studied, became a sage and a celebrated character of the Hindu Itihasa epics and Puranas.

Janaka was an ancient Hindu king of Videha which was located in Mithila region, approximately in the 8th or 7th century BC. The rulers of the Videha kingdom were called Janakas. He also appears in the epic Ramayana as a father of Sita. His original name was Siradhvaja and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hrasvaroman, a descendant of the king Nimi.