Gosahasra
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Gosahasra or go-sahasra-dana (literally "the gift of a thousand cows") is a ritual donation described in the ancient texts of India. It is one of the sixteen great gifts (shodasha-mahadana), and is frequently mentioned in the ancient inscriptions.
The Atharvaveda-parishishta, composed in the 1st millennium BCE, mentions gosahasra, along with hiranyagarbha and tulapurusha donations.[1] These three donations are included among the sixteen great gifts in the later text Matsya Purana; the relevant section of the text appears to have been composed during 550-650 CE.[2] The Matsya Purana states that several ancient kings performed the great gifts,[1] and these three donations are most prominent among the great gifts recorded in historical inscriptions.[3]
The Linga Purana also mentions the sixteen great gifts; according to R. C. Hazara, the relevant portion of the text was composed during c. 600-1000 CE, most probably after 800 CE. The great gifts are further detailed in the later digests devoted to the topic of charity (dāna), such as Ballala's Dana-sagara, and the Danakhanda section of Hemadri's Chaturvarga-chintamani (13th century).[1]
Historical performers
- The inscriptions of the Shalankayana and Vishnukundin kings (c. 4th-6th centuries) mention gosahasra and hiranyagarbha performances.[4]
- Attivarman (c. 4th century) of Ananda dynasty of Guntur region performed gosahsra and hiranyagarbha.[5] Damodaravarman of this dynasty also made these two donations.[6]
- The Tugu inscription of Purnavarman (c. 5th century), a ruler of Tarumanagara in present-day Indonesia, records a gift of a thousand cows to brahmanas.[7]
- The Siripuram inscription of the Vasishtha king Anantavarman (c. 5th century) records gosahasra and other donations by his grandfather Gunavarman.[8]
- Jayantavarman alias Cendan (c. 7th century) of Pandya dynasty, according to one of his inscriptions, "castigated the Kali age" by performing gosahsra along with hiranyagarbha and tulapursuha.[9]
- An inscription of the Pandya king Varaguna I (r. c. 768-811) states that his father and grandfather performed hiranyagarbha, tulabhara and gosahasra many times.[10]
- The Pandya king Nedumaran, according to his Madurai inscription, performed many great gifts including those of gosahasra, tulabhara (tulapurusha), and hiranyagarbha.[11]
- Chandradeva (c. 1099 CE) of Gahadavala dynasty performed gosahasra and tulapurusha donations in front of an idol of Adikeshava, and then granted some villages, according to his Chandravati inscription[12]
- Anavema Reddi (14th century) of Reddi dynasty made the gosahasra donation.[13]
- Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509-1529) of the Vijayanagara Empire performed the sixteen great gifts according to the 1510 Rameswaram inscription and the 1513 Srikalahasti inscription.[14] His 1521 Chikalparvi inscription records the performance of gosahasra along with that of other great gifts of ratnadhenu, hiranashva, and tulapurusha.[15]
- Venkata I (r. c. 1542) and Tirumala Deva Raya (r. c. 1565-1572) of Vijayanagara also performed all the great gifts including the gosahasra.[14]
- Dodda Kempadevaraja (r. c. 1659-1673) of Mysore of performed the sixteen great gifts, including gosahsra.[16]
References
- 1 2 3 Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 146.
- ↑ Annette Schmiedchen 2006, pp. 145–146.
- ↑ Marko Geslani 2018, p. 206.
- ↑ Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 152.
- ↑ Marko Geslani 2018, p. 192.
- ↑ Suvira Jaiswal 1981, p. 145.
- ↑ J. Noorduyn & H. Verstappen 1972, p. 298.
- ↑ Upinder Singh 1994, p. 85.
- ↑ Florinda De Simini 2016, p. 32.
- ↑ Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 173.
- ↑ R. Nagaswamy 1981, p. 78.
- ↑ V. B. Mishra 1973, p. 70.
- ↑ Kambhampati Satyanarayana 1983, p. 135.
- 1 2 M. Krishna Kumari 1998, p. 30.
- ↑ New Indian Express 2017.
- ↑ Krishnaji Chitnis 2003, p. 80.
Bibliography
- Annette Schmiedchen (2006). "The Ceremony of Tulāpuruṣa: The Purāṇic Concept and the Epigraphical Evidence". In Adalbert J. Gail; Gerd J. R. Mevissen; Richard Salomon (eds.). Script and Image: Papers on Art and Epigraphy. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-2944-2.
- Florinda De Simini (2016). Of Gods and Books: Ritual and Knowledge Transmission in the Manuscript Cultures of Premodern India. De Gruyter. p. 32. ISBN 978-3-11-047881-5.
- J. Noorduyn; H. Verstappen (1972). "Purnavarmans river-works near Tugu". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 128 (2/3): 298–307. doi:10.1163/22134379-90002752 (inactive 12 July 2025). JSTOR 27861261.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link) - Kambhampati Satyanarayana (1983). A study of the history and culture of the Andhras. People's Publishing House.
- Krishnaji Chitnis (2003). Medieval Indian History. Atlantic. ISBN 978-81-7156-062-2.
- M. Krishna Kumari (1998). Facets of Andhra culture. Gyan Sagar. ISBN 978-81-86987-04-9.
- Marko Geslani (2018). Rites of the God-King: Santi and Ritual Change in Early Hinduism. Oxford University Press. pp. 192–. ISBN 978-0-19-086290-9.
- "Stone inscriptions of Vijayanagara empire era discovered in Raichur". The New Indian Express. 21 November 2017.
- R. Nagaswamy (1981). Tamil Coins: A Study. Institute of Epigraphy, Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology.
- Suvira Jaiswal (1981). The Origin and Development of Vaiṣṇavism: Vaiṣṇavism from 200 BC to AD 500. Munshiram Manoharlal.
- Upinder Singh (1994). Kings, Brāhmaṇas, and temples in Orissa: an epigraphic study AD 300-1147. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 978-81-215-0621-2.
- V. B. Mishra (1973). Religious Beliefs and Practices of North India During the Early Mediaeval Period. Vol. 1. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-03610-5.