Gosahasra

Ritual donation described in the ancient texts of India

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.

Scriptural authority

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. Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 146.
2. Annette Schmiedchen 2006, pp. 145–146.
3. Marko Geslani 2018, p. 206.
4. Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 152.
5. Marko Geslani 2018, p. 192.
6. Suvira Jaiswal 1981, p. 145.
7. J. Noorduyn & H. Verstappen 1972, p. 298.
8. Upinder Singh 1994, p. 85.
9. Florinda De Simini 2016, p. 32.
10. Annette Schmiedchen 2006, p. 173.
11. R. Nagaswamy 1981, p. 78.
12. V. B. Mishra 1973, p. 70.
13. Kambhampati Satyanarayana 1983, p. 135.
14. M. Krishna Kumari 1998, p. 30.
15. New Indian Express 2017.
16. 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. JSTOR 27861261.
• 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.</ref>
• "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.