Gosahasra or go-sahasra-dana (literally "the gift of a thousand cows") is a ritual donation described in the ancient texts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is one of the

sixteen great gifts The sixteen great gifts (Sanskrit: Shodasha-Maha-dana; IAST: Ṣoḍaśa-Mahā-dāna) refers to a category of ritual donations mentioned in the Puranas, Puranic texts of ancient India. The most prominent of these donations include the tulapurusha ...

(''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 Hiraṇyagarbha (Sanskrit: हिरण्यगर्भः ; literally the 'golden womb', poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in on ...

and tulapurusha donations. These three donations are included among the

in the later text ''

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

''; the relevant section of the text appears to have been composed during 550-650 CE. The Matsya Purana states that several ancient kings performed the great gifts, and these three donations are most prominent among the great gifts recorded in historical inscriptions. The ''

Linga Purana The ''Linga Purana'' (लिङ्गपुराण, IAST: ) is one of the eighteen '' Mahapuranas'', and a ''Shaivism'' text of Hinduism. The text's title ''Linga'' refers to the iconographical symbol for Shiva. The author(s) and date of the ...

'' 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 Dāna (Devanagari: दान, IAST: Dānam) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity or giving of alms in Indian philosophies. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, dāna is the practice of cultivati ...

), such as Ballala's ''Dana-sagara'', and the ''Danakhanda'' section of

Hemadri Hemādri Paṇḍit, popularly known as Hemāḍapanta, was a polymath and a prime minister from 1259 to 1274 C.E. in the regimes of King Mahādev (1259–1271) and King Ramachandra (1271–1309) of Seuna Yādav Dynasty of Devagiri, which ruled i ...

's ''Chaturvarga-chintamani'' (13th century).

Historical performers

* The inscriptions of the

Shalankayana The Salankayana ( IAST: Śālaṇkāyana) dynasty of ancient India ruled a part of Andhra region in India from 300 to 440 CE. Their territory was located between the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. Their capital was located at Vengi, modern Pedav ...

and

Vishnukundin The Vishnukundina dynasty ( IAST: Viṣṇukundina) was an Indian dynasty based in Deccan, which ruled modern Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and parts of South India during the 5th and 6th centuries, carving land out from the Vakataka Empire ...

kings (c. 4th-6th centuries) mention gosahasra and hiranyagarbha performances. * Attivarman (c. 4th century) of

Ananda dynasty Ananda Gotrikas, also referred to as Anandas ruled coastal Andhra with Kandarapura as the capital from 335-425 AD. Their capital is located in present day Chejerla mandal of Guntur District. The Ananda Gotrikas ruled after the fall of the Andhra ...

of Guntur region performed gosahsra and hiranyagarbha. Damodaravarman of this dynasty also made these two donations. * The

Tugu inscription The Tugu inscription is one of the early 5th century Tarumanagara inscriptions discovered in Batutumbuh hamlet, Tugu village, Koja, North Jakarta, in Indonesia. The inscription contains information about hydraulic projects; the irrigation and ...

of Purnavarman (c. 5th century), a ruler of

Tarumanagara Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from arou ...

in present-day Indonesia, records a gift of a thousand cows to brahmanas. * The Siripuram inscription of the

Vasishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha a ...

king Anantavarman (c. 5th century) records gosahasra and other donations by his grandfather Gunavarman. *

Jayantavarman Jayantavarman (''r. c''. 654–670 CE), known in Tamil as Seliyan Sendan, was a Pandya ruler of early historic south India. He is best known for extending the Pandya rule to the Chera country (Kerala). He was succeeded by his son Maravarman Ar ...

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. * 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. * The Pandya king Nedumaran, according to his

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

inscription, performed many great gifts including those of gosahasra, tulabhara (tulapurusha), and hiranyagarbha. *

Chandradeva Chandradeva ( IAST: Candradeva, r. c. 1089–1103 CE), also known as Chandraditya, was an Indian king from the Gahadavala dynasty. He ruled the Antarvedi country in present-day Uttar Pradesh, including Kanyakubja and Varanasi. Although the ...

(c. 1099 CE) of

Gahadavala dynasty The Gahadavala dynasty (IAST: Gāhaḍavālas), also Gahadavalas of Kanauj, was a Rajput dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, during 11th and 12th centuries. Their capital was located at Varanas ...

performed gosahasra and tulapurusha donations in front of an idol of Adikeshava, and then granted some villages, according to his Chandravati inscription * Anavema Reddi (14th century) of Reddi dynasty made the gosahasra donation. * Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509-1529) of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

performed the sixteen great gifts according to the 1510

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kil ...

inscription and the 1513 Srikalahasti inscription. His 1521 Chikalparvi inscription records the performance of gosahasra along with that of other great gifts of ratnadhenu, hiranashva, and tulapurusha. *

Venkata I Venkata I (Venkata Raya or Venkatadri Raya) (1542 CE) was a ruler of a Vijayanagara Empire of South India. He was son of Achyuta Deva Raya, whom he succeeded in 1542. Life Achyuta Deva Raya was succeeded by his son Venkata I and his maternal un ...

(r. c. 1542) and

Tirumala Deva Raya Tirumala Deva Raya (reign 1565–1572 CE) was the first Crowned King of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Aravidu Dynasty. He was the younger brother of Aliya Rama Raya and son-in-law of Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 � ...

(r. c. 1565-1572) of Vijayanagara also performed all the great gifts including the gosahasra. *

Dodda Kempadevaraja Devaraja Wodeyar I (25 May 1627 – 1673) was the thirteenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1659 until 1673. Early years Devaraja Wodeyar I was born on 25 May 1627, the fourth son of Prince Devarajendra Wodeyar, by his second wife, ...

(r. c. 1659-1673) of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

of performed the sixteen great gifts, including gosahsra.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{ref end Rituals in Hindu worship Donation Hinduism and cattle