Brahmadeya

Last updated

Brahmadeya (Sanskrit for "given to Brahmana" [1] ) was tax free land gift, either in the form of single plot or whole villages, donated to Brahmanas in the early medieval India. It was initially practiced by the ruling dynasties and was soon followed up by the chiefs, merchants, feudatories, etc. Brahmadeya was devised by the Brahmanical texts as the surest means to achieve merit and destroy sin.

Contents

Overview

Brahmadeya represented the grant of land either in a single plot or whole villages donated to Brahmanas by making them land-owners or land-controllers. [2] [3] [4] [5] It was also given to more than one Brahmana (ekabhoga), to several Brahmana families (ganabhogam) which is estimated to be from few to several hundreds or even more than thousands, particularly in South India. [6] [7] The gifts of land were mostly selected around the irrigation facilities such as tanks or lakes and were supposed to be operable to fulfill the needs of the donees. In the absence of facility, new means of irrigation systems were created near the brahmadeyas. [8] [9] The kings and feudatories were to lose their right over donated lands and could not take it back even in the absence of heirs. In the absence of heir, brahamdeya was transferred to some other eligible person of the same caste. [10] Though mostly lands, other objects such as food, grains, paddy, gold, money, cow, oxen, ploughshare, etc. were also given away as a gift.

Brahmadeyas however helped to bring virgin land under cultivation and to integrate the existing rural settlement into a new economic order, dominated by the Brahmana proprietors. [11] [12] [13] They were exempted from various land taxes and dues either entirely or partially such as in the initial states of settlement. The taxes from the donated villages were assigned to Brahmana donees. [10] Brahamdeyas also helped the ruling families as they did gain the ideological support for their political power. [12] It is said to be a chief characteristic of the Indian feudalism. [8]

The donation of land sometimes represented more than just the transfer of land rights. At many instances, human resources such as peasants, artisans and others along with revenues and economic resources were also transferred to the donees. [14] [15] There are several inscriptional evidences of conflicts between peasants, Brahmanas, and donors arising out of alienation of rights. Among other conflicting issues, right over drawing water was the most sensitive issue. An inscription dated back to 1080 CE belonging to the Hasan Taluk mentions a water dispute between a Brahmana and a farmer's family. Another inscription from the same taluk of 1230 CE. evidences the death of two farmers over land rights issue. [16] Peasants were sometimes forced to agree to the conversion of their land into brahamdeya by denying water to them. In the brahmadeya villages, villagers were landless laborers who were paid a portion of the crop they helped to cultivate. [2]

History

In the Deccan region, specifically present-day Maharashtra, Buddhist establishments are known to have received land grants during Satavahana rule since as early as 1st century CE. [17] The historical evidence of the practice of donating lands to Brahmanas in return for spiritual favour is traced back to 3rd-4th century CE in South India. The earliest royal land grant inscription that mentions the word "brahmadeya" is discovered from the 3rd century CE during the reign of Brihatphalayana King Jayavarman. [18]

Brahmadeya soon developed into a systematic attempt to avail subsistence to Brahmanas and a common practice from the 4th century CE onward . [8] The registration of donated land that included cultivable land, garden, residential plot were recommended by the Smritis and Puranas of the post-Gupta period and were recorded on the copper plates. [6] [8] The tradition of land grants through the history of practice took the shape of a legal form governed by the law book called Dharmaśāstra . The Anushasana Parva , a part of the great epic Mahabharata has a complete chapter dedicated to Bhumi-dana-prasamsa, commending the gifts of land. [19]

The Vakataka rulers made several land grants to Brahmanas in present-day Maharashtra: in the 5th century CE, the Vakataka king Pravarasena II is known to have granted land to as many as 1,000 Brahmanas in a single district, using a single charter. [20] The Vakataka rulers also made several land donations to Brahmanas in central and western Madhya Pradesh. Their contemporaries, including Gupta vassals, donated lands to the Brahmanas in north-eastern Madhya Pradesh during the 4th and the 5th centuries. The Chhattisgarh region was Brahmanized during the 6th and the 7th centuries under the rule of the Nalas, the Sharabhapuriyas, and the Pandavas (of Mekala and Dakshina Kosala). [17]

The eastern Andhra region was brahmanized in the 3rd and 4th centuries during the rule of the Ikshvakus (who also patronized the Buddhists), Salankayanas, and Vishnukundinas; the western region was brahmanized later, in the 5th century. [17] The southern part of Karnataka came under Brahmanical influence under the Kadamba rule during the 5th and the 6th centuries, but large-scale Brahmana settlements came to be distributed in Karnataka during the Vatapi Chalukya rule in the 6th-8th centuries. [21]

Epigraphic evidence suggests that the land grants to Brahmanas became frequent in northern Bengal and Assam in the 5th century; in the east Bengal in the 6th century; in Gujarat, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh (Kangra and Chamba), and Nepal in the 7th century. [17]

Land grant inscriptions show that in present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chola rulers introduced Brahmana settlements during the 8th century, and such settlements increased considerably during 9th-10th centuries. In present-day Kerala, large-scale land grants to Brahmanas do not occur until the 10th-11th centuries. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kshatriya</span> Ruling and warrior class of the Hindu varna system

Kshatriya is one of the four varnas of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandragupta II</span> Ruler of Gupta Empire from c. 375 to c. 415

Chandragupta II, also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India. Modern scholars generally identify him with King Chandra of the Delhi iron pillar inscription.

Mleccha is a Sanskrit term, referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, foreign or barbarous invaders as distinguished from the Vedic tribes. Within Vedic Brahmanical discourse, the term is used to refer to 'non-Aryans' : foreigners who are considered outside the realm of Vedic dharma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pandya dynasty</span> Ancient Tamil dynasty of south India

The Pandyan dynasty, also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas'. Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramagupta</span> Maharajadhiraja

Ramagupta, according to the Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. The surviving fragments of the play, combined with other literary evidence, suggest that he agreed to surrender his wife Dhruvadevi to a Shaka enemy: However, his brother Chandragupta II killed the Shaka enemy, and later dethroned him, marrying Dhruvadevi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romila Thapar</span> Indian historian (born 1931)

Romila Thapar is an Indian historian. Her principal area of study is ancient India, a field in which she is pre-eminent. Thapar is a Professor of Ancient History, Emerita, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satavahana dynasty</span> Indian dynasty (2nd century BCE–3rd century CE)

The Satavahanas, also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late second century BCE and lasted until the early third century CE, although some assign the beginning of their rule to as early as the 3rd century BCE based on the Puranas, but uncorroborated by archaeological evidence. The Satavahana kingdom mainly comprised the present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. At different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Kotalingala (Telangana), Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati (Dharanikota).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayastha</span> Community of India

Kayastha denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally located—the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Maharashtra, the Bengali Kayasthas of Bengal and Karanas of Odisha. All of them were traditionally considered "writing castes", who had historically served the ruling powers as administrators, ministers and record-keepers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosala</span> One of the Mahajanapadas

Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage-based society to a monarchy. By the 6th century BCE, it had consolidated into one of the four great powers of ancient northern India, along with Magadha, Vatsa, and Avanti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammiradeva</span> King of Ranastambhapura from 1283–1301

Hammiradeva was the last ruler from the Ranthambore branch of the Chauhans (Chahamanas). He is also known as Hamir Dev Chauhan in the Muslim chronicles and the vernacular literature.

Kanhadadeva was a king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura. Initially, he ran the administration jointly with his father Samantasimha, and helped ward off invasions from the Delhi Sultanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vakataka dynasty</span> Early 1st-millennium Indian Brahmin dynasty

The Vakataka dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east. They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Ganga dynasty</span> Ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India

Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga. The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India, a geo-political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE, initially ruling from Kolar and later, moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uthiramerur</span> Panchayat town in Tamil Nadu, India

Uthiramerur is a panchayat town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated 90 km south west of Chennai, the capital of Tamil

Indian copper plate inscriptions are historical legal records engraved on copper plates in the Indian subcontinent.

The Tiroḍī copper plates are an epigraphic record of the Vākāṭaka dynasty, documenting a land donation to a brāhmaṇa in the reign king Pravarasena II in the fifth century CE. They were acquired by T. A. Wellsted at Tirodi in District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Aryan migration to Assam</span> Migration into Northeast India

The earliest Indo-Aryan migration to Assam is estimated to have occurred between the 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE—not earlier than 500 BCE. The earliest epigraphic record suggests that the Indo-Aryan migration began latest by the middle of the 4th century CE. They came from the Gangetic Plains into a region already inhabited by people who spoke Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengali Kayastha</span> Bengali Hindu of the Kayastha caste

Bengali Kayastha is a Bengali Hindu caste originated from the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, and is one of the main subgroups of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of scribes, administrators, ministers and record-keepers; the Kayasthas in Bengal, along with Brahmins and Baidyas, are regarded among the three traditional higher castes that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society". During the British Raj, the Bhadraloks of Bengal were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varendra rebellion</span> 1070 CE revolt of Kaivarta chieftains against Pala rule in north Bengal

The Varendra rebellion was the revolt against King Mahipala II led by Kaivarta chieftain Divya (Dibyak), a feudal lord of Northern Bengal. The Kaivartas were able to capture Varendra by this rebellion. The revolt might have been the first peasant revolt in Indian history. However, the first phase of the revolt would more appropriately be described as a rebellion of feudal lords (samantas), who would have mobilized the peasants, and the last phase of the revolt was a spontaneous mass uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chera Perumals of Makotai</span>

Cheraman Perumal dynasty, also known as the Perumal dynasty of Kerala, or Chera Perumals of Makotai, were a ruling dynasty in present-day Kerala, South India. Mahodayapuram, or Makotai, the seat of the Cheraman Perumals, is identified with present-day Kodungallur in central Kerala. Initially, their influence appeared limited to the area between present-day Quilon and Quilandy, but later extended to up to Chandragiri river in north Kerala and to Nagercoil in the south.

References

  1. ↑ Thapar, Romila (1995). Recent perspectives of early Indian history. Bombay: Popular Prakashan. p. 330. ISBN   9788171545568 . Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 Hill, Christopher V. (2008). South Asia : an environmental history. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 46. ISBN   9781851099252 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Sircar, D.C. (1966). Indian epigraphical glossary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. p.  61. ISBN   9788120805620 . Retrieved 14 December 2014. Brahmadeya.
  4. ↑ Ghose, Rajeshwari (1996). The lord of Ārūr - the Tyāgarāja cult in Tamilnāḍu : a study in conflict and accommodation (1st ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 136, 189. ISBN   9788120813915 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Ramanujan, Fred W. Clothey with the poem Prayers to Lord Murukan̲ / by A. K. (1978). The many faces of Murukan̲ : the history and meaning of a South Indian god. The Hague: Mouton. ISBN   9789027976321 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 Bhavani, S.; Ganeshram, C., eds. (2011). History of people and their environs : essays in honour of Prof. B.S. Chandrababu. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. ISBN   9789380325910 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. ↑ T. K. Venkatasubramanian (1986). Political Change and Agrarian Tradition in South India, C. 1600-1801: A Case Study. Mittal Publications, 1986. pp. 78, 109. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Chattopadhyaya, B.D., ed. (2009). A social history of early India (1. impr. ed.). Delhi: Pearson Longman. pp. 160, 170, 199, 200. ISBN   9788131719589 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Verma, Archana (2007). Cultural and visual flux at early historical Bagh in central India. Oxford: Archaeopress. pp. 25, 28, 30, 32, 33. ISBN   9781407301518 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 K.R. Sarkar (June 2003). Public Finance in Ancient India. Abhinav Publications, 2003. p. 141. ISBN   9788170170723 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Dirks, Nicholas B. (1993). The hollow crown: ethnohistory of an Indian kingdom (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN   9780472081875 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  12. 1 2 Karashima, Noboru (2001). History and society in south India : the cholas of Vijayanagar : comprising South Indian history and society, Towards a new formation ([Omnibus ed.]. ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195651041.
  13. ↑ Khanna, Meenakshi, ed. (2007). Cultural history of medieval India. New Delhi: Social Science Press. p. 51. ISBN   9788187358305 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Thapar, Romila (2004). Early India : from the origins to AD 1300. Berkeley [u.a.]: University of California Press. ISBN   9780520242258 . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Romila Thapar (2015). The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. Penguin UK. ISBN   9789352141180.
  16. ↑ Upinder Singh (2008). A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. p. 594. ISBN   9788131711200 . Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 R. S. Sharma 1974, p. 177.
  18. ↑ University of Kerala. Dept. of History, University of Allahabad. Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore, University of Kerala. "Journal of Indian History". Journal of Indian History. 35–36. Department of Modern Indian History: 197. ISSN   0022-1775.
  19. ↑ Dwijendra Narayan Jha (1967). Revenue system in post-Maurya and Gupta times. Punthi Pustak. p. 128.
  20. 1 2 R. S. Sharma 1974, p. 178.
  21. ↑ R. S. Sharma 1974, pp. 177–178.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.