Devadana
Topic: Economy of Early India: Agriculture, Trade, Guilds, Coinage · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Devadana means "gift to the god". It was land given to a temple. The word appears mostly in south Indian inscriptions of the early medieval period, especially under the Pallavas and the Cholas. The temple got the income from this land, often as a share of the crop from the villages. It used this income for daily worship, festivals and repairs, and to pay priests, musicians and other staff. As these gifts grew, temples became some of the biggest landholders in the region. They also became centres of farming, lending and village life.
Example
Chola kings, queens and rich donors often gave villages or plots of land as devadana. The great temples of the Kaveri delta are an example, and the gifts were recorded on their stone walls and on copper plates.
Don't confuse with
- Brahmadeya: land given to Brahmanas (priestly scholars), usually free of tax. Devadana land was given to a temple, meaning the deity, and not to a person.