History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s1.25

v3.c35.s1.25

Rājarāja was extremely religious, it need not be told, and he made many gifts to Brahmins and temples and his queens and officers also made such gifts. But the gift ceremony of Tulādāna made by him deserves a special mention viz. the weighing of the king in gold and its gift to Brahmins, a mode of gift which appears to have become very popular in this sub-period as it is frequently mentioned even in inscriptions of Kanauj and Trikalinga kings. It is further related that Rājarāja's chief queen passed through a golden cow on that occasion which thus multiplied the gift of gold to Brahmins (a manner of gift rarely heard or thought of). Of course Brahmins who are real Brahmins and who pass a religious life in teaching or worshipping deserve to be cared for by the state and such gifts served the purpose of modern educational and ecclesiastical endowments.