History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c43.18

v3.c43.18

The literature on *dāna* is of enormous extent. Apart from casual references in the other *parvans* of the Mahābhārata, the major portion of the Anuśāsana parva is devoted to the various aspects of dāna. The Purāṇas, particularly Agni (chap. 208-215 & 217), Matsya (chap. 82-91 and 274-289) and Varāha (chap. 99-111), contain numerous verses on dāna. There are digests specially devoted to the topic of dāna, the most extensive and important being Hemādri's Dānakhaṇḍa (of the Caturvargacintāmaṇi), Dānakriyākaumudī of Govindānanda, the Dānamayūkha of Nīlakaṇṭha, the Dānavākyāvalī of Vidyāpati, the Dānasāgara of Ballālasena and the Dānaprakāśa of Mitramiśra. Only a brief summary of the topics dealt with in all these is attempted below.