The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c17.92

c17.92

Royal generosity reached its zenith at the quinquennial Mokṣapariṣad. Yuan Chwang has it that Prayâga, as modern Allâhâbâd was called in ancient times, had from of old been the scene of charity on the part of kings and noble families. An extensive area on the bank of the Ganges was called ‘the great charity-enclosure.’ “At the present time,” continues the Chinese pilgrim, “Śilâditya-râja, after the example of his ancestors, distributes here in one day the accumulated wealth of five years. Immense piles of wealth and jewels were collected in the charity enclosure; the most costly jewels were offered a statue of Buddha. Afterwards, charity to the residentiary priests, then to priests (from a distance) who are present; then to men of distinguished talent; then to resident heretics following the ways of the world; lastly, to the widows and bereaved, orphans and desolate, poor and mendicants. Having exhausted his treasures and given food in charity, he gives away his diadem and his jewelled necklaces . . . ”² Such seems to have been the fashion of the age. Yuan Chwang records that the king of Kapiśa held a similar Mokṣapariṣad and gave liberally to the needy, to widows and to widowers.³ Elsewhere, too, the Chinese pilgrim bears testimony to the generosity of Indian rulers.⁴