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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|ancient Indian ceremony involving the donation of a golden vessel}}<br />
'''Hiranyagarbha''' ([[IAST]]: hiraṇya-garbha) is an ancient Indian ceremony involving the donation of a golden vessel. It is mentioned as one of the [[sixteen great gifts]] in the historical texts.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=164}}<br />
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== Ritual ==<br />
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The word hiranyagarbha literally means "golden womb": it signifies a golden pot (''kunda'') donated to a [[brahmana]], and also refers to the god [[Vishnu]].{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=166}}<br />
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The donor performs an [[archana (Hinduism)|archana]] (worship ritual), and utters a [[mantra]] praising the lord Hiranyagarbha, that is, Vishnu. The performer then enters into the "golden womb", as the priests perform the rites usually performed for a pregnant woman: [[garbhadhana]], [[pumsavana]], and [[simantonnayana]].{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=166}}<br />
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Next, the donor is taken out of the "golden womb", and the priests perform [[jatakarma]] and other rites usually performed for a newborn. The donor utters a mantra announcing a "rebirth" from the divine womb, and is called "born of the hiranyagarbha".{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=166}}<br />
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After the ceremony, the donor gives away the "golden womb" and other gifts to the priests.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=167}}<br />
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== History ==<br />
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The ''[[Atharvaveda]]''-''[[parishishta]]'', composed in the 1st millennium BCE, describes hiranyagarbha, besides [[tulapurusha]] and [[gosahasra]] donations.{{sfn|Annette Schmiedchen|2006|p=146}} These three donations are included among the [[sixteen great gifts]] in the later text ''[[Matsya Purana]]''; the relevant section of the text appears to have been composed during 550-650 CE.{{sfn|Annette Schmiedchen|2006|pp=145-146}} It states that several ancient kings performed the great gifts.{{sfn|Annette Schmiedchen|2006|p=146}} The ''[[Linga Purana]]'' also mentions the sixteen great donations; according to R. C. Hazara, the relevant portion of the text was composed during c. 600-1000 CE, most probably after 800 CE. The great gifts are also described in the later digests devoted to the topic of charity ([[dāna]]), such as [[Ballala Sena|Ballala]]'s ''Dana-sagara'', and the ''Danakhanda'' section of [[Hemadri]]'s ''Chaturvarga-chintamani'' (13th century).{{sfn|Annette Schmiedchen|2006|p=146}}<br />
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The [[Chalukya]] king [[Pulakeshin I]] (c. 540-567) is known to have performed the hiranyagarbha ritual (although not mentioned as a great gift) to proclaim his sovereignty.{{sfn|Daud Ali|2000|p=146}} The 7th century [[Pandya dynasty|Pandya]] king [[Jayantavarman]] (alias Cendan), according to one of his inscriptions, performed three of the great gifts: hiranyagarbha, gosahasra, and tulapursuha.{{sfn|Florinda De Simini|2016|p=32}}<br />
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The great gifts went on to become the principal sign of a king's beneficence, overlordship, and independence in the subsequent centuries.{{sfn|Nicholas B. Dirks|1993|p=37}} In particular, hiranyagarbha finds a mention in multiple historical inscriptions of Indian kings, including:{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=164-165}}<br />
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* King Attivarman (c. 4th century) of Ananda dynasty, who is called ''hiranyagarbha-prasava'' ("born of the golden womb") in the Gorantala inscription.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=164-165}}<br />
* Damodaravarman of Ananda dynasty.{{sfn|Vijay Nath|2001|p=120}}<br />
* [[Vishnukundin]] king Madhavarman I, who is called ''hiranyagarbha-prasuta'' ("born of the golden womb") in the [[Ipur, Guntur district|Ipur]] and Polamuru inscriptions.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=165}}<br />
* [[Mangalesha]] (r. c. 592-610 CE), who is called ''hiranyagarbha-sambhuta'' ("produced from the golden womb") in the [[Mahakuta Pillar]] inscription{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=164-165}}<br />
* [[Dantidurga]] (r. c. 735-756) of [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]]{{sfn|Vijay Nath|2001|p=120}}<br />
* [[Yashahkarna]] (r. c. 1073-1123) of [[Kalachuris of Tripuri|Kalachuri]] dynasty of Tripuri{{sfn|Vijay Nath|2001|p=120}}<br />
* [[Jaya Pala]] (r. c. 1075-1110){{sfn|Vijay Nath|2001|p=120}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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=== Bibliography ===<br />
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{{ref begin}}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Annette Schmiedchen |author-link=Annette Schmiedchen |chapter=The Ceremony of Tulāpuruṣa: The Purāṇic Concept and the Epigraphical Evidence |editor1=Adalbert J. Gail |editor2=Gerd J. R. Mevissen |editor3=Richard Salomon |title=Script and Image: Papers on Art and Epigraphy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwkOdPtZmVcC&pg=PA145 |year=2006 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2944-2 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=D. C. Sircar |author-link=Dineshchandra Sircar |title=Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mh1y1eMgGBMC&pg=PA164 |year=1971 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2790-5 }}<br />
* {{cite book|author=Daud Ali |chapter=Royal Eulogy as World History: Rethinking Copper-Plate Inscriptions in Cola India |title=Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPARDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512430-9 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Florinda De Simini |chapter=Manuscripts, Ritual, and the State in Indian Sources |title=Of Gods and Books: Ritual and Knowledge Transmission in the Manuscript Cultures of Premodern India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgmyDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |year=2016 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-047881-5 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Nicholas B. Dirks |title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA37 |year=1993 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-08187-X }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Vijay Nath |title=Purāṇas and acculturation: a historico-anthropological perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXbXAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=9788121509954 }}<br />
{{ref end}}<br />
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[[Category:Rituals in Hindu worship]]<br />
[[Category:Donation]]</div>>Gaelan