Guptas: Land grants | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Land Grants in the Gupta Era

• Land grants were a key method used by rulers during the Gupta era to establish their authority and were crucial to the political and social systems of the time. Historians generally believe that the state had exclusive ownership of land throughout this period.
• During the Gupta era, the number of land grants increased significantly across the empire. Kings, chiefs, royal family members, and their subordinates often granted land to Brahmanas (Hindu priests) and religious institutions such as temples and monasteries.

Key Features of Land Grants:

• From the fifth century onwards, not only was the income from the donated lands transferred to the recipients, but the rights to mines and minerals in the region were also included.
• Soldiers and royal officials were prohibited from interfering with the donated land, village, or villages.
• Monarchs and princes granted the brahmana recipients the authority to punish crimes against families, private property, and individuals, as well as the right to keep the fines imposed.

Imperial Gupta Involvement:

• The imperial Guptas were not deeply involved in the practice of land grants. Only one authentic inscription documenting a land grant by a Gupta ruler has survived.
• The Bhitaristone pillar inscription, attributed to Skandagupta, records the donation of a hamlet to support a Vishnu temple, although the specific terms of the donation are not detailed.
• Additionally, there are the Samudragupta copper plates from Gaya and Nalanda.
• The Gaya plate documents the grant of the Revatika hamlet in Gaya vishaya to a Brahmana named Gopasvamin.
• The Nalanda plate records the donation of Bhadrapushkaraka village in Krivila vishaya and Purnanaga village in Krimila vishaya to a Brahmana named Jayabhattasvami.

Vakataka Land Grants:

• In contrast to the imperial Guptas, the Vakatakas were more active in granting land to Brahmanas.
• A total of 35 villages are listed as being granted in Vakataka inscriptions, with significant numbers during the reign of Pravarasena II.
• Pravarasena II’s inscriptions mention the gift of 20 villages, using a variety of technical terms to describe the exemptions and privileges granted to the donees and the donated land.
• The area of land is specified in thirteen inscriptions, with measurements ranging from 20 to 8000 nivartanas by royal standards.

Subordinate Rulers:

• Subordinate rulers under the Guptas and Vakatakas also made land grants.
• Examples include Bharatabala, a Vakataka vassal king of the Mekala nation, and the Parivrajaka maharajas, who ruled over the Baghelkhand region under Gupta suzerainty.

Types of Land Grants:

• Inscriptions from the Gupta and Vakataka periods reveal various types of land grants, including:
• Nivi Dharmas: Permanent land endowment.
• Nivi Dharma Aksayana: A permanent gift that could not be alienated, providing indefinite income to the recipient.
• Aprada Dharma: Full rights to use the property, but not allowed to make subsequent gifts; only allowed to use the income and interest.
• Bhumichchhidranyaya: Ownership rights acquired by turning barren land into cultivable field, exempt from rent.

Private Donations:

• While kings were the primary land donors, private individuals also made contributions.
• Records of land donations to Brahmanas by private individuals, at their request, and by kings at the request of others are found in inscriptions from Bengal.
• For example, the Gupta year 113 copper plate inscription from Dhanaidaha (432–33 CE) records a royal officer (ayuktaka) purchasing land and giving it to a Brahman named Varahasvamin.

Karnataka Region:

• In the Karnataka region, land grants to Brahmanas may have begun in the second century, but their frequency increased thereafter.
• The earliest Pallava royal land gifts are documented in the Hirehadagalli and Mayidavolu plates from the third and fourth centuries (both in Prakrit).
• The Pulankurichi inscription, dating to around the fifth century CE, mentions the establishment of a brahmadeya village and specifies the superior rights (miyatchi) of the donees and the inferior rights (karankilamai) of the cultivators.

Land Grants in the Post-Gupta Era (600-1200 CE)

Expansion of Land Transfer System

By around 1200 CE, the system of land transfers had expanded across all of India, encompassing nearly every type of land, including:

• Pastures
• Semi-fertile lands
• Dry regions
• Unfertile plains

The beneficiaries of these land gifts, who later became landlords, included primarily Brahmanas, temples, government officials, and royal family members. Kings bestowed land grants for various reasons, including generosity, assistance, and sometimes political motives.

Differential Access and Authority:

• Land grants in ancient India resulted in differential access to authority, wealth, and complex relationships of dominance and subordination within the donated territories. These grants can be broadly categorized into two groups: religious and secular awards.

Types of Land Grants

• Brahmadeya: Lands given to a group of Brahmins.
• Devadana: Lands granted to religious institutions.
• Agrahara/Mangalam: Tax-free villages provided to Brahmins for their relocation to North and South India.

Brahmadeya Grants:

• Brahmadeya grants involved lands given to groups of Brahmins, often with tax exemptions. Agrahara and Mangalam were tax-free villages provided to Brahmins to encourage their relocation to North and South India, respectively.

Devadana Grants:

• Devadana grants involved land donations to religious institutions, both Brahmanical and Non-Brahmanical. These grants played a crucial role in establishing agricultural settlements and integrating various peasant and tribal communities. Temples often rented out their land to tenants in exchange for a share of the crops. Elite Brahmana and non-Brahmana landowners managed the estates associated with these temples and monasteries.

Secular Land Grants:

• Secular land grants became prominent in the seventh century, awarded to officials and royal relatives who supported the monarch in administration and defense. These grants were documented across various regions, including Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam, and Odissa, particularly between the 10th and 12th centuries.

Brahmadeya Communities:
Brahmadeya communities were often exempt from various taxes and obligations, especially in the early stages of settlement. They enjoyed increased privileges, known as pariharas. 
Some examples of these pariharas include:

• Alonakhadakam: Exemption from royal monopoly or privilege on salt production.
• Aratthasamvinayika: Freedom from administrative restrictions.
• Aparamparabalivadam: Exemption from providing bullocks to royal officials.
• Abhadapapesam: Prohibition of military entry for tax collection.
• Akuracholakavinasikhatayavasamvasa: Exemption from provisions of boiling rice, pots, cots, and homes.

Integration of Areas:

• Religious endowments were initially extended to Brahmins and religious organizations in remote, underdeveloped, tribal, and agricultural areas to integrate these regions into the economy. Over time, secular rewards were introduced to acknowledge support in administration and defense.

Conclusion

• Land grants were given to religious and ritual specialists, as well as to government officials. While these grants did not generate revenue for the state, they allowed for some reorganization of local revenue demands and the establishment of small wealth centers in rural areas. If replicated, these centers could lead to broader improvements.
• The grantees, often Brahmanas, took on the role of pioneers in agriculture if the granted land was wasteland or forest. Brahmanas were skilled in supervising agrarian activities, supported by agricultural manuals like the Krishiparashra. Although some writings discouraged Brahmanas from farming unless in dire need, their expertise in agriculture continued to develop.
• By promoting commercial activities through various means, such as payments to guilds and involving commercial entrepreneurs in city councils, the state aimed to increase tax collection from businesses. Initially limited, land grants became more widespread by the seventh century CE, resulting in a political economy distinct from pre-Gupta periods.
• Defeated kings of nearby kingdoms were sometimes transformed into tributary or subordinate rulers, known as feudatories. Kings who conquered neighboring kingdoms were also referred to as feudatories in modern literature. Agreements were established with such monarchs as well.
• The term samanta, originally meaning "neighbor," evolved to signify "tributary ruler" over time. This led to more defined relationships between monarchs and local rulers, which became increasingly important in later periods due to the conflict between royal demands and samanta aspirations.
• In areas where samantas were powerful, the king's authority was undermined. However, to maintain prestige, the king needed the agreement of the samanta-chakra or circle of samantas. Samantas found themselves in a precarious position, being potential allies or adversaries.

Land grants also created new types of intermediaries beyond tributary rulers. Some grants went to temples, monasteries, and Brahmanas, with temples becoming centers for local administration and governance. The grants to Brahmanas served as reminders of their privileged status, and the agrahara donation of rent-free land or a village to Brahmanas was exempt from taxation under the Indian Constitution.

• Brahmanas were often well-versed in the Vedas or possessed specific knowledge such as astrology. Gifts to Brahmanas were traditionally meant to ward off the evils of the Kali Age, with astrology becoming more prevalent during this period. In the early twentieth century, land grants took precedence over monetary donations to religious organizations due to their permanence and resistance to manipulation.
• Land grants also served as compensation for military or administrative service, as recorded in land-grant inscriptions and narratives like those of Xuan Zang. Not all donations to Brahmanas were for religious purposes, as many literate Brahmanas performed official tasks. Vassalage, involving bonds of obedience and protection within a warrior class, was not commonly encountered.
• Such grants separated ownership from central authority supervision, leading to a more decentralized form of governance. Recipients of major income-generating land grants could pool resources to challenge the ruling family. By garnering support from peer groups and others, they could potentially overthrow the current authority and establish themselves as kings, particularly on the kingdom's periphery.
• Brahmanas, as religious benefactors, were granted property in exchange for legitimizing the dynasty or averting misfortune through rites. Establishing lineage ties with historical figures was sought to elevate social standing, and significant grants could make the recipient the parent of a dynasty.
• Grants also played a role in evangelizing, with beneficiaries hoping to spread their religion. The Vedas were taught to many Brahmanas, but conflicts could arise when they resided in forested regions or communities with their own beliefs. The Puranic sects acted as mediators between Vedic Brahmanism and local faiths, assimilating local mythology and iconography into the evolving Puranic sects.