DÁNA: A FOUNDATION OF INDIAN SOCIAL LIFE

This paper discusses the concept of Dána1 or charity as the foundation of Indian Social life. Dána has been in vogue in India since the Vedic times, but it was codified by the smritis which prescribe do’s and don’ts of the life of the individual. Limiting its scope to Yagnavalkya smriti the paper analyses the significance of Dána as a regulative principle of accumulation of wealth. A foundation is generally understood to be the one which stabilizes the edifice without revealing itself. But in the context of the social life, foundation would mean something that establishes a relation between the individual and community. Social life would require the individual to establish his own place and also to relate himself to the community. There can be many aspects or practices that can be considered as the foundation of social life. One of the significant aspects that not only recognizes the place of the individual but also relates him to the community is private property or accumulation of wealth by individual. Different social systems evolve various ways of checking the private property. In the Indian social system,2 the practice of Dána played a pivotal role in establishing a harmonious relation between the individual and community