Tulabhara

Several legendary performances of Tulabhara are mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. For example, in the Mahabharata, King Shibi, a descendant of King Bharata of the Lunar dynasty, was tested by Indra and Agni. They approached Shibi in the forms of an eagle and a dove. The dove sought Shibi's protection from the eagle, who asked Shibi to give his flesh measure for measure in exchange for the dove's life. Shibi, ready to offer anything to save the dove, began slice off bits of himself. Even after much cutting, the balance scales did not move, and when at last when Shibi himself stood on the scale of the balance, the gods appeared to him and blessed him.[7]

Another legend of the Tulabhara relates to Krishna and his queen-consorts, Rukmini and Satyabhama. In the Bhagavata Purana, Satyabhama is described to have often attempted to prove her superiority over the other wives of Krishna, especially his principal wife, Rukmini. The sage Narada once incited Satyabhama into undertaking a vrata (vow) in which she had to "donate" her husband to the former, and pay the latter's weight in gold to regain him. She had Krishna sit upon one side of the weighing scale, and poured all of her gold jewellery upon the other end. The scale did not budge. Swallowing her pride, Satyabhama sought the assistance of Rukmini. Rukmini placed a tulasi (basil) leaf upon the other end of the scale, regarded to represent her love for Krishna, which immediately balanced the scales.[8]

18th century king Marthanda Varma participating in a tulabhara ceremony

Several inscriptions of India mention the historical performances of the tula-purusha.[5] The earliest of these inscriptions are from the present-day Tamil Nadu (7th-8th century) and Maharashtra-Karnataka region (8th-9th century).[9] It is possible that the tula-purusha ceremony traveled from the southern Pandya kingdom of Tamil Nadu to Maharashtra-Karnataka, which was ruled by the Rashtrakutas. It may have subsequently spread to other neighbouring areas, such as Madhya Pradesh (from Maharashtra), Andhra Pradesh (from Karnataka), and Sri Lanka (from Tamil Nadu).[2]

Notable performers include:

• Pandya kings (7th-8th century), in Tamil Nadu
  • Jayantavarman alias Cendan (c. 7th century), according to one of his inscriptions, performed tulabhara along with hiranyagarbha and gosahasra.[10]
  • An inscription of the Pandya king Varaguna I (r. c. 768-811) states that his father and grandfather made these three donations many times.[10]
  • It is stated in the Tamil work Koyilolugu that Jatavarman Sundara Pandya (r. c. 1250–1268) constructed several tulapurusha mandapas in Srirangam temple and performed tulabhara there.[11]
• Rashtrakuta kings (8th-10th century), in Maharashtra-Karnataka region[2]
  • Dantidurga donated a village to a brahmana on the occasion of a tulabhara performance according to an inscription discovered in the Kolhapur district.[10]
  • Govinda III (c. 800) performed a tulabhara ceremony at Mayurakhandi on the occasion of a solar eclipse.[10]
  • Amoghavarsha I (c. 862) also performed a tulabhara ceremony during a solar eclipse.[12]
  • Indra III (c. 915) performed tulabhara on the occasion of his coronation, and granted villages to brahmanas and Jain monasteries.[12]
  • Govinda IV performed at least three tulabharas during c. 929-930, to mark his coronation and that of his queen.[12]
  • A vassal of Amoghavarsha III celebrated tulabhara in 937.[12]
• Pallava kings (9th century), in Tamil Nadu[2]
  • Viramahadevi (c. 891), a queen of the Pallava ruler Nrpatungavarman performed tulapurusha and hiranyagarbha ceremony in a Mahadeva temple.[10]
• Chola kings (10th-11th century), in Tamil Nadu[2]
  • Parantaka I (r. c. 907-955) made tulabhara, hemagarbha and other donations according to an inscription of his Ganga vassal Prithvipati II.[10]
  • During the ruler of Rajaraja I (r. c. 985-1016) a temple for performing tulabhara (tulavara-shri-koyil) existed at Uttiramerur. Around 1013, Rajaraja held a tulabhara ceremony at the Mahadeva temple of Tiruvishalur, where his consort Lokamahadevi simultaneously performed a hiranyagarbha donation.[10]
• Amma I of the Vengi Chalukya dynasty performed a tulabhara annually during his seven-year-long reign.[13]
• Dhanga (r. c. 950-999 CE) of Chandela dynasty claimed to have performed hundreds of tulapurusha rituals, in his Khajuraho inscription.[13]
• The Gwalior inscription of the Kachchhapaghata king Mahipala states that one of his ancestors celebrated tulapurusha in the 10th century.[13]
• Yashahkarna (r. c. 1073-1123 CE) of Kalachuri dynasty, according to his inscriptions.[13]
• Chalukyas of Kalyani
  • Jayasimha III, a member of the younger brother and a vassal of the Kalyani Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE).[14]
  • Jayakeshin II of Kadamba family, another vassal of Vikramaditya VI[14]
  • Hoysala kings (10th-14th century), including Vishnuvardhana and his successors[12]

Emperor Jahangir weighing his son Prince Khurram (the future Shah Jahan) on a weighing scale, by artist Manohar (AD 1615).

• Chandradeva (r. c. 1089–1103 CE) of Gahadavala dynasty. According to his inscriptions, "the earth was discoloured hundreds of times by the scales" when he donated gold worth his own weight to the brahmanas. His Chandravati inscription records a village grant after the performance of tulapurusha and gosahasra before an image of the god Adi-keshava (Vishnu).[15]
• The Shilahara king Gandaraditya celebrated tulapurusha, according to the inscriptions of his grandson Bhoja II.[13]
• Vilasadevi, the queen of king Vijaya Sena (r. c. 1098-1160) of Sena dynasty, during the king's 32nd regnal year.[2]
• Jayachandra (r. c. 1170-1194 CE) of Gahadavala dynasty: his Kamauli grant inscription states that he performed a tula-purusha before the god Krittivasa (Shiva).[15]
• Chandeshvara, a minister of the king of Mithila: according to his own writings, he conquered Nepal and performed a tula-purusha in c. 1314 CE (Shaka year 1236).[9]
• Tulabhara mandapas are two small four pillared found in temples like Sri Varadharajaswami temple, Kanchi where Vijayanagar king Achyutaraya performed Muladhara in 1532.[16]
• The rulers of Travancore, until as late as the 19th century, performed tula-purusha and hiranya-garbha immediately ascending the throne to legitimize their claim to power.[9]

The Islamic Mughal rulers also appear to have borrowed the tula-dana practice from the Hindu rulers. According to emperor Akbar's courtier Abu'l-Fazl, Akbar was weighed against gold and other valuable items twice every year. English visitors such as Thomas Coryat and Thomas Roe mention that the custom was followed by his son Jahangir as well. Jahangir's successor Aurangzeb discontinued the practice for himself, but his sons were apparently weighed against objects to be donated, upon recovery from illness. This is suggested by the writings of the European travelers Niccolao Manucci, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and François Bernier.[17]

In 2015, the Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe participated in a tulabharam ceremony at the Guruvayur Temple, and offered 77 kg of sandalwood worth approximately ₹ 850,000 to the temple.[18]