F.D.K. Bosch's book

[N. Ganesan]

Dear Indologists,

It was a tamil tradition in the ancient times to donate
cows and calves covered with gold or gold-like ornaments
to the priests. This gifting along with the Rgvedic ideas of
born in a golden egg was fused together to create the
HiraNyagarbha ceremony in the South India to make
the kings presumably of shudra varNa into kshatriyas.
Once this ceremony of gifting gold cows to brahmins
was perfected, the same method was carried to South East
Asia.

The buddhist epic, maNimEkalai talks of a HiraNyagarbha
ceremony in Java. A gold cow with an egg because
birds are dvijas. Buddhist Manimekalai is polemical
towards Brahmins and portrays a brahmin who stole
cow as a pulaiya outcaste. The Telugu BasavapurANamu
also is highly critical of the hiraNyagarbha ceremony.

Are there any publications dealing with the
hiraNyagarbha ceremony in South East Asia?
What about Bosch's Golden Germ?

Thanks for your help,
N. Ganesan


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