godaan

Godaan, from the Hindi word meaning the donation of a cow, is a term rooted in Hindu social and religious practice. Etymologically, it combines go (cow) and daan (donation) and traditionally denotes a charitable act of giving a cow or bull to a deity, a temple, a priest, or a needy person. In agrarian Indian society, the cow held substantial economic and symbolic value, so a godaan was seen as a significant act of charity that could confer religious merit (punya) and fulfill ritual or familial duties. The concept is associated with rites of passage, temple offerings, and acts of almsgiving, and it remains a culturally pervasive idea in discussions of generosity and social obligation.

Godaan is also the title of Munshi Premchand’s 1936 novel, a landmark work in modern Hindi literature. The narrative centers on the peasant Hori and his family, portraying their struggles with debt, famine, and social pressures within a changing socioeconomic order in late colonial India. The novel is celebrated for its realist depiction of rural life, its critique of poverty and exploitation, and its exploration of the tensions between tradition and modernity, caste dynamics, and the moral limits of obligation.

Reception and legacy: Godaan has been widely translated and studied, regarded as one of the foremost works of Hindi literature. It has inspired stage productions, film adaptations, and scholarly analysis, and continues to be referenced in discussions of social reform, literary realism, and the depiction of rural India in the early 20th century.