Brahmadeya represented the grant of land either in a single plot or whole villages donated to Brahmanas by making them land-owners or land-controllers.
Brahmadeyas however helped to bring virgin land under cultivation and to integrate the existing rural settlement into a new economic order, dominated by the Brahmana proprietors.
An inscription dated back to 1080 CE belonging to the Hasan Taluk mentions a water dispute between a Brahmana and a farmer's family.
[2] In the Deccan region, specifically present-day Maharashtra, Buddhist establishments are known to have received land grants during Satavahana rule since as early as 1st century CE.
[17] The historical evidence of the practice of donating lands to Brahmanas in return for spiritual favour is traced back to 3rd-4th century CE in South India.
The earliest royal land grant inscription that mentions the word "brahmadeya" is discovered from the 3rd century CE during the reign of Brihatphalayana King Jayavarman.
[6][8] The tradition of land grants through the history of practice took the shape of a legal form governed by the law book called Dharmaśāstra.
The Anushasana Parva, a part of the great epic Mahabharata has a complete chapter dedicated to Bhumi-dana-prasamsa, commending the gifts of land.