Editing Alms (section)

==== Institutional ''dāna'' ====
''Satrams'', also called ''Dharamsala'' or ''Chathrams'' in parts of India, have been one means of almsgiving in Hinduism. ''Satrams'' are shelters (rest houses) for travelers and the poor, with many serving water and free food. These were usually established along the roads connecting major [[Hindu temple]] sites in south Asia, as well as near major temples.<ref>KN Kumari (1998), History of the Hindu Religious Endowments in Andhra Pradesh, {{ISBN|978-8172110857}}, page 128</ref><ref>Kota Neelima (2012), Tirupati, Random House, {{ISBN|978-8184001983}}, pages 50-52; Prabhavati C. Reddy (2014), Hindu Pilgrimage: Shifting Patterns of Worldview of Srisailam in South India, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415659970}}, page 190</ref><ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/sanctuaries-of-times-past/article487938.ece Sanctuaries of times past] The Hindu (June 27, 2010)</ref> [[Hindu temple]]s have also served as institutions for almsgiving.<ref>SK Aiyangar, Ancient India: Collected Essays on the Literary and Political History, Asian Educational Services, {{ISBN|978-8120618503}}, pages 158-164</ref><ref name=burste/> The ''dāna'' the temples received from Hindus were used to feed people in distress as well as fund public projects such as irrigation and land reclamation.<ref name=burste>[[Burton Stein]], The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 19 (February, 1960), pp 163-76</ref><ref>Burton Stein (February 4, 1961), The state, the temple and agriculture development, The Economic Weekly Annual, pp 179-187</ref>