Toshakhana
Encyclopedia
Toshakhana is a word of Persian
or Sanskrit
origin that literally translates into "treasure-house".
In India, a toshakhana is a place where princes store "gifts and emblems of honor that they received for their posterity ... an archive of objects whose origin and receipt embodied his status and honor"
Under British colonial rule, the officials of East India Company
were not allowed to accept "gifts" or "presents", often weapons or jewels
known as khilat, from Indian rulers and their subjects. When procedure required that the officials received such a khilat, the official would deposit it in the Company's treasury (toshakhana). The objects were later used for exchange gifts with other Indian rulers, when it was deemed appropriate to enter an exchange of khilat..
Several countries have a Toshakhana. A Sikh Toshakhana is located on the first floor of the Darshani Deorhi, the gateway to the Harimandar. Bangladesh has a Toshakhana.
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
or Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
origin that literally translates into "treasure-house".
In India, a toshakhana is a place where princes store "gifts and emblems of honor that they received for their posterity ... an archive of objects whose origin and receipt embodied his status and honor"
Under British colonial rule, the officials of East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
were not allowed to accept "gifts" or "presents", often weapons or jewels
known as khilat, from Indian rulers and their subjects. When procedure required that the officials received such a khilat, the official would deposit it in the Company's treasury (toshakhana). The objects were later used for exchange gifts with other Indian rulers, when it was deemed appropriate to enter an exchange of khilat..
Several countries have a Toshakhana. A Sikh Toshakhana is located on the first floor of the Darshani Deorhi, the gateway to the Harimandar. Bangladesh has a Toshakhana.