Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography"Dr. Bhardwaj's in-depth study of the various aspects of the institution of pilgrimage shows that instead of being a simple practice it has been a gigantic phenomenon affecting all aspects of Indian life. . . integrating diverse forces, various cults, and numerous traditions over the ages."--Asian Student "This is the best general survey of a major religion's total pilgrimage system and the best intensive investigation of one of its subsystems. . . . Dr. Bhardwaj's book is an important step towards the recognition of a social phenomenon which has for millennia played a crucial role in the integration of religions, nationalities, and international communities. And, not least importantly, it is highly readable."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Detailed, accurate, and generally informative; he has succeeded in tracing, for the first time, the relationship of the rank-order or 'level' of a sacred place. . . to its degree of sanctity, type of deity, and caste and motivation of the pilgrim. . . .The implications of Mr. Bhardwaj's study are profound and necessary to the understanding of Indian religion. . . it is fascinating."--Times Literary Supplement "Here is a fine example of what the geographic study of India needs: disciplined work that shows full awareness of Indian cultural meanings. . . .it sets a worth standard."--Professional Geographer |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE | 14 |
DISTRIBUTION OF HINDU PLACES | 29 |
A GRAND PILGRIMAGE OF INDIA | 43 |
SACRED PLACES ACCORDING TO | 58 |
THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE | 80 |
PERCEPTION OF THE RANKS OF SACRED | 97 |
DETERMINATION OF LEVELS OF SACRED | 116 |
THE LEVEL OF SACRED PLACE AND | 148 |
SACRED PLACES AND THE DIFFUSION | 201 |
PILGRIM INTERACTION AT SACRED | 216 |
SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS | 225 |
| 233 | |
| 249 | |
Other editions - View all
Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography Surinder M. Bhardwaj Limited preview - 1983 |
Common terms and phrases
ancient Aryan average distance Badrinath Baijnath bathing Bhagsunag Brahmā Brahmans caste composition caste group chapter Chintpurni cultivating castes cultural darśana Dharmaśālā diversity epic example Figure Ganga Gaya geography geography of India Hardwar high-level Himachal Pradesh Hindu Hindu places Hinduism holy places important interviews Jwalaji Kangra Khatri-Arora Kurukshetra large number levels of sacred Mahābhārata Mansa Devi Matsya Matsya Purāņa mercantile castes Mother Goddess mundana Naina Devi Narmada Navarātrās of Caitra number of pilgrims number of sacred occasion Origin of Pilgrims percent pilgrim field Pilgrim Register pilgrimage place names places of pilgrimage priests proportion of pilgrims Punjab Purāṇa Puranas purohits Rajputs ranks of sacred regional religion religious circulation Rewalsar rituals rivers route sample sanctity Sanskrit scheduled castes SELECTED CASTE Shiv Bari shows shrines Sikhs Sissoo fair Śiva social sources spatial specific Śrāvaṇa subregional suggests sukhnā supraregional temple tirthas Tirthas according tradition Ujjain Uttar Pradesh Varanasi yātrā