Pilgrimage In Indian Civilization

Comparative study of pilgrimage at Puri (India) and Simhachalam (India), two famous Vaishnava shrines.

Illustrations: 4 Maps Description: The book outlines the origin and development of the practice of pilgrimage in India between AD 300 and 1200 and draws extensively on epigraphic and literary data particularly the Puranic corpus to delineate the growing popularity of the ritual, spatially and chronologically. Viewing religion as part of the social process, it seeks to explore linkages between new religious trends and changes taking place in the material conditions of life. Although there are a few references to pilgrimage centres in inscriptions of the early second century, the number of these destinations rapidly multiplied from the fourth-fifth centuries, coinciding meaningfully with widespread decay and desertion of urban places. In an age of political disintegration and social insularity religious congregations served as the nucleus of cultural bonding. Alongside of decaying towns cult-sites relating to forests, hill tracts, deserts, river banks, sea-coasts, crossroads all surfaced as pilgrimage centres of some sort, with an attendant increase in the number of myths and legends sanctifying these places with the emergence of temple as the focal point of social processes, even large villages and marginal political centres also emerged as places of pilgrimage. A thrust area of the ritual was the changing nature of the gift-exchange system. Gifts, largely agricultural goods and inputs during the Gupta and post-Gupta times were necessary if one wished to acquire religious merit and drive away the impurities of deeds and thoughts entailing loss of social status. Charities, performed at the sacred places, were considered all the more beneficial. The idea, that religious merit ensured a comfortable afterlife and that dying in places sanctified by gods and god-men brought instant religious merit, encouraged the practice of committing self-immolation at the holiest of pilgrimage centres.

"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

This book was inspired by recent scientific and archaeological discoveries in India, which led to the uncovering of an ancient civilization which thrived along the course of the Saraswati River. The river had previously existed only in mythology, but was now proved to have actually existed - a mighty torrent coursing from the Himalayas to the sea. The story follows the route of four journeys, the first beginning in the Indus valley four thousand years ago at the time of India's first civilization. It journeys through the Heroic, Vedic, Buddhist and Ashokan eras into Colonial times and thence to the present day. It is also a pilgrimage between places, taking the reader high up into the Himalayas, along the course of the ancient Saraswati River, returning northwards to the Ganges basin and the heartland of early Buddhism. Each pilgrim, spurred on by simple curiosity and a search for knowledge, is attempting to trace the routes of earlier pilgrims. Their voices weave together through thousands of years; each may have set out with well defined aims, but uncover en route many mysteries, discovering far more than they ever could have envisaged. The book is a journey into the fascinating culture of India, imbued with and seeking its essence, exploring India's mythology and history and how they are intimately woven together. It's a book that transports the reader into mesmerizing realms, sending them upon their own spiritual journey. Upon closing its pages they will surely feel they have been somewhere.

"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

Religion in India is an ideal first introduction to India's fascinating and varied religious history. Fred Clothey surveys the religions of India from prehistory and Indo-European migration through to the modern period. Exploring the interactions between different religious movements over time, and engaging with some of the liveliest debates in religious studies, he examines the rituals, mythologies, arts, ethics and social and cultural contexts of religion as lived in the past and present on the subcontinent. Key topics discussed include: Hinduism, its origins and development over time minority religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Buddhism the influences of colonialism on Indian religion the spread of Indian religions in the rest of the world the practice of religion in everyday life, including case studies of pilgrimages, festivals, temples and rituals, and the role of women Written by an experienced teacher, this student-friendly textbook is full of clear, lively discussion and vivid examples. Complete with maps and illustrations, and useful pedagogical features, including timelines, a comprehensive glossary, and recommended further reading specific to each chapter, this is an invaluable resource for students beginning their studies of Indian religions.

Illustrations: 10 B/w Illustrations, Numerous Graphs And Maps Description: Combining historical analysis with his own fieldwork, Dr. Bhardwaj not only established the importance of the institution of pilgrimage in Indian history and the persistence of similar distribution patterns of sacred places over long periods, but also furnished the normative background for contemporary practices. He is concerned with the relationship of the rank-order of a shrine to its degree of sanctity, kind of deity, and caste and motivation of the pilgrim. Using both objective statistical surveys and the pilgrims' subjective perceptions (as reflected in a special questionnaire), he posits the existence of two models of religious circulation: a general pattern characteristic of the pilgrimages of the religiously-oriented upper castes to all India and supra-regional shrines in pursuit or religious merit, and a specific pattern more characteristic of lower caste visits to local and regional shrines for specific, practical purposes. Unlike earlier writers on the subject, Mr. Bhardwaj examines both the historical and the contemporary patterns of pilgrimage at various levels--pan-Hindu, supra-regional, sub-regional, and local.