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India: A Sacred Geography
In A Sacred Geography , renowned Harvard scholar Diana Eck offers an extraordinary spiritual journey through the pilgrimage places of the world's most religiously vibrant culture and reveals that it is, in fact, through these sacred pilgrimages that India’s very sense of nation has emerged.
No matter where one goes in India, one will find a landscape in which mountains, rivers, forests, and villages are elaborately linked to the stories of the gods and heroes of Indian culture. Every place in this vast landscape has its story, and conversely, every story of Hindu myth and legend has its place. Likewise, these places are inextricably tied to one another—not simply in the past, but in the present—through the local, regional, and transregional practices of pilgrimage.
A Sacred Geography tells the story of the pilgrim’s India. In these pages, Diana Eck takes the reader on an extraordinary spiritual journey through the living landscape of this fascinating country –its mountains, rivers, and seacoasts, its ancient and powerful temples and shrines. Seeking to fully understand the sacred places of pilgrimage from the ground up, with their stories, connections and layers of meaning, she acutely examines Hindu religious ideas and narratives and shows how they have been deeply inscribed in the land itself. Ultimately, Eck shows us that from these networks of pilgrimage places, India’s very sense of region and nation has emerged. This is the astonishing and fascinating picture of a land linked for centuries not by the power of kings and governments, but by the footsteps of pilgrims.
A Sacred Geography offers a unique perspective on India, both as a complex religious culture and as a nation. Based on her extensive knowledge and her many decades of wide-ranging travel and research, Eck's piercing insights and a sweeping grasp of history ensure that this work will be in demand for many years to come.
No matter where one goes in India, one will find a landscape in which mountains, rivers, forests, and villages are elaborately linked to the stories of the gods and heroes of Indian culture. Every place in this vast landscape has its story, and conversely, every story of Hindu myth and legend has its place. Likewise, these places are inextricably tied to one another—not simply in the past, but in the present—through the local, regional, and transregional practices of pilgrimage.
A Sacred Geography tells the story of the pilgrim’s India. In these pages, Diana Eck takes the reader on an extraordinary spiritual journey through the living landscape of this fascinating country –its mountains, rivers, and seacoasts, its ancient and powerful temples and shrines. Seeking to fully understand the sacred places of pilgrimage from the ground up, with their stories, connections and layers of meaning, she acutely examines Hindu religious ideas and narratives and shows how they have been deeply inscribed in the land itself. Ultimately, Eck shows us that from these networks of pilgrimage places, India’s very sense of region and nation has emerged. This is the astonishing and fascinating picture of a land linked for centuries not by the power of kings and governments, but by the footsteps of pilgrims.
A Sacred Geography offers a unique perspective on India, both as a complex religious culture and as a nation. Based on her extensive knowledge and her many decades of wide-ranging travel and research, Eck's piercing insights and a sweeping grasp of history ensure that this work will be in demand for many years to come.
559 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2012
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December 8, 2025
An Indian Pilgrimage
In the range of its learning and in its sweep, passion, and insight, Diana Eck's new book, "India: A Sacred Georgraphy" (2012) is a grand meditation on India and religious life. A professor of comparative literature and Indian studies at Harvard University, Eck has written widely on Indian religion and on American religious pluralism. In 1998, then President Clinton awarded Eck the National Humanities Medal for her work as director of the Pluralism Project in the investigation of America's changing religious landscape.
The overriding theme of Eck's study is pilgrimage. She offers a story of pilgrimage to India's many sacred places that is at once mythical, romantic and factual. Eck herself has spent decades in India exploring the sites her book discusses in extraordinary detail. Her pilgrimage extends over millennia and to the millions of people who make pilgrimages to Indian sacred sites each year. As I read, I realized that the pilgrimage was also Eck's own, and it ultimately becomes that of the reader.
Eck writes that she had the idea of writing this book of broad pilgrimages and sites upon writing an earlier book on the city of Benares. Eck came to realize that Benares was not a single sacred city in the manner of, for example, Jerusalem or Mecca, but was instead part of a vast network of Indian sacred places which she set about to explore. Eck argues that pilgrimage rather than sacrifice of the study of sacred texts is the primary expression of Hinduism and that Hinduism and religion, in turn hold the key to understanding the heart of India. The ancient myths of India constitute, for Eck, an "imagined landscape" which has been "constituted not by priests and their literature, though there is plenty of literature to be sure, but by countless millions of pilgrims who have generated a powerful sense of land, location, and belonging through journeys to their hearts' destinations."
Most importantly, Eck finds links in the ancient Indian myths between the transcendent and divine and the specifics of place. She also finds an emphasis of the pluralism of religious vision. In comparing Indian with some Western religious visions, Eck writes:
"[T]he places praised are not unique, but ultimately numberless, limited not by the capacity of the divine to be present at any one of them, but by the capacity of human beings to discover and to apprehend the divine presence at all of them. The dissonance, of course, arises from a discourse of exclusivity and uniqueness, more typical of the monotheistic traditions of the West, now arising in a Hindu context in which patterns of religious meaning have traditionally been constructed on the mythic presuppositions of divine plurality and plentitude."
In her study, Eck commingles a description of geography, contemporary pilgrimages, and in some cases contemporary Indian politics, with the great Indian myths. She draws from a wealth of sources from religious texts to commentators and poets, to legends and popular accounts. When Eck writes of places, concepts, and contemporary matters, she is clear and analytical. The myths themselves tend to be obscure, fantastic, and to blend into each other with their many variants. Eck recognizes the difficulty of the many myths and writes skillfully to produce the effect of plentitude and mystery. The reader would be advised not to linger over each story or to attempt to sort out confusions.
In early chapters, Eck examines the Indian geographical and religious landscape and its relation to myth. She discusses mythmaking as the key factor that unifies the Indian subcontinent, a unity that frequently eluded many earlier observers. She then offers long, chapter exploring India's many gods, the sites sacred to them, the myths surrounding them, and the visits that multitudes of pilgrims continue to make to the site as expressive of their own religious needs. Thus Eck describes the Ganges River and other sacred rivers, the myths and sacred places and pilgrimage sites of Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi, and of Krishna and Rama. The interrelationship of geography, myth, and pilgrimage offers a feel for Indian religious life throughout the ages. It is a travel through place and a travel through time and story.
The terminology of this book will be unfamiliar to most readers. There is a glossary at the end, together with a bibliography that begs for exploration. For the most part, I read the book through and puzzled out the content of unfamiliar words without turning to the glossary until I had concluded. Other readers may want to use the glossary first or with their reading. Each chapter of the book is introduced by a map outlining the various sites to be visited and discussed.
I have never been to India, but Eck's book reminded me, among many other things, that it is possible to travel and understand through the mind, heart, and creativity. With its emphasis of the varieties of place, the focus of the book is internalized. Eck concludes with a quotations from an Indian poet named Dasimayya who wrote that for one who was awake to Shiva, "his own front yard is the true Benares." A fourteenth century poet from Kashmir named Lalla wrote: "I, Lalla, went out far in search of Shiva, the omnipresent lord; having wandered, I found him in my own body, sitting in his house."
Robin Friedman
In the range of its learning and in its sweep, passion, and insight, Diana Eck's new book, "India: A Sacred Georgraphy" (2012) is a grand meditation on India and religious life. A professor of comparative literature and Indian studies at Harvard University, Eck has written widely on Indian religion and on American religious pluralism. In 1998, then President Clinton awarded Eck the National Humanities Medal for her work as director of the Pluralism Project in the investigation of America's changing religious landscape.
The overriding theme of Eck's study is pilgrimage. She offers a story of pilgrimage to India's many sacred places that is at once mythical, romantic and factual. Eck herself has spent decades in India exploring the sites her book discusses in extraordinary detail. Her pilgrimage extends over millennia and to the millions of people who make pilgrimages to Indian sacred sites each year. As I read, I realized that the pilgrimage was also Eck's own, and it ultimately becomes that of the reader.
Eck writes that she had the idea of writing this book of broad pilgrimages and sites upon writing an earlier book on the city of Benares. Eck came to realize that Benares was not a single sacred city in the manner of, for example, Jerusalem or Mecca, but was instead part of a vast network of Indian sacred places which she set about to explore. Eck argues that pilgrimage rather than sacrifice of the study of sacred texts is the primary expression of Hinduism and that Hinduism and religion, in turn hold the key to understanding the heart of India. The ancient myths of India constitute, for Eck, an "imagined landscape" which has been "constituted not by priests and their literature, though there is plenty of literature to be sure, but by countless millions of pilgrims who have generated a powerful sense of land, location, and belonging through journeys to their hearts' destinations."
Most importantly, Eck finds links in the ancient Indian myths between the transcendent and divine and the specifics of place. She also finds an emphasis of the pluralism of religious vision. In comparing Indian with some Western religious visions, Eck writes:
"[T]he places praised are not unique, but ultimately numberless, limited not by the capacity of the divine to be present at any one of them, but by the capacity of human beings to discover and to apprehend the divine presence at all of them. The dissonance, of course, arises from a discourse of exclusivity and uniqueness, more typical of the monotheistic traditions of the West, now arising in a Hindu context in which patterns of religious meaning have traditionally been constructed on the mythic presuppositions of divine plurality and plentitude."
In her study, Eck commingles a description of geography, contemporary pilgrimages, and in some cases contemporary Indian politics, with the great Indian myths. She draws from a wealth of sources from religious texts to commentators and poets, to legends and popular accounts. When Eck writes of places, concepts, and contemporary matters, she is clear and analytical. The myths themselves tend to be obscure, fantastic, and to blend into each other with their many variants. Eck recognizes the difficulty of the many myths and writes skillfully to produce the effect of plentitude and mystery. The reader would be advised not to linger over each story or to attempt to sort out confusions.
In early chapters, Eck examines the Indian geographical and religious landscape and its relation to myth. She discusses mythmaking as the key factor that unifies the Indian subcontinent, a unity that frequently eluded many earlier observers. She then offers long, chapter exploring India's many gods, the sites sacred to them, the myths surrounding them, and the visits that multitudes of pilgrims continue to make to the site as expressive of their own religious needs. Thus Eck describes the Ganges River and other sacred rivers, the myths and sacred places and pilgrimage sites of Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi, and of Krishna and Rama. The interrelationship of geography, myth, and pilgrimage offers a feel for Indian religious life throughout the ages. It is a travel through place and a travel through time and story.
The terminology of this book will be unfamiliar to most readers. There is a glossary at the end, together with a bibliography that begs for exploration. For the most part, I read the book through and puzzled out the content of unfamiliar words without turning to the glossary until I had concluded. Other readers may want to use the glossary first or with their reading. Each chapter of the book is introduced by a map outlining the various sites to be visited and discussed.
I have never been to India, but Eck's book reminded me, among many other things, that it is possible to travel and understand through the mind, heart, and creativity. With its emphasis of the varieties of place, the focus of the book is internalized. Eck concludes with a quotations from an Indian poet named Dasimayya who wrote that for one who was awake to Shiva, "his own front yard is the true Benares." A fourteenth century poet from Kashmir named Lalla wrote: "I, Lalla, went out far in search of Shiva, the omnipresent lord; having wandered, I found him in my own body, sitting in his house."
Robin Friedman
June 23, 2013
Truly illuminating!
I noticed two significant errors. One (p. 49) states: "That long fertile strip along the 'eastern' coast of India, stretching from Goa to Kerala," should of course, be 'western.' Two (p. 333) states that Lord Narasimha slew the asura Hiranyakashyapu at 'dawn.' He did so at dusk. I would also like to highlight a third point (p. 401) wherein the birds that inspire the sage Valmiki to begin the Ramayana as said to be "a pair of mating lovebirds." They were 'krauncha' i.e., Sarus Cranes.
I noticed two significant errors. One (p. 49) states: "That long fertile strip along the 'eastern' coast of India, stretching from Goa to Kerala," should of course, be 'western.' Two (p. 333) states that Lord Narasimha slew the asura Hiranyakashyapu at 'dawn.' He did so at dusk. I would also like to highlight a third point (p. 401) wherein the birds that inspire the sage Valmiki to begin the Ramayana as said to be "a pair of mating lovebirds." They were 'krauncha' i.e., Sarus Cranes.
August 29, 2019
A brilliantly written book in which the author brings to bear her decades long scholarship on Hindu rites and rituals, spaces and places. The author also mentions in passing other similar sacred geographies that can be mapped, so it's aptly subtitled, 'A Sacred Geography', as it is primarily devoted to Hindu sacred geography, and it's one of the many ways of mapping out the sacred geography. After reading this book one would not only emerge aware of the way divinity is embedded in Hindu life but also how that divinity pervades the landscape of the country, from the rocks to the mountains. By drawing on a number of deities and the places associated with them one gets a clear sense of how these divinities overlap in their 'kshetra' and how this overlap creates an intermingling of different cultural sensibilities which is at the heart of the sacred geography!
February 10, 2017
3.5/5 First things first - as another review has pointed out, the title should have been "A (Hindu) Sacred Geography". The other Indic religions - Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism have not been covered, nor have the Abrahamic/monotheist religions - Islam, Christainity, Jewism, Zororastarism despite their being well-established in India for centuries now.
But, ignoring that, the book has been written with a lot of research and perhaps because the author is in love with India, it is largely non-judgemental. Except for one long but interesting chapter in which she describes her idea of India, she has faded into d background.
But, though the book has a lot of information, it is not dry. Rather it serves as the ideal tourist guide. The religious places of Hinduism, their interconnections, their histories and myths, the present day condition and rituals are lovingly presented in a delightful platter. A diff book thats a must-read.
But, ignoring that, the book has been written with a lot of research and perhaps because the author is in love with India, it is largely non-judgemental. Except for one long but interesting chapter in which she describes her idea of India, she has faded into d background.
But, though the book has a lot of information, it is not dry. Rather it serves as the ideal tourist guide. The religious places of Hinduism, their interconnections, their histories and myths, the present day condition and rituals are lovingly presented in a delightful platter. A diff book thats a must-read.
January 9, 2017
Readable book, but beware of the several insinuations inserted in the book, the delegitimizing of Hindu history, the diminishing of the factual. Compare her writing in the book on Dwarka and Ayodhya to the factual, and you can detect a strong ideological bias against acknowledging anything historical and factual with respect to the antiquity of Hinduism. Eck seems determined to place Hinduism firmly in the space of the mythological, and rarely historical.
December 18, 2018
An important aspect of the Hindu tradition is the reverence and awe for the sacrality of the land itself and especially for the Bharata Khanda, Indian subcontinent as a whole. This reverence for the land goes back to the Rig veda where there are several hymns personifying and praising Prthivi, Earth itself. The Earth itself and especially Bharata Khanda (Indian subcontinent) as a whole is considered to be especially holy land.
And Indian mythology is rooted in Indian geography. "The affirmation of the everywhere of the sacred - this is the peculiar genius of the theology given expression in the landscape of India."
The Indian subcontinent as a whole is filled with sacred places and sacrality in every region. All of these teerthas, Pithas and Kshetras are connected to Hindu mythology and puranas, giving India her sense of cultural and historical unity. While India as a whole has rarely been politically unified, it is this sacred geography sanctified by the deeds of Gods and Heroes and connected by the paths of the pilgrims that has always created a strong sense of unity and uniqueness of Indian subcontinent. The myth of the Sakta pithas is where this expression is shown most vividly, where the subcontinent that is sown with the pieces of Sati's body creates a powerful sense of India as Bharata Mata.
Diana L. Eck here explores this Hindu sacred geography and its interconectedness in all its dimensions. Starting with the mythological Hindu geography, she explores the sacredness attached to all the rivers of the subcontinent, the deep rooted meanings and stories attached to the Siva, sakti and the Vishnu teerthas and also the places associated with journeys of the epic heroes in Mahabharatha and Ramayana. A very good narrative.
And Indian mythology is rooted in Indian geography. "The affirmation of the everywhere of the sacred - this is the peculiar genius of the theology given expression in the landscape of India."
The Indian subcontinent as a whole is filled with sacred places and sacrality in every region. All of these teerthas, Pithas and Kshetras are connected to Hindu mythology and puranas, giving India her sense of cultural and historical unity. While India as a whole has rarely been politically unified, it is this sacred geography sanctified by the deeds of Gods and Heroes and connected by the paths of the pilgrims that has always created a strong sense of unity and uniqueness of Indian subcontinent. The myth of the Sakta pithas is where this expression is shown most vividly, where the subcontinent that is sown with the pieces of Sati's body creates a powerful sense of India as Bharata Mata.
Diana L. Eck here explores this Hindu sacred geography and its interconectedness in all its dimensions. Starting with the mythological Hindu geography, she explores the sacredness attached to all the rivers of the subcontinent, the deep rooted meanings and stories attached to the Siva, sakti and the Vishnu teerthas and also the places associated with journeys of the epic heroes in Mahabharatha and Ramayana. A very good narrative.
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September 24, 2012What is the idea of India? Unlike other countries that have developed national consciousness over centuries and millenia India has always been confused and divided. Yet her people have shown a similarity of consciousnes and familiarity for an even longer time than nations have stood on this earth. Diana Eck points out how a different framework has to be added when dealing with the east and especially India because the assumptions have to change. Eck points out the whole idea of India has been present in the minds of Indians for at least two millenia which was expressed in the piligrims traversing the country and the sacred books extolling the grace of the divine. The books developed a mental landscape which was lived by the piligrims in their journeys which in turn built a level of familiarity about a land they would call their own. Eck's book looks at the legends surrounding places, deities and even natural surroundings and shows their contribution to the development of this thought. Its an excellent endeavour and a praiseworthy one. The only thing that is problematic is that she conviniently ignores the regions that are now Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Puranas included these regions as well but in her haste to be politically correct Eck simply ignores the references thereby setting an impression that Indians had long neglected these regions in their mental landscape which would thereby mean that the idea of Pakistan is not new but formulated by Indians themselves. Nothing could be farther from the truth. That aside the books is an excellent hypothesis on how we have become Indians.
August 3, 2012
Probably should be entitled India: A Hindu Sacred Geography. There's virtually no discussion of Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, or Christianity, all of which have their sacred geographies in India. This omission is surprising for someone whose interests include religious pluralism in the United States. The theme of the book is Hindu spiritual pilgrimage, and I cannot imagine a better introduction to that topic. Eck writes for an audience that has a more thorough command of Hinduism than I have.
May 28, 2012
In this book, Hinduism scholar Diana Eck makes a compelling case of why the (Hindu) Indian landscape is a vast network of cultural codes where the geography of place is intimately connected to the actual realization of mythological characters and events. Drawing heavily on the Purana and Mahatmya texts as a backdrop, Eck presents a summary of her own travels to various places of pilgrimage, from Badrinath and Kedarnath in the north to Ramesvaram and Kanyakumari in the south. She highlights the parallels in the significance of the similarity of events that took place at dispersed sites, reinforcing the linkage of the various places via the shared cultural landscape, irrespective of physically differentiated geographical features or location. This is possible through an elaborate grammar of sanctification, through which the elements of the shared landscape are established and revered - Ayatarana (Divine Descent), Svayambhu (Self-Manifest Destiny), Pratishtha (Sanctification by Adhesion) and Body Language of Godhead.
Eck explains the subtle differentiation in sanctity of place between dhams(where Gods live) and tirthas (a crossing-place, or place of pilgrimage), and shows how pilgrims construct a pattern/program of pilgrimage site visits during their lived lives using this logic. The book is segmented by an overview of sacred sites associated with the respective ishtadevatas or chosen deities, including Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Rama, Krishna, and Ganga. In each case, the main Puranic and Mahatmya context is clearly identified, and a summary of the rituals and experiences of the pilgrimage are highlighted. The author serves up occasional nuggets of information such as the association of Namboodri Brahmin priests from southern Kerala with the snowy, Himalayan pilgrimage site of Badrinath in the extreme north, the close connection of pilgrimage sites of Rama with Shiva (as at Ramesvaram). The author also takes a stab at how the unfolding of various political happenings in the name of pilgrimage, such as the Babri Masjid episode over the notion of Ramjanmabhoomi, or actual birthplace of Rama, fundamentally undercuts the mythic importance of Rama by overprioritizing the physical site of his birth, and attempts to make a larger, and more sacred cultural linkage into a mere geographical association to a single place.
Eck explains the subtle differentiation in sanctity of place between dhams(where Gods live) and tirthas (a crossing-place, or place of pilgrimage), and shows how pilgrims construct a pattern/program of pilgrimage site visits during their lived lives using this logic. The book is segmented by an overview of sacred sites associated with the respective ishtadevatas or chosen deities, including Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Rama, Krishna, and Ganga. In each case, the main Puranic and Mahatmya context is clearly identified, and a summary of the rituals and experiences of the pilgrimage are highlighted. The author serves up occasional nuggets of information such as the association of Namboodri Brahmin priests from southern Kerala with the snowy, Himalayan pilgrimage site of Badrinath in the extreme north, the close connection of pilgrimage sites of Rama with Shiva (as at Ramesvaram). The author also takes a stab at how the unfolding of various political happenings in the name of pilgrimage, such as the Babri Masjid episode over the notion of Ramjanmabhoomi, or actual birthplace of Rama, fundamentally undercuts the mythic importance of Rama by overprioritizing the physical site of his birth, and attempts to make a larger, and more sacred cultural linkage into a mere geographical association to a single place.
December 12, 2016
India is one of the most interesting topics for me and I am very much impress about the view made by this book. Literally this book transferred the message of India and geological study through its vast number of pilgrimage known as “Thiratha”.
As a insider of this tradition and customs, I can see things differently and may be more emotionally. Here this books talked about various places of India’s pilgrimage. Seriously, after landing from airport you will find that India is not just a nation of Land, forest, river and people. It is a nation of 1.25 billions stories and truths. These stories about their Lord and Dharma (Indian Hindu religion) is embedded from street of Delhi to peak of Himalaya’s, From west land of dawarka to east of Brahmaputra, from middle of Madhya Pradesh to South sea of Chennai.
Full Review
https://indianindology.wordpress.com/...
As a insider of this tradition and customs, I can see things differently and may be more emotionally. Here this books talked about various places of India’s pilgrimage. Seriously, after landing from airport you will find that India is not just a nation of Land, forest, river and people. It is a nation of 1.25 billions stories and truths. These stories about their Lord and Dharma (Indian Hindu religion) is embedded from street of Delhi to peak of Himalaya’s, From west land of dawarka to east of Brahmaputra, from middle of Madhya Pradesh to South sea of Chennai.
India is one of country where religion is not printed in holy books but in Mind and Life of native peoples.
Full Review
https://indianindology.wordpress.com/...
September 23, 2014
Hinduism can be impenetrable to Westerners, with its multiform gods, its relationship with image, and with its body-cosmology. India: A Sacred Geography interweaves sacred stories and myths with pilgrim's-eye observations of locations and rituals. It is definitely steeped in its material--it's written from the perspective of someone who knows the area and its less tangible surroundings. It shows an India less concerned with nationalism and other modern constructs and more with its spiritual spaces that are outside time.
April 17, 2018
Extremely detailed, impeccably researched, catastrophically boring.
September 29, 2022
Approached this book to recall a particular mythological incident , ended up liking this book which is a clean sweep!
March 24, 2015
Having been a student of Eck's in the '90s, I enjoyed spending a few moments again with her voice -- she has an ability to evoke the textural and sensual details of various religions traditions that I've found nowhere else. I appreciated her insight that Banares, about which she wrote an earlier book, is "not unique, but inextricably part of a wider landscape shaped by the repetition and linking of its features. I began to realize that Kashi was not _the_ center, but one of multiple centers in a fascinating and polycentric landscape, linked with the tracks of pilgrimage."
"This landscape not only connects places to the lore of gods, heroes, and saints, but it connects places to one another through local, regional, and transregional practices of pilgrimage. Even more, these tracks of connection stretch from this world toward the horizon of the infinite, linking this world with the world beyond. The pilgrim's India is a vivdly imagined landscape that has been created not by homing in on the singular importance of one place, but by the linking, duplication, and multiplication of places so as to constitute an entire world. The critical rule of thumb is this: Those things that are deeply important are to be widely repeated. The repetition o fplaces, the creation of clusters and circles of sacred places, the articulation of groups of four, five, seven, or twelve sites -- all this constitutes a vivid symbolic landscape characterized not by exclusivity and uniqueness, but by polycentricity, pluralism, and duplication. Most important, this 'imagined landscape' has been constituted not by priests and their literature, though there is plenty of literature to be sure, but by countless millions of pilgrims who have generated a powerful sense of land, location, and belonging through journeys to their hearts' destinations" (5).
See what I mean? Prose poetry. That said, I didn't need to read the endless descriptions of the examples that led her to this conclusion, no matter how lush her prose.
"This landscape not only connects places to the lore of gods, heroes, and saints, but it connects places to one another through local, regional, and transregional practices of pilgrimage. Even more, these tracks of connection stretch from this world toward the horizon of the infinite, linking this world with the world beyond. The pilgrim's India is a vivdly imagined landscape that has been created not by homing in on the singular importance of one place, but by the linking, duplication, and multiplication of places so as to constitute an entire world. The critical rule of thumb is this: Those things that are deeply important are to be widely repeated. The repetition o fplaces, the creation of clusters and circles of sacred places, the articulation of groups of four, five, seven, or twelve sites -- all this constitutes a vivid symbolic landscape characterized not by exclusivity and uniqueness, but by polycentricity, pluralism, and duplication. Most important, this 'imagined landscape' has been constituted not by priests and their literature, though there is plenty of literature to be sure, but by countless millions of pilgrims who have generated a powerful sense of land, location, and belonging through journeys to their hearts' destinations" (5).
See what I mean? Prose poetry. That said, I didn't need to read the endless descriptions of the examples that led her to this conclusion, no matter how lush her prose.
September 20, 2012
This great scholarly work took almost thirty years for the author to complete, and the detail, knowledge and coherence derived from such hard work is evident in this book. For a westerner to have such detailed and intricate knowledge of Hindu mythology and religious believes is astounding.
She demonstrates how religious believes and mythology of Hindus is linked to specific geographies and physical locations. Every caste, every community under the broader umbrella of Hinduism has its own pious and sacred "sthan" or location. At a broader level are the more homogeneous 'tirths' and 'peeths' that are revered by most Hindus irrespective of their caste or community. Because of the existence of such sacred sites, the cities and towns containing them also become sacred sites themselves. Additionally, there are countless and numerous regional sacred sites revered by local communities and customs. They too over time come to define the geography of the region.
In the process, it emerges that even at a time "India" was not "India" (since India as a politically coherent and distinct concept emerged only upon independence in 1947) and consisted of hundreds of smaller and distinct princely states, there was nonetheless a commonality shared by Hindus across the south Asian peninsula. This shared bond was not a making of political affiliations, but sacred and religious believes. A north Indian and an east Indian shared a thread of togetherness even hundreds of years ago, since there was shared reverence for holy sites in each other's regions.
Only word of caution- India is not only Hindus, so to that extent, this work is more of sacred geography of Hindus rather than India per se. But overall, fantastic work!
She demonstrates how religious believes and mythology of Hindus is linked to specific geographies and physical locations. Every caste, every community under the broader umbrella of Hinduism has its own pious and sacred "sthan" or location. At a broader level are the more homogeneous 'tirths' and 'peeths' that are revered by most Hindus irrespective of their caste or community. Because of the existence of such sacred sites, the cities and towns containing them also become sacred sites themselves. Additionally, there are countless and numerous regional sacred sites revered by local communities and customs. They too over time come to define the geography of the region.
In the process, it emerges that even at a time "India" was not "India" (since India as a politically coherent and distinct concept emerged only upon independence in 1947) and consisted of hundreds of smaller and distinct princely states, there was nonetheless a commonality shared by Hindus across the south Asian peninsula. This shared bond was not a making of political affiliations, but sacred and religious believes. A north Indian and an east Indian shared a thread of togetherness even hundreds of years ago, since there was shared reverence for holy sites in each other's regions.
Only word of caution- India is not only Hindus, so to that extent, this work is more of sacred geography of Hindus rather than India per se. But overall, fantastic work!
April 20, 2021
This lengthy book is intriguing, confusing, dense, sometimes monotonous, and brilliant--Eck assumes a base level of familiarity with Hinduism and the actual geography of India so she can get on with her book. One may feel one is rushing to catch up with her as she waxes on her topic, which does seem much narrower in focus than the title states, focusing pretty much on Hinduism. She says in her introduction that "the entire land of India is a great network of pilgrimage places" and proceeds to take us with astounding detail on a tour of these places, showing us how the physical land is both earthly and heavenly. She says, "In the pilgrim's India we encounter over and over the powerful conception of a god who fills and exceeds the span of space and is simultaneously fully present in this very place." This book was completed in 2012 and Eck brings up the already grave concerns of the hundreds of environmental groups trying desperately to protect the degradation of India's natural features, (including its sacred rivers) which are not standing up well to the millions of pilgrims--the sheer numbers of annual human traffic to temples and shrines Eck cites are mind-boggling. From Eck's perspective, it's a no-brainer to extend the reverence for divine places to the protection of such places. But, she says, science and religion are at odds to get a result. "According to scientific and environmental assessments, it is human and industrial waste that has led to the ecological degeneracy of the river, but for the residents and religious practitioners...the abuse of the river is a sign of the moral degeneracy of the age, the corruption and immoral behavior of humans. " She goes on with great articulation. A very good read, but requires some stick-to-itiveness. Adult.
September 3, 2013
India is known as the Land of Dharma, and when Hindus travel, it's usually to go to one of thousands of holy sites. Eck gives us an understanding as to what constitutes a holy site and the history behind some of these places. I've made three trips to India myself and have gone to some of these sites, both Hindu and Buddhist. On the last trip to India my wife wanted to go north to Rishikesh, near the source of the Ganges River, but due to my heart condition that was impossible. Toward the end of our three month stay, we were in a berth on a train. and Indian couple came aboard. We struck up an immediate friendship, and in the conversation my wife expressed her wish to go North to Ganges. There faces lit up. They had just come from Rishikesh and were carrying several containers of Ganges water, one of which they opened to share with us. They concluded that my wife's desire was so fervent, the Ganges had come to her. Very good reading, but it helps to know some background before you open the book.
November 11, 2012
To read this book is to look through the eyes of a pilgrim seeking revelation of the divine in the landscape of India, a landscape where the temporal world and the spiritual world occupy the same space. A temple or a shrine, a mountain or a river, a forest or a rock formation: these places and features evoke mythic and miraculous stories from the Hindu tradition. They are to the pilgrim the fords by which one crosses into the dimension of the sacred, which is why when learning about Hinduism, it’s just as important to discuss geography as it is theology.
July 24, 2016
The book covers everything about India's geography and its relation with the religion.Author has collected and focused on the widespread beliefs, culture and how myths and adventure keep it together. Some narrations are amazing and even native people won't know unless they read a lot many other unrelated texts. Very well written and must for anyone who wants to know a little bit more about India.
July 22, 2015
I can simply marvel at the research done on this book. Most importantly this book doesn't feel like an outsider's view of India and its many traditions and cultures. I cannot write anything in this review that others haven't already written. Highly recommended!
June 19, 2019
Informative, but biased in the usual Euro-centric way.
Ugrasena was the grandfather of Krishna, not his uncle.
She gives examples of Islamic brutality, but again downplays them and focuses on the usual tropes Americans / Europeans apply to the Bharatiya subcontinent.
Ugrasena was the grandfather of Krishna, not his uncle.
She gives examples of Islamic brutality, but again downplays them and focuses on the usual tropes Americans / Europeans apply to the Bharatiya subcontinent.
April 19, 2013
Excellent! and superb narrative of a vernacular Indian.
May 12, 2016
in praise of polytheism of hinduism and its bharat. good research of the indian pilgrim sites.
February 1, 2024
India sacred geography is one of those seminal books by a foreign author about India which consciously does not fall into the typical trap of assuming a western gaze on an oriental subject. Diana Eck quite literally undertakes a journey of a thousand miles across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent and articulates the old thesis that the earliest conceptions of India come not from a state trying to draw political boundaries but by the foot journeys of millions of pilgrims to the consecrated spots scattered across the country. The land of India remains one of the most consecrated lands in the world and very few religions have found instances of the Divine in their immediate geography as well as Hinduism has. The book takes the instances from Vedas, the puranas, epics like ramayana and Mahabharata and the many schools of regional Hindu thought and draws a colorful picture of India's sacred geography. Be that the Jyotirlingas, the Shakti Pithas or the 108 holy spots of Vishnu, Diana Eck takes a sweeping view of 5000 years of history, religion and mythmaking as she traces the origins of what is Bharat. This is a fantastic and highly approachable book which is deemed a classic for good reason
May 22, 2024
An extraordinary book. One that must be read by anybody trying to understand the role of religion in India. Perhaps more so for those of us who live in India, listening to the poison peddled by politicians in the name of religion.
The book discusses the history and theology of Hinduism, focusing on pilgrimage and mythology. The author's main thesis is that the heart of Hinduism is not in any one book or teachings of any one saint, but from the deep well of stories that pervade all aspects of life and the long standing tradition of pilgrimage. The author puts forth her argument persuasively and with a great number of examples, each interesting in its own right.
The most remarkable aspect of this book is the depth of feeling with which the author writes. She clearly cares very deeply for the subject material, has travelled widely across the country and has imbibed its culture in a way that few people have (Indians included).
The book is itself a pilgrimage. One that forced me to reexamine my relationship with religion and taught me a great deal about my own country.
The book discusses the history and theology of Hinduism, focusing on pilgrimage and mythology. The author's main thesis is that the heart of Hinduism is not in any one book or teachings of any one saint, but from the deep well of stories that pervade all aspects of life and the long standing tradition of pilgrimage. The author puts forth her argument persuasively and with a great number of examples, each interesting in its own right.
The most remarkable aspect of this book is the depth of feeling with which the author writes. She clearly cares very deeply for the subject material, has travelled widely across the country and has imbibed its culture in a way that few people have (Indians included).
The book is itself a pilgrimage. One that forced me to reexamine my relationship with religion and taught me a great deal about my own country.
August 31, 2025
https://anuragrbl.blogspot.com/2025/0...
Detailed review in the link above.India: A Sacred Geography
The book explores the intersection of geography, religion and spirituality along with its pan-India explanations. Ms. Eck has been the professor of religion in Harvard and an Indologist. She has spent time in India during her project on Benaras in early 1980s. There is reflection of that work in this one also due to same theme and to the fact that Benaras has profound impact on Hinduism. The river Ganga and presence of Lord Vishesvara add to the depth in one's understanding of Hinduism through these 2 pillars.
There are many factual snippets which even the most aware practitioners of Hinduism may not know and it offers a primary source for such information. Like all of her book , the appendix and explanation add credibility and reflection of her hard work which went into this grand work.
Detailed review in the link above.India: A Sacred Geography
The book explores the intersection of geography, religion and spirituality along with its pan-India explanations. Ms. Eck has been the professor of religion in Harvard and an Indologist. She has spent time in India during her project on Benaras in early 1980s. There is reflection of that work in this one also due to same theme and to the fact that Benaras has profound impact on Hinduism. The river Ganga and presence of Lord Vishesvara add to the depth in one's understanding of Hinduism through these 2 pillars.
There are many factual snippets which even the most aware practitioners of Hinduism may not know and it offers a primary source for such information. Like all of her book , the appendix and explanation add credibility and reflection of her hard work which went into this grand work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 9, 2021One of the best I have red in recent times.....and am simply in awe of the deep research and study done by the author/Professor. Full credits for her painstaking tours and journeys undertaken across the length and breadth of this great Bharatavarsha. I am moved by the superb descriptions of Tirthas, Shakti peethas, Jyotirlingas and rivers too. India is a spiritual superpower and has been astonishing so many adepts and true seekers since ages. I would really recommend this to read and studied. I made a lot of notes from the bibliography provided. I think political views could have been avoided but I will definitely read Professors book on pluralism in the USA too. Bharat since time immemorial has been the abode of countless seers, self realized jnanis and its core is adhyatmic shakti. Truly appreciate the scholarly work.
February 28, 2021
Absolutely must read for those interested in the land of India and the geography of the country. The author says that when British came, they couldn't map the country as they never understood the sacredness of the land, which is based on the sacredness of mountains and rivers, and the sacred stories of each place of that region.
The book is divided into chapters based on Indian God's, like Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and then each chapter contains the major places that are worshipped for each God and the story associated with it.
A very interesting read, not just because of the stories of each location, but also how the devotees have high esteem for that region where the temple or river or mountain is situated.
The book is divided into chapters based on Indian God's, like Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and then each chapter contains the major places that are worshipped for each God and the story associated with it.
A very interesting read, not just because of the stories of each location, but also how the devotees have high esteem for that region where the temple or river or mountain is situated.
November 23, 2020
Strictly for people living in India or have lived there for a long period of time. It’s not a scholarly deep dive, but is still well researched. The “lived in” quality and first hand experiences, make it highly relatable. I loved how it connected mythology, culture, rituals, etc with land, rivers, forests and mountains. As an Indian, living abroad for almost two decades, it brought me closer to my land, its geography, and not just it’s stories.
October 29, 2017
A superb book. Although slightly dense at points, I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in India or Hinduism. It shows how the concept of an “India” or “Bharat” was a fact long before the British ever even existed. For me personally this was a revelatory book, in that it showed me how little I know of my own country and culture.
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