This page groups sacred sites by whether their sacred status is still actively maintained. Wikipedia notes that Mircea Eliade "argues that while the concept of a sacred space is often associated with religious traditions, it is not exclusive to them," since secular societies can keep treating a place as significant too. Browsing this way lets a visitor tell a site with living religious observance apart from one preserved mainly for its history.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingTirthas - crossing-places between the human and the divine: rivers and their confluences, sacred cities, mountain shrines and temple complexes. They are organised into several named, enumerated sets that overlap rather than nest, among them the four Dhams, the twelve Jyotirlingas, the seven sacred cities and the four Kumbh Mela sites. No single list is the list. 2 Origins
Whose Classification This IsThe enumerated sets are Puranic, not modern: the pilgrimage lists are set out in the mahatmya literature of the Puranas and elaborated in later digests, and different sectarian traditions promote different lists. 3 Learn More
The holy places of Hinduism
This group gathers the sacred sites of Hinduism, whose sacred geography is exceptionally rich: holy rivers and their confluences, sacred cities, mountain shrines, and vast temple complexes, many the goal of pilgrimages performed for centuries. The land itself is mapped as a network of tirthas, crossing-places between the human and divine.
The browser will find the great pilgrimage cities and temples, the sacred rivers led by the Ganges, and the sites bound to particular deities and epics. The entries describe each place's deity, mythology and pilgrimage tradition, noting the sectarian traditions attached to them.
Control of or access to the site is contested
Filter Results2 entries
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. An Introduction to Hinduism
3. A Survey of Hinduism
Klaus K. Klostermaier, State University of New York Press, 2007View the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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