Region

Indian Subcontinent

Also Known As South Asia · South Asian

South Asia

The South Asian landmass running from the Himalaya to the Indian Ocean, covering modern India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are placed here, which makes it the most productive single region in this scheme. Bon is placed here too, and that is the strain: Bon is Tibetan, and whether the Tibetan plateau belongs to the subcontinent or to Inner Asia depends entirely on whether the boundary is drawn by mountain range, by watershed or by cultural exchange. Buddhism also outgrew the region almost immediately and is now largest well outside it.

Facts

Geography

Latitude

22 degrees north 1

Approximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; a large or historical region has no formal center, so this coordinate is conventional, not a precise boundary claim.

Longitude

79 degrees east 1

Approximate reference point, rounded to one decimal place; a large or historical region has no formal center, so this coordinate is conventional, not a precise boundary claim.

Modern Area

India, Nepal, Pakistan 1

Traditions

Principal Religious Traditions

Buddhism 2

Principal Religious Traditions

Hinduism 2

Principal Religious Traditions

Jainism 2

Principal Religious Traditions

Sikhism 2

Sacred and Liturgical Languages

Sanskrit, Pali, Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, and Punjabi (Gurmukhi) 3

Learn More

The Most Religiously Productive Land on Earth

The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, which makes it, by that measure, the single most productive religious region in human history. These traditions share a common conceptual grammar even as they differ profoundly: nearly all work with karma (the moral law of cause and effect across lives), samsara (the cycle of rebirth), and moksha or nirvana (liberation from that cycle) as the ultimate goal, and dharma as the ordering principle of life. Hinduism, the oldest and largest, is less a single religion than a vast family of traditions, Vedic sacrifice, the philosophy of the Upanishads and Vedanta, the great devotional cults of Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess, the epics and Puranas, rooted in the Vedas, the oldest religious literature still in use.

From the same soil, in reaction and dialogue, arose Buddhism and Jainism in the sixth to fifth centuries BCE, and, much later, Sikhism in the fifteenth-century Punjab. The subcontinent also became home to enormous communities of Islam (South Asia holds the largest Muslim population of any region) and ancient communities of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians (the Parsis), and others. The result is a religious landscape of extraordinary density and continuity, in which the philosophical questions of the self, action, and liberation have been debated without interruption for three thousand years.

An Oral Record, Written Down Late

What is known about religion in the subcontinent comes through a transmission unlike any other in this atlas, and the shape of the record is worth understanding before the content.

The Vedic hymns were preserved by recitation for many centuries before anyone wrote them down, and they were preserved with a precision that is genuinely remarkable. Brahmin schools developed layered recitation methods that repeat the text in permuted orders, so that a single error in word or accent would break the pattern audibly and be corrected. The result is a text that specialists regard as transmitted with less corruption than most manuscript traditions of comparable age achieve on parchment.

The manuscripts are a different matter. Palm leaf and birch bark do not survive the climate, so copies were made afresh every few generations and the physical witnesses to even very old texts are usually recent. Dating therefore rests on language and internal evidence rather than on a datable object.

The archaeological record adds a gap that may never close. The Indus Valley cities produce seals and figurines that look religious, and the script on them remains undeciphered despite a century of effort, so their beliefs are read from images alone. The proposals connecting them to later Hindu practice are arguments from resemblance.

Buddhist and Jain material survives on inscription and in Pali and Prakrit canons preserved outside the subcontinent as well as within it, which is why the transmission history of each has its own geography.

Indian Subcontinent

52 entries

Pilgrimage Status

UNESCO World Heritage Status

Cult Centre Of

Associated With

Holds Element

Origin Period Start Year

Practice Status

Site Type

Tradition

Country

Connections

Associated With

British Empire

Orientalist scholarship in British India gave the categories Hinduism and Buddhism the shape they now carry worldwide.

Source Religion Versus Empire? British Protestant Missionaries and Overseas Expansion, 1700-1914Andrew Porter

Pehlwani (Wikipedia)

This source names South Asian directly: "Wikipedia's article on pehlwani, South Asian wrestling, consulted 2026-08-12."

Source Pehlwani (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors

Attested Here

Ardhamagadhi Prakrit

Ardhamagadhi Prakrit is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. Ardhamagadhi is the language of the Svetambara Jain canon. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Awadhi

Awadhi is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Braj Bhasha

Braj Bhasha is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Cow

Kamadhenu the wish-granting divine cow, and cow protection (go-raksha) attested from the Mahabharata onward.

Source A Survey of HinduismKlaus K. Klostermaier

Eagle

Garuda, mount of Vishnu, an eagle being rather than an eagle.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Elephant

Ganesha, Airavata and the white elephant of the Buddha's conception dream.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Horse

The ashvamedha, the royal horse sacrifice, and the Ashvins.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Kinnara

Lion

Narasimha, Durga's mount, and the lion throne of the Buddha.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Monkey

Hanuman, and the monkey as a devotee whose loyalty is the point of the story.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Nandi, the bull who sits before every Shiva shrine.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Pali

Pali is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Peacock

The mount of Kartikeya and of Saraswati in some traditions, and the bird that kills snakes.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Punjabi

Punjabi is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. Punjabi in Gurmukhi script is the language of the Guru Granth Sahib. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Rat

Ganesha's mount, and the rats fed at the Karni Mata temple.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Sandalwood

The ritual use of sandalwood paste that the atlas records for this tree is Indian, and the trade in its heartwood runs out of southern India.

Source Puja: A Study in Smarta RitualGudrun Buhnemann

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Sauraseni Prakrit

Sauraseni Prakrit is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Snake

The nagas, Shesha, and the cobra at Shiva's neck.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Swan

The hamsa, mount of Brahma, said to separate milk from water.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

The Ahimsa-Based Dietary Restrictions of Jainism

Jain dietary law, grounded in ahimsa, observed by Jain monastics and laity of the Indian Subcontinent.

Source The JainsPaul Dundas

Tiger

Durga's mount, and the tiger skin Shiva sits on.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Turtle

Kurma, the tortoise avatar, who supports the mountain used to churn the ocean.

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Vedic Sanskrit

Vedic Sanskrit is documented in use as a written language in Indian Subcontinent. The claim is where the language is documented in use as a written, literary or liturgical language. It is not a claim about the full extent of its speakers, and it is not a claim about where the language originated.

Source The World's Writing SystemsPeter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds.)

Contains

Bengal

Bengal is the delta region of the eastern subcontinent.

Bihar

Bihar is an eastern Indian state.

Deccan

The Deccan is the plateau of peninsular India.

India

Source India (Wikipedia)

Indus Valley

The Indus plain lies in the northwest of the subcontinent.

Karnataka

Karnataka is a southwestern Indian state.

Kashmir

Kashmir lies at the northern edge of the subcontinent.

Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra lies in Haryana, in northern India.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a western Indian state.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a northwestern Indian state.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is the southeastern Indian state.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is a northern Indian state.

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is a northern Indian state.

Originated Here

Shraddha

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Shravanabelagola

Source The JainsPaul Dundas

Sinhalese

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)Encyclopaedia Britannica editors

Soma Sacrifice

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Somnath Temple

Source Somanatha: The Many Voices of a HistoryRomila Thapar

Srauta Rites

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Source Civil Appeal No. 2732 of 2020, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Case, Supreme Court of IndiaSupreme Court of India

Tabla

Source Tabla (Wikipedia)

Takht Sri Damdama Sahib

Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd editionLouis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod

Takht Sri Hazur Sahib

Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd editionLouis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod

Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib

Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd editionLouis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod

Takht Sri Patna Sahib

Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd editionLouis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod

Tamils

The Tamil country is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.

Tarpana

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa)

Source UNESCO World Heritage ListUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Tevaram

Source Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil SaintsIndira Viswanathan Peterson

The Adityas

The Akal Takht

Source Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd editionLouis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod

The Apas

Attested in the Rigveda.

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

The Ashwini Kumaras

Attested in the Rigveda, and under the name Nasatya in a fourteenth century BCE treaty from northern Syria.

Source The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European WorldJ. P. Mallory and D. Q. Adams

The Churning of the Ocean of Milk

Source Vishnu PuranaAnonymous

The Navagraha

The Paradesi Synagogue

Source Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd editionMichael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.)

The Pitris

Attested from the Rigvedic funeral hymns onward.

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

The Vasus

Attested in the Rigveda.

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

The Vishvadevas

Attested in the Rigveda.

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple

Source Encyclopedia of HinduismDenise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.)

Tiruvasagam

Source TiruvacakamManikkavacakar, translated by G. U. Pope

Torana

Source Torana (architecture) (Wikipedia)

Triveni Sangam and the Kumbh Mela

Source Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765-1954Kama Maclean

Tvashtri

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

Udvada Atash Behram

Source The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and MigrationJohn R. Hinnells

Upanayana

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Vaishno Devi

Source The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1988Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir

Varanasi

Source Banaras: City of LightDiana L. Eck

Vastu Shastra

Source The Hindu TempleStella Kramrisch

Vidhatri

A Sanskrit formation of the later Vedic period.

Source Vedic MythologyArthur Anthony Macdonell

Vihara

Source Vihāra (Wikipedia)

Vimshottari Dasha

Vishvarupa

Attested in the Rigveda.

Source The Rigveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of IndiaStephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton

Vivaha

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Yajna (Fire Sacrifice)

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Yaksha

Showing 101 to 143 of 143 in Originated Here, page 3 of 3.

Plants Native Here

Aarti

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Abhisheka

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Agnihotra

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Annaprashana

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Antyeshti

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Anuvrata (Jain Lay Vows)

Source The JainsPaul Dundas

Ashvamedha

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Cannabis

Source Plants For A Future: Cannabis sativa (plant database entry)

Chudakarana

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia is native to the Indian subcontinent and eastward. It is no true myrtle, the resemblance being only in the leaf.

Source Plants of the World OnlineRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Cucumber

Source Plants of the World OnlineRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Homa

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Meditation on the Chakras

Source The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth CenturyGeoffrey Samuel

Namakarana

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Prana Pratishtha

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Puja

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Rajasuya

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Shraddha

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Soma Sacrifice

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Srauta Rites

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Tarpana

Source An Introduction to HinduismGavin Flood

Upanayana

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Vivaha

Source The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)Hermann Oldenberg (trans.)

Yajna (Fire Sacrifice)

Source Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire AltarFrits Staal

Plants Used in Ritual Here

Basil

Source A Modern HerbalMaud Grieve

Betel Nut Palm

Source The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its ApplicationsChristian Ratsch

Cannabis

Source The Religious and Medicinal Uses of Cannabis in China, India and TibetMia Touw

Jasmine

Source A Modern HerbalMaud Grieve

Regions Where This Is Principal

Buddhism

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Hinduism

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Jainism

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Sikhism

Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Related To

Gujarat

Gujarat lies on the northwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent.

Himalayas

The range forms the northern edge of the Indian subcontinent.

Kerala

Kerala lies at the southwestern tip of the Indian subcontinent.

Sky Figures Read Here

Bengali

Bengali is spoken across the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.

Persian Language

Used by the Delhi Sultanates and the Mughals in the Indian subcontinent.

Source Persian language (Wikipedia)

In the Other Atlases

Used In

Prakrit

Also in Language Atlas: which uses this subject.

Sanskrit

Also in Language Atlas: which uses this subject.

Sources

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica (online academic reference)

Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2024

s.v. regional geography
Originated Here: Sinhalese
Originated Here: Anandpur Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Anuradhapura (Sri Maha Bodhi), Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Mathura, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Gyanvapi Mosque, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: South Asia
Originated Here: Rumtek Monastery, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: South Asia

View the Source

2. Encyclopedia of Religion

Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005The geography of religions

Quote, The geography of religions

General reference for the extent of each region and for the traditions placed within it.

View the Source

3. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

John Bowker (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1997The religions of the Indian subcontinentView the Source

A Survey of Hinduism

Klaus K. Klostermaier, State University of New York Press, 2007Attested Here: CowView the Source

The Jains

Paul Dundas, Routledge, 2002

Attested Here: The Ahimsa-Based Dietary Restrictions of Jainism
Plants Native Here: Anuvrata (Jain Lay Vows), Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Anuvrata (Jain Lay Vows), Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Palitana and Shatrunjaya, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Shravanabelagola, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Sammed Shikharji, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Girnar, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

View the Source

Kiratism (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationOriginated Here: Kirat Mundhum, Lead section

Quote, Originated Here: Kirat Mundhum, Lead section

in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent.

View the Source

Sant Mat (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Sant Mat, Lead section

Quote, Originated Here: Sant Mat, Lead section

a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the

View the Source

Vihāra (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Vihara, Lead section

Quote, Originated Here: Vihara, Lead section

renunciates, mostly in the Indian subcontinent.

View the Source

Torana (architecture) (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Torana, Lead section

Quote, Originated Here: Torana, Lead section

Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent.

View the Source

Persian language (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationSky Figures Read Here: Persian Language, Persian language, official use

Quote, Sky Figures Read Here: Persian Language, Persian language, official use

It was used officially as a language of bureaucracy even by non-native speakers, such as the Ottomans in Anatolia, the Delhi Sultanates and Mughals in the Indian subcontinent, and the Pashtuns in Afghanistan.

View the Source

An Introduction to Hinduism

Gavin Flood, Cambridge University Press, 1996

Plants Native Here: Puja, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Aarti, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Abhisheka, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Annaprashana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Antyeshti, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Chudakarana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Shraddha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Tarpana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Prana Pratishtha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Puja, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Aarti, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Abhisheka, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Annaprashana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Antyeshti, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Chudakarana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Shraddha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Tarpana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Prana Pratishtha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent

View the Source

Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar

Frits Staal, Asian Humanities Press, 1983

Plants Native Here: Yajna (Fire Sacrifice), Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Plants Native Here: Srauta Rites, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Plants Native Here: Ashvamedha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Plants Native Here: Soma Sacrifice, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Plants Native Here: Rajasuya, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Yajna (Fire Sacrifice), Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Srauta Rites, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Ashvamedha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Soma Sacrifice, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Rajasuya, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period

The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century

Geoffrey Samuel, Cambridge University Press, 2008

Plants Native Here: Meditation on the Chakras, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in yogic and tantric tradition
Originated Here: Meditation on the Chakras, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in yogic and tantric tradition

The Grihya-Sutras: Rules of Vedic Domestic Ceremonies (Sacred Books of the East, vols 29-30)

Hermann Oldenberg (trans.), Clarendon Press, 1892

Plants Native Here: Homa, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Namakarana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Upanayana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Vivaha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Plants Native Here: Agnihotra, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period
Originated Here: Homa, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Namakarana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Upanayana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Vivaha, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Agnihotra, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, in the Vedic period

Plants of the World Online

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Plants Native Here: Cucumber, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: South Asia, in the foothills of the Himalayas
Originated Here: Cucumber, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: South Asia, in the foothills of the Himalayas
Originated Here: Crape Myrtle, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent and eastern Asia

View the Source

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism

Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., Princeton University Press, 2014

Originated Here: Mahayana, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent
Originated Here: Adam Peak (Sri Pada), Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Sarnath, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Kushinagar, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Boudhanath, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

View the Source

Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.), Routledge, 2008

Originated Here: Shaktism, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, with major centres in Bengal, Assam and the Tamil country
Originated Here: Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Meenakshi Amman Temple, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Pashupatinath, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Guruvayur, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Amarnath Cave, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Damaru, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian subcontinent, Tibet and the Himalayan Buddhist world
Originated Here: Hinduism, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Indian subcontinent, chiefly the Indo-Gangetic plain

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Global Salafism: Islam's New Religious Movement

Roel Meijer (ed.), Hurst, 2009Originated Here: Salafism, Stored origin-place property on this entity, cited to this source: The Arabian peninsula, Egypt and South Asia

Banaras: City of Light

Diana L. Eck, Alfred A. Knopf, 1982

Originated Here: Varanasi, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

The Revival of Buddhist Pilgrimage at Bodh Gaya (1811-1949): Anagarika Dharmapala and the Mahabodhi Temple

Alan Trevithick, Motilal Banarsidass, 2006Originated Here: Bodh Gaya, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

The earliest Buddhist shrine: excavating the birthplace of the Buddha, Lumbini (Nepal)

Robin Coningham; Kosh Prasad Acharya; and others, Antiquity, 2013Originated Here: Lumbini, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

UNESCO World Heritage List

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Originated Here: Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa), Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Ellora Caves, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

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Ajanta: History and Development

Walter M. Spink, Brill, 2005Originated Here: Ajanta Caves, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

Sufism: A Global History

Nile Green, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

Originated Here: Ajmer Sharif, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Data Darbar, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition

Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Macmillan Reference USA, 2007Originated Here: The Paradesi Synagogue, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian SubcontinentView the Source

India: A Sacred Geography

Diana L. Eck, Harmony Books, 2012

Originated Here: Jagannath Temple, Puri, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Kedarnath, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Badrinath, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Dwarkadhish Temple, Dwarka, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

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Pilgrimage and Power: The Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765-1954

Kama Maclean, Oxford University Press, 2008Originated Here: Triveni Sangam and the Kumbh Mela, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History

Romila Thapar, Penguin / Verso, 2004Originated Here: Somnath Temple, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian SubcontinentView the Source

Indian Young Lawyers Association v State of Kerala (Sabarimala)

Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of India, 2018Originated Here: Sabarimala, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian SubcontinentView the Source

Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India

John E. Cort, Oxford University Press, 2001

Originated Here: Ranakpur, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Dilwara Temples, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

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Historical Dictionary of Sikhism, 3rd edition

Louis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod, Rowman and Littlefield, 2014

Originated Here: Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple), Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: The Akal Takht, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Hemkund Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Nankana Sahib, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent
Originated Here: Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

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The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration

John R. Hinnells, Oxford University Press, 2005Originated Here: Udvada Atash Behram, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian SubcontinentView the Source

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1988

Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir, 1988Originated Here: Vaishno Devi, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

The Sakta Pithas

D. C. Sircar, Motilal Banarsidass, 1973Originated Here: Kamakhya, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

The Piprahwa Stupa, containing relics of Buddha (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society)

William Claxton Peppe (with a note by Vincent A. Smith), Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1898Originated Here: Piprahwa Stupa, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian Subcontinent

Civil Appeal No. 2732 of 2020, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Case, Supreme Court of India

Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of India, 2020Originated Here: Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Stored region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian SubcontinentView the Source

The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism

Harbans Singh (editor-in-chief), Punjabi University, Patiala, 1998Originated Here: Kartal and Manjira, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: Indian subcontinent, widespreadView the Source

The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition

P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs (eds.), Brill, 2005Originated Here: Haleem and Harisa, Stored origin-region property on this entity, cited to this source: Iran, the eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia and South AsiaView the Source

India (Wikipedia)

Contains: India, Introduction

Quote, Contains: India, Introduction

Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa by 55,000 years ago

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Tabla (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Tabla, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Tabla, Lead

a pair of hand drums from South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent

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Rig Veda (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Rig Veda, Lead section

Quote, Originated Here: Rig Veda, Lead section

Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the Rigveda Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see Rigvedic rivers), most likely between c. 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of c. 1900-1200 BCE has also been given.

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Plants For A Future: Cannabis sativa (plant database entry)

Plants For A Future

Plants Native Here: Cannabis, Range
W. Asia - Iran to India. A casual in Britain[17].
Originated Here: Cannabis, Range
W. Asia - Iran to India. A casual in Britain[17].

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Sanskrit (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Sanskrit, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Sanskrit, Lead

It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age.

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Prakrit (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Prakrit, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Prakrit, Lead

Prakrit ( PRAH-krit) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE.

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Hindu (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Hindu, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Hindu, Lead

Historically, Hindu has been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent.

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Buddhist (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Buddhist, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Buddhist, Lead

Buddhists, also known as Bauddha, are people who adhere to Buddhism, an Indian religious and philosophical tradition founded by the Buddha in the 6th or 5th century BCE in the Indian subcontinent.

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Adivasi (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Adivasi, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Adivasi, Lead

The Adivasi (also spelled Adibasi) are the heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent.

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Santal (Wikipedia)

Originated Here: Santal, Lead

Quote, Originated Here: Santal, Lead

The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent.

Adam Peak (Sri Pada)

Ajanta Caves

Ajmer Sharif

Amarnath Cave

Anandpur Sahib

Anuradhapura (Sri Maha Bodhi)

Badrinath

Bodh Gaya

Boudhanath

Data Darbar

Dilwara Temples

Dwarkadhish Temple, Dwarka

Ellora Caves

Girnar

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur

Guruvayur

Gyanvapi Mosque

Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple)

Hemkund Sahib

Jagannath Temple, Puri

Kamakhya

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Kedarnath

Kushinagar

Lumbini

Mathura

Meenakshi Amman Temple

Nankana Sahib

Palitana and Shatrunjaya

Pashupatinath

Piprahwa Stupa

Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram

Ranakpur

Rumtek Monastery

Sabarimala

Sammed Shikharji

Sarnath

Shravanabelagola

Somnath Temple

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Takht Sri Damdama Sahib

Takht Sri Hazur Sahib

Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib

Takht Sri Patna Sahib

Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa)

The Akal Takht

The Paradesi Synagogue

Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple

Triveni Sangam and the Kumbh Mela

Udvada Atash Behram

Vaishno Devi

Varanasi

Associated With

Attested Here

Contains

Originated Here

Plants Native Here

Plants Used in Ritual Here

Regions Where This Is Principal

Related To

Sky Figures Read Here

Used In