God's Gateway: Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place

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James Lochtefeld (Professor of Religion, Director of Asian Studies, Professor of Religion, Director of Asian Studies, Carthage College)

God's Gateway

Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place

James Lochtefeld (Professor of Religion, Director of Asian Studies, Professor of Religion, Director of Asian Studies, Carthage College)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
04 February 2010

Hindu worship, rites & ceremonies

A celebrated Hindu pilgrimage site, Hardwar lies on the river Ganges at the edge of the Himalayas. Its identity as a holy place is inextricably tied to the mythology and reality of the Ganges, and traditional sources overwhelmingly stress this connection. Virtually nothing has been written about Hardwar's history and development, although the historical record reveals striking changes of the past few centuries. These changes have usually reflected worldly forces such as shifting trade routes, improved transportation, or political instability. Yet such mundane influences have been ignored in the city's sacred narrative, which presents a fixed, unchanging identity. The city's complex identity, says Lochtefeld, lies in the tension between these differing narratives. In this fieldwork-based study, Lochtefeld analyzes modern Hardwar as a Hindu pilgrimage center. He looks first at various groups of local residents -- businessmen, hereditary priests, and ascetics -- and assesses their differing roles in managing Hardwar as a holy place. He then examines the pilgrims and the factors that bring them to Hardwar. None of these groups is as pious as popularly depicted, but their interactions in upholding their own interest create and maintain Hardwar's religious environment. In conclusion, he addresses the wider context of Indian pilgrimage and the forces shaping it in the present day. He finds that many modern Hindus, like many modern Christians, feel some dissonance between traditional religious symbols and their 21st-century world, and that they are reinterpreting their traditional symbols to make them meaningful for their time.

By: James Lochtefeld (Professor of Religion Director of Asian Studies Professor of Religion Director of Asian Studies Carthage College)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 243mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 609g
ISBN: 9780195386141
ISBN 10: 0195386140
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 04 February 2010
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents A Note on Transliteration vii List of Abbreviations viii Chapter 1: On Finding a Sense of Place 1 Chapter 2: Hardwar in Sanskrit Sources 28 Chapter 3: The History and Development of a Pilgrim Town 70 Chapter 4: The Life and Times of a Pilgrim City 150 Chapter 5: The Hardwar Pandas 180 Chapter 6: Ascetic Life 211 Chapter 7: Pilgrims and Visitors 254 Chapter 8: VIII. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in a Changing World 304 Appendix One: Text of the Inscription at the Sharvan Nath Temple, Hardwar 346 Appendix Two: Exhortations and Warnings for Pilgrims from the Tirtha Welfare League, Hardwar 347 Notes To the Text: 349 Glossary: 428 List of Sources: 435 Index: 463

Professor of Religion, Director of Asian Studies, Carthage College

Reviews for God's Gateway: Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place

a scholarly achievement of profound and lasting worth ... the authors balanced approach skillfully integrates numerous theoretical and methodological trajectories * Luke Whitmore, Journal of Hindu Studies *