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Sacred Geography

Sacred geography in the IJA links archaeology with pilgrimage, textual memory, ritual landscapes, temple clusters, water bodies, rock art locations, and living community traditions. The theme is especially strong in studies of Chitrakoot, Kalinjar, Naimisharanya, Nalanda, Kamarupa, Kashmir, Hajo, Varanasi, and Assam-Manipur cultural landscapes.

Key Landscapes

Chitrakoot - Rock paintings, springs, temple remains, and pilgrimage memory create a layered sacred landscape.
Kalinjar - The Nilkantha temple, Ram Janki shrine, inscriptions, sculptures, and fort topography make Kalinjar a dense Shaiva and Vaishnava sacred complex.
Naimisharanya - Excavation supports the antiquity of a major Puranic and epic sacred site.
Nalanda and Prāgbodhi / Dungeshwari - Buddhist sacred geography is treated through archaeological investigation and landscape memory.
Kamarupa and Hajo - Assam papers connect Kalika Purana, Yogini Tantra, Ganesha images, Nath-Yogi traditions, and Pancha Tirtha temples.
Kashmir - Temple architecture, Sufism, ancient religious transformation, and textual traditions are read as layers in a changing sacred landscape.
Manipur and Tripura - Rivers, migration, gender, craft, and social memory are used to reconstruct civilizational landscapes.

Key Findings

Water and sacredness recur together: Springs, rivers, tanks, kunds, and pilgrimage pools repeatedly organize sacred landscapes.
Sacred geography preserves deep memory: Many papers use later religious texts and living practice to locate or interpret older archaeological remains.
Kamarupa is a major sacred-geography cluster: The Assam studies collectively reconstruct a religious landscape across textual, sculptural, rock-cut, and community evidence.
Kashmir is treated as a palimpsest: Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and Islamic built heritage are presented as successive and interacting layers rather than isolated traditions.
Ritual places often double as archaeological archives: Kalinjar, Chitrakoot, Hajo, and Nalanda preserve sculpture, inscriptions, architecture, and local memory in a single landscape.

Related Articles

Vol 1, No. 1

Nilkaṇṭha Temple Kāliñjara

Vijay Kumar

Vol 1, No. 2

Excavations at Naimisharanya

D.P. Tewari

Vol 1, No. 2

Searching footprints of Buddha: Archaeological Investigations at Nalanda

Dr. G.K. Lama

Vol 1, No. 2

Temple remains from District Chitrakut

Rajendra Yadav

Vol 2, No. 2

Rock Paintings of Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh

Vijay Kumar

Vol 2, No. 2

Water Bodies of Rajasthan

Krishan Pal Singh Deora

Vol 3, No. 1

Archaeological Landscape at Ihala Kalawellā Ulpatha and its vicinity in Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka

Dhanushka Kumara Jayaratne

Vol 4, No. 4

A Unique Wooden Siva Temple in Varanasi: Example of Living Cultural Relations between India and Nepal

M.N.P. Tiwari & Shanti Swaroop Sinha

Vol 5, No. 2

Goddess Santeri and the female deities in Goa: Reassessing the Pre-Portuguese sacred landscape through the earliest Forais

Dr. Cibele Aldrovandi

Vol 6, No. 4

Cultural Landscape of Early Assam: Formation and Formulations

Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh

Vol 7, No. 3

Locating Sacred Geography of Kalika Puran and Yogini Tantra in context to Kamarupa (Assam)

Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Dr. Deepak Kumar

Vol 7, No. 3

Ram Janki Temple Kalinjar Fort, Kalinjar District Banda U.P. & Antiquities found around the Shrine

Vijay Kumar

Vol 7, No. 4

Imagery of Ganesha on Rocks of Kamrup District, Assam, India

Dr. Chabina Hassan & Dr. Nilkamal Singha

Vol 8, No. 4

A Retrograde Historical and Archaeological Re-tracking of Nath-Yogis of Kamrup, Assam

Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Susmita Bhuyan

Vol 9, No. 2

Sun Worship in the Sutlej Valley: A Study of Sculptures in Karsog Region of Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh

Mrs. Nisha Kumari

Vol 10, No. 3

Archaeology at Prāgbodhi Mountain / Dungeshwari Hill

Dr. Amit Ranjan

Vol 10, No. 1

Past and Present Architectural and Cultural Setting of Trilochan-Nath Mahadera Temple

Ankush Sharma, Dr. Ashwani Kumar et al.

Vol 10, No. 2

Architectural Evolution and Religious Syncretism: The Influence of Sufism on the Built Heritage of Kashmir

Farhat Yasmeen

Vol 10, No. 3

Vedagiriswarar Temple at Thirukazhukundram: A Chronicle of Sacred Space and Dynastic Patronage

H. Selva Kumar

Vol 10, No. 4

The Role of Rivers in the Civilizational Process of Ancient Manipur

Oinam Ranjita Devi & Dr. Hidam Ajit Meetei

Vol 11, No. 1

Sacred Transformation: Religious Influence and Socioeconomic Dynamics in Ancient and Early Medieval Kashmir

Irfan Bashir & Abdul Rashid Lone

Vol 11, No. 1

Heritage Management and Community Participation: A Case study of Pancha Tirtha Temples in Hajo, Assam

Pankhi Sarma, Jonali Devi & Maishnam Rustam Singh