Banaras: CITY OF LIGHTKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2013 M06 5 - 432 pages The sacred city of Banāras on the River Ganges is one of the oldest living cities in the world—as old as Jerusalem, Athens, and Peking. It is the place where Shiva, the Lord of All, is said to have made his permanent home since the dawn of creation. There are few cities in India as traditionally Hindu and as symbolic of the whole of Hindu culture as Banāras. In this eloquent, finely observed study, Diana Eck shows how the city over the centuries has become a lens through which the Hindu vision of the world is precisely focused. She reveals the spiritual and historical resonance of this holy place where great sages such as the Buddha and Shankara were taught, where ashrams, palaces, and universities were built, where God has been imagined and imagined in a thousand ways. She describes the rites of its temples, the busy life of its riverfront, and the exuberance of its festivals. She tells how people travel from all over India to Banāras for the privilege of dying a good death here, for they believe that on the banks of the River Ganges where “the atmosphere of devotion is improbable in its strength,” it is possible to be released from the earthly round forever. In her account of the sacred history, geography, and art of the city, its elaborate and thriving rituals, its myths and literature, and its importance to pilgrims and seekers, Diana Eck uses her wealth of scholarship to make the Hindu tradition come powerfully alive so that we come to understand the meaning of this sacred city to the millions of believers who have been coming here for over 2,500 years. |
From inside the book
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CITY OF LIGHT Diana L. Eck. TO Kuber Ndth Sukul, Ambika Datta Upddhydya, J. L. Mehta, and Vimald Mehta— all Bandrsis Are there not many holy places on this earth? Yet.
CITY OF LIGHT Diana L. Eck. TO Kuber Ndth Sukul, Ambika Datta Upddhydya, J. L. Mehta, and Vimald Mehta— all Bandrsis Are there not many holy places on this earth? Yet.
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... earth? Yet which of them would equal in the balance one speck of Kashi's dust? Are there not many rivers running to the sea? Yet which of them is like the River of Heaven in Kashi? Are there not many fields of liberation on earth? Yet ...
... earth? Yet which of them would equal in the balance one speck of Kashi's dust? Are there not many rivers running to the sea? Yet which of them is like the River of Heaven in Kashi? Are there not many fields of liberation on earth? Yet ...
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... earth, is the first act of Banaras pilgrims and a daily rite for Banaras residents. Also along the river are dozens of temples with high spires, most of them dedicated to Lord Shiva, who according to tradition makes this city his ...
... earth, is the first act of Banaras pilgrims and a daily rite for Banaras residents. Also along the river are dozens of temples with high spires, most of them dedicated to Lord Shiva, who according to tradition makes this city his ...
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... earth!”4 Indeed, medieval maps sometimes depict Jerusalem at the center of the world, with whole continents spreading out from it like petals. Similarly, Mecca was said to be the first place of creation, situated on the axis of the ...
... earth!”4 Indeed, medieval maps sometimes depict Jerusalem at the center of the world, with whole continents spreading out from it like petals. Similarly, Mecca was said to be the first place of creation, situated on the axis of the ...
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... earth as the place of creation, and gathers together the whole of the sacred universe in a single symbolic circle, a mandala. Yet it is not an earthly city. Kashi is said to sit above the earth as a “crossing place” (tirtha) between ...
... earth as the place of creation, and gathers together the whole of the sacred universe in a single symbolic circle, a mandala. Yet it is not an earthly city. Kashi is said to sit above the earth as a “crossing place” (tirtha) between ...
Contents
AN INTRODUCTION | |
3 | |
6 | |
CITY OF ALL INDIA | |
CITY OF THE GOOD LIFE | |
APPENDIX I | |
The Shiva Lingas of Kdshi | |
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Common terms and phrases
Adi Keshava ancient Annapfirna ascetic auspicious Avimukta Avimukteshvara Banaras bathing Bhairava Bindu Bindu Madhava Brahma brahmin Buddha Buddhist called century city’s confluence cremation ground Dandapani darshana Dashashvamedha death deities Devi dharma divine Divodasa Durga earth famous festival flood flowers flowing Forest of Bliss Gahadavala ganas Ganesha Ganga Ganges Gauri ghdts goddess gods Gupta heaven Himalayas Hindu holy honored Jataka Jnana Vapi Kala Bhairava Kali Kashi Kashi Khanda Kcishi Kdshi Kedara Khanda King Krishna Kund liberation linga of light live located Lolarka Mahabharata Mahatmya Manikarnika Matsya Matsyodari moksha mosque Muslim myth Nikumbha North India Omkara one’s Panchakroshi Road Panchatirthi Parvati pilgrimage pilgrims popular Prayaga Purana Purcina Rama religious rites ritual river riverfront sacred city Sankata Sanskrit Shakti shrine sins Skanda story symbol tirthas tradition Tulsi Tulsi Das Varana Varanasi Vedas Vinayaka Vishnu Vishvanatha Temple Vishveshvara waters waxing fortnight worship yakshas yoginis