India will just be a mere geography without its religious and spiritual ethos combined with moral values and civilization. If Bharat is known for its spiritual accomplishments and philosophical roots, one has to gratefully acknowledge the role played by its hallowed places of worship, holy rivers and magnificent mountain ranges which have inspired people for thousands of years. In particular, temples contributed in no small measure to Bharat's spiritual enlightenment, serving as a beacon to the rest of humanity. Every temple in this holy land has a story to tell, a legend to elevate our spirits and is a sacred space for all of us to experience inner joy. One can find the contribution of so many saints and rishis who devoted their entire life to many places of worship. In olden days, temples served as a great center for enriching all facets of human life—be it spiritual training or yoga; be it education; be it poetry and literature; be it fine arts and sculpture. There are thousands of fascinating temples, with great historical and spiritual backgrounds, spread all over the country. These temples can be divided into many groups, finding mention in innumerable scriptures. Which are they? Where are they located? This book is an attempt to collect and curate and tabulate information in brief which will certainly answer some of the queries a prospective yatri may have. All the information in the book was collated after personal visits to these places by author.

This book, Messages from Mahabharat, presents the epic story of Mahabharat in simple English. After editing the Scriptures, the great sage created this wonderful epic to convey the underlying essence of Vedas using the story medium. Mahabharat is thus known as the ‘Panchama Vedam’, the fifth Veda. Addressing a group of scholar sages led by Kulapati Shounaka Maharshi, Ugrasravas, a talented storyteller, narrates the story of Mahabharat in the setting of a forest known as Naimisharanyam. The sages were conducting a long Yagnam. During one of the breaks of this Yagnam, they wanted to hear a new, unheard, enlightening and entertaining story. The epic unfolds a series of legendary events, culminating in the famed Kurukshetra War, and beyond. Running close to Vyasa’s original story, the book presents the entire epic story with all relevant features including many sub-stories and details of the eighteen-day war. Starting from the early origins of the Chandra Dynasty, the story revolves around the lives of the children of Kings Dhritarastra and Pandu. The detailed conduct of these main players and others portrays a wide spectrum of human behavioral traits.

The book attempts to trace an overview of the different components that define the cultural landscape of the state of Odisha in relation to its history, religious cults, art, and literature and to link the development of the various aspects to the role played over the centuries by the Geeta Govinda poem in its different manifestations. From being an important component of the rituals performed in the Jagannath Temple to becoming an essential part of the people’s daily lives and artistic expressions, this immortal poem has exercised its influence on the cultural landscape of the state from its early inception in the twelfth century until present times. Religious beliefs, visual representations, performative expressions, and literary compositions have been influenced by the strong emotional appeal contained in its verses. Its musical structure, spiritual underline and histrionic content have been an essential font of inspiration in the process of the rediscovery of a cultural identity during the last century and continue to exercise a strong influence on the performing arts of the present times. Among all the art forms, the classical style of Odissi dance, the way it has been re-structured in the middle of the last century, is perhaps the one which bears the closest contact with the poem, almost being synonymous with it. The dance’s lyrical quality and its emotional appeal steeped in a long history of association with devotional and spiritual values make it an ideal form of visual expression for the literary content of the poem.

Zusammenfassung: This proceedings book explores future prospects of cultural, heritage, and religious tourism and how it can impact the socioeconomic complexity of a community and future developments. It includes chapters on contemporary digital age pilgrimage, digital interpretation as a management strategy, tourism in the era of digital communication, and the role of social media in conserving intangible cultural heritage. This book focuses on policies and mechanisms for heritage preservation. It includes cultural heritage tourism management, how the digitalization of data has impacted and further developed tourism, World Heritage classification in urban tourism destinations, cultural tourism products, and experiences. Moreover, it discusses the sustainable environment and geography in tourism. It covers topics such as ecotourism and rural sustainable development, heritage in socioeconomic sustainable development, and tourists' perceptions of tourism. Another part of the book explores the social and economic impacts of tourism. It includes chapters on cycling tourism along the Elbe, residents' perceptions of the socioeconomic benefits of restaurants, architecture of historical mosques, tourism as a driver of soft power, tourists' perceptions of service quality, tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic, gastronomic narratives in tourism, and residents' perceptions of festivals. Also, it pinpoints the focus on user interaction-based development. It includes chapters on the role of community-led initiatives in heritage revitalization and addressing connectivity issues between historical and natural touristic heritage sites. These research papers provide valuable insights into the multidimensional nature of cultural sustainable tourism, covering a wide range of topics and offering diverse perspectives on its development, management, and impact

Pilgrimage or Tirtha Yatra is an important aspect in the spiritual life of a Hindu seeker. However, the purpose of the pilgrimage has been lost due to centuries of foreign oppression. Hindus lost the knowledge of the shastras regarding the true meaning of texts defined as Shruti, Smriti and Itih?sa. Author, in this text, managed to unearth a link between the rivers of Bharat, where most of the Kshetras are located and the specific chakras that can be energized at these places, that is essential for the spiritual upliftment of an aspirant.

This book is a first-hand easy-to-read narration of separate group tours to Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram, two of India’s great sacred places. The author of the travelogue, Swami Atmashraddhananda, a former editor of the Vedanta Kesari, first wrote about the pilgrimage through articles in the magazine. Written in a conversational tone and replete with pictures, the book highlights the legends, religious and historical significance of the two places and their association with the Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda and other direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Both the sections of the book begin by explaining the purpose and motivation behind the pilgrimage. This book can be an inspiration to young and old readers all over the world to journey to Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram. Even those who have already been there can look at the places with new eyes.

The most ethnographic studies on the pilgrimage focus in the sacred places rather than pilgrimage itself. The present study takes into account both these dimensions. The history of Shri Mata Mansa Devi temple is as old as other famous Shakti Sthals of India. The details of these Shakti Sthals is given in Shiva Purana. The data on various aspects relating to socio-cultural, psychological, economic and religious dimension of the pilgrims are given in this book. This book is intended to be of interest to all those who are interested to learn about pilgrims and pilgrimage, especially those in the disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, History, Geography, Sanskrit and and its allied subjects

Mr. Shripadrao Laxman Kulkarni, (S.L. Kulkarni) the author of this book, was a great source of inspiration to all of us as well as to the society at large. After a prolonged 20 years of his passing away on 7th May 1994 the complete literature is being brought out in the booking form. After reading out the 1“ volume of Shri. SLK's autobiography sent through email, our friend Mr. M. Vishwanath immediately dashed to my house the next day itself. He was so overwhelmed by the writings that he decided to publish his complete works. This was the turning point for the publication of this book which was my long-cherished aspiration. P.S.Kulkarni And All The members of the Author's family PUBLISHERS ‍ಇಪುಸ್ತಕ ಪ್ರಕಟಣೆ: ಲೀಲಾ ಪ್ರಕಾಶನ, ವಿಜಯಪುರ This book has been published by Leela Prakashana. ‍This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc. (https://techfiz.com) Reach us via [email protected]. This eBook has been prepared by Techfiz Inc ePustaka initiative - https://techfiz.com

Study of some 150 Hindu families (and about 1000 persons) living in Edinburgh, and particularly about the fact that two associations exist among them, one of which is based on activities at a temple.