India: A sacred geography - by Harvard Prof. of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Diana L. Eck

A couple or so days ago I received the copy I had ordered of India: A sacred geography by Prof. Diana L. Eck. I flipped through the pages of the 559 page book published in 2012 and was awestruck by its sweeping coverage of Hinduism in India.

Some quick points:

• Banaras, Pandharpur, Badrinath, Girnar, Kanyakumari, Tirupati, Ujjain, Haridwar, Somnath, Ramesvaram, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Srirangam, Simhachalam, Vrindavan, Mathura, Dwaraka, Udupi, Guruvayur, Puri, Ayodhya and Nasik are some of the holy cities covered. Char Dham and Jyotirlingas are covered.

• Sacred rivers covered include Ganga, Yamuna, (and Triveni), Kaveri, Narmada, Krishna and Godavari

• Gods mentioned include Shiva, Shakti (Kali, Mahadevi, Lakshmi, Parvati/Gauri), Rama, Krishna, Vishnu (Narayana) and Narasimha.

• References and quotes are given from various holy Hindu scripture including Mahabharata, Ramayana, Atharva Veda, Puranas (Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana, Devi Bhagvata Purana, Bhagvata Purana), Shatapatha Brahmana, Rig Veda, Upanishads, Shilappadikaram (Tamil epic), Tiruppavai and Ramcharitmanas

• The photographs in the book reflect the sanctity of the holy land of India.

It will take me awhile to read this book. But, based on this flipping through the pages of the book effort itself, I have no hesitation in recommending this contemporary (2012) book on sacred India by Prof. Diana Eck whose knowledge about sacred Hindu India has just blown me away. It is a matter of great pleasure for me to know about such foreign (USA) professors of religion who are so knowledgeable about Hinduism in India. If you are into Hinduism or interested in it, even if you don't get time to read the book right away I suggest you consider keeping a copy around so that you (and others at your home/friends) can read it in parts whenever you get the time. Further, it may be a great book for visitors to your home to leaf through.

For India folks, here's the amazon India link: http://www.amazon.in/dp/0385347081

For USA folks, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/India-Sacred-Geography-Diana-Eck/dp/0385531923

For those who do not know of Prof. Diana Eck, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_L._Eck, "Diana L. Eck (born 1945 in Bozeman, Montana) is a religious scholar who is Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University, as well as a Master of Lowell House and the Director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard. Among other works, she is the author of Banaras, City of Light, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India, Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras, and A New Religious America: How a Christian Country Became the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. At Harvard, she is in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, the Committee on the Study of Religion, and is also a member of the Faculty of Divinity. She has been reappointed the chair for the Committee on the Study of Religion, a position which she held from 1990 to 1998."