The Jain Islands in the Hindu Heartland: Delhi, Hastināpur, Ayodhyā, and Vārāṇasī in Northern India
摘要
All religious traditions have their sacred locations that pilgrims have visited for centuries. These pilgrimage sites are often associated with mythological or historical events or legends. Three major Hindu pilgrimage towns are Ayodhyā, Hastināpur, and Vārāṇasī in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This chapter explores these three cities but with a different lens. These towns have a deep religious and historical significance for another ancient Indic religious group—the Jains. Although these towns’ Hindu temples and festivals are widely known, their significance for Jains remains conspicuously absent in academic and popular literature. There are legendary myths associated with these sites that Jains celebrate and commemorate by visiting them periodically. This chapter surveys these Jain islands within the Hindu heartland. The chapter also presents the history of Jain in India’s capital, Delhi.