Invitation to World Religions

Hinduism as a Way of Life  145

AFGHANISTAN

CHINA

Pilgrimage Sites in Hindu India Hindu places of Pilgrimage Pilgrimage route Major cities

TIBET

Rishikesh

Hardwar

PAKISTAN

IRAN

Brahmaputra

Indus

NEPAL

Delhi

BHUTAN

Ganges

Mathura

Ayodhya

Allahabad (Prayag)

Varanasi (Benares)

BANGLADESH

Gaya

Kolkata (Calcutta)

Dwarka

Narmada

BURMA

LAOS

INDIA

Mahanadi

Bombay

B a y o f B e n g a l

Godavari

Arabian Sea

THAILAND

Krishna

Tirupati

Chennai (Madras) Kanchipuram

Bangalore

Pondicherry

Cauvery

INDIAN OCEAN

anjavar

Madurai

Rameswaram

0 km

200 400

200

400

0 miles

SRI LANKA

Festivals and Holidays Hindus make use of both solar and lunar calendars, as well as a calendar based on twenty-seven different constellations. All three calendars are consulted to determine when festivals and holidays will be observed. Many Hindu festivals link mythic events to the agricultural cycle. There are also innumerable holidays and obser- vances that commemorate saints and sages, historical events, and sacred sites of re- gional interest. Three popular Hindu festivals that are celebrated with many regional variations serve to illustrate the diversity of observances in Hinduism. Navaratri and Dussehra  Navaratri (Sanskrit, “nine nights”) is a holiday cycle celebrating the end of the monsoon season in India. In some regions, Navaratri also commemorates the conclusion of a great war between Rama and the demon-king, Ravana. In other regions, such as southern India and in Bengal, the festival celebrates Devi’s battle against the buffalo-demon, Mahisha. To commemorate this conquest, Hindu pilgrimage routes in India. PROPERTY OF OXFORD

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