Sacred geography in the IJA links archaeology with pilgrimage, textual memory, ritual landscapes, temple clusters, water bodies, rock art locations, and living community traditions. The theme is especially strong in studies of Chitrakoot, Kalinjar, Naimisharanya, Nalanda, Kamarupa, Kashmir, Hajo, Varanasi, and Assam-Manipur cultural landscapes.
Key Landscapes
- Chitrakoot - Rock paintings, springs, temple remains, and pilgrimage memory create a layered sacred landscape.
- Kalinjar - The Nilkantha temple, Ram Janki shrine, inscriptions, sculptures, and fort topography make Kalinjar a dense Shaiva and Vaishnava sacred complex.
- Naimisharanya - Excavation supports the antiquity of a major Puranic and epic sacred site.
- Nalanda and Prāgbodhi / Dungeshwari - Buddhist sacred geography is treated through archaeological investigation and landscape memory.
- Kamarupa and Hajo - Assam papers connect Kalika Purana, Yogini Tantra, Ganesha images, Nath-Yogi traditions, and Pancha Tirtha temples.
- Kashmir - Temple architecture, Sufism, ancient religious transformation, and textual traditions are read as layers in a changing sacred landscape.
- Manipur and Tripura - Rivers, migration, gender, craft, and social memory are used to reconstruct civilizational landscapes.
Key Findings
- Water and sacredness recur together: Springs, rivers, tanks, kunds, and pilgrimage pools repeatedly organize sacred landscapes.
- Sacred geography preserves deep memory: Many papers use later religious texts and living practice to locate or interpret older archaeological remains.
- Kamarupa is a major sacred-geography cluster: The Assam studies collectively reconstruct a religious landscape across textual, sculptural, rock-cut, and community evidence.
- Kashmir is treated as a palimpsest: Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and Islamic built heritage are presented as successive and interacting layers rather than isolated traditions.
- Ritual places often double as archaeological archives: Kalinjar, Chitrakoot, Hajo, and Nalanda preserve sculpture, inscriptions, architecture, and local memory in a single landscape.
Vol 1, No. 1
Nilkaṇṭha Temple Kāliñjara
Vijay Kumar
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 1, No. 2
Excavations at Naimisharanya
D.P. Tewari
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 1, No. 2
Searching footprints of Buddha: Archaeological Investigations at Nalanda
Dr. G.K. Lama
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 1, No. 2
Temple remains from District Chitrakut
Rajendra Yadav
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 2, No. 2
Rock Paintings of Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh
Vijay Kumar
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 2, No. 2
Water Bodies of Rajasthan
Krishan Pal Singh Deora
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 3, No. 1
Archaeological Landscape at Ihala Kalawellā Ulpatha and its vicinity in Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka
Dhanushka Kumara Jayaratne
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 4, No. 4
A Unique Wooden Siva Temple in Varanasi: Example of Living Cultural Relations between India and Nepal
M.N.P. Tiwari & Shanti Swaroop Sinha
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 5, No. 2
Goddess Santeri and the female deities in Goa: Reassessing the Pre-Portuguese sacred landscape through the earliest Forais
Dr. Cibele Aldrovandi
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 6, No. 4
Cultural Landscape of Early Assam: Formation and Formulations
Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 7, No. 3
Locating Sacred Geography of Kalika Puran and Yogini Tantra in context to Kamarupa (Assam)
Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Dr. Deepak Kumar
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 7, No. 3
Ram Janki Temple Kalinjar Fort, Kalinjar District Banda U.P. & Antiquities found around the Shrine
Vijay Kumar
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 7, No. 4
Imagery of Ganesha on Rocks of Kamrup District, Assam, India
Dr. Chabina Hassan & Dr. Nilkamal Singha
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 8, No. 4
A Retrograde Historical and Archaeological Re-tracking of Nath-Yogis of Kamrup, Assam
Dr. Nilkamal Singha & Susmita Bhuyan
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 9, No. 2
Sun Worship in the Sutlej Valley: A Study of Sculptures in Karsog Region of Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh
Mrs. Nisha Kumari
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 10, No. 3
Archaeology at Prāgbodhi Mountain / Dungeshwari Hill
Dr. Amit Ranjan
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 10, No. 1
Past and Present Architectural and Cultural Setting of Trilochan-Nath Mahadera Temple
Ankush Sharma, Dr. Ashwani Kumar et al.
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 10, No. 2
Architectural Evolution and Religious Syncretism: The Influence of Sufism on the Built Heritage of Kashmir
Farhat Yasmeen
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 10, No. 3
Vedagiriswarar Temple at Thirukazhukundram: A Chronicle of Sacred Space and Dynastic Patronage
H. Selva Kumar
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 10, No. 4
The Role of Rivers in the Civilizational Process of Ancient Manipur
Oinam Ranjita Devi & Dr. Hidam Ajit Meetei
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 11, No. 1
Sacred Transformation: Religious Influence and Socioeconomic Dynamics in Ancient and Early Medieval Kashmir
Irfan Bashir & Abdul Rashid Lone
SEE JOURNAL→Vol 11, No. 1
Heritage Management and Community Participation: A Case study of Pancha Tirtha Temples in Hajo, Assam
Pankhi Sarma, Jonali Devi & Maishnam Rustam Singh
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