Browsing by Author "Rana P.B. Singh"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 26

Ayodhyā (India): Sacredscapes and the Inclusive Heritage-Based City Development (IHCD)
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Rana P.B. Singh; Sarvesh Kumar
According to UNESCO, urban governance is the process that leads and considers the various links between stakeholders, local authorities, and citizens; it includes written and unwritten policies, procedures, and decision-making of units that control resource allocation within and among institutions. Inclusive Heritage-based City Development (IHCD) policies are an integrated part of urban governance, and heritage properties and sacred places can be an integral part of larger ensembles, such as holy-historic cities, cultural landscapes, and natural sites. The holy-heritage city of Ayodhyā plays an important role in the formation of religious nationalism and corporate identity of religious heritage through cultural performances, pilgrimages, and religious festivities. The main institutional-administrative bodies of Ayodhyā, viz. Shri Rāma Janmabhumi Tīrtha Kshetra Trust, City Development Authority, International Rāmāyaṇa and Vedic Research Institute (IRVRI), and Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage (INTACH), and other such bodies fulfil the three dimensions of urban governance, i.e. political, economic, and institutional—all together they play an important role in making heritage-inclusive development policies and programmes. The IRVRI promotes heritages using associated attributes as resources, especially intangible and religious performances. This chapter narrates the role of urban governance in heritage-inclusive development concerning sacredscapes. The qualitative approach, participatory observations, field studies, and interfacing interviews are the main frameworks of this chapter. This chapter is reasonably initiated from our earlier studies (Kumar and Singh in Ayodhyā, India: cultural landscape and perspectives for inclusive heritage development. Context: built, living and natural, pp 21–30, 2017a; Kumar and Singh in Making cities resilient. The urban book series. Springer, Cham, pp 317–338, 2019); however, significant updates and contemporary changes have been incorporated. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Ayodhya: The imageability and perceptions of cultural landscapes
(ACCB Publishing, 2018) Rana P.B. Singh; Sarvesh Kumar
Most of the visitors (pilgrims in the majority) and the dwellers (mostly Hindus) perform some sorts of rituals at varying degrees and become involved in the religious activities to gain solace or soul healing. Of course, as sidetrack visitors also perform other activities of recreation and side-show. However, these are the marginal activities. It is obviously noted that personality of pilgrims and dwellers in the context of economic, social, cultural, job status, and perspective of life, has a direct effect on the nature of environmental sensitivity to its sacred landscapes and mythologies that support and make them alive. Ongoing rituals, continuous performances of Ramalila in the evening, pilgrimages and auspicious glimpses to the divine images, and associated happenings together make the whole are a part of the sacred environment. These are categorised within the frame of responsive perception, testing Kevin Lynch's scale of imageability represented with the five elements, viz. path, edge, node, district, and landmark. The perceptual survey of dwellers and pilgrims are codified into a composite cognitive map that reflects the generalised images of various behavioural attributes that fit the cultural and natural landscapes of the city; this is similar to other holy cities of north India like Varanasi, Mathura, and Chitrakut. © 2018 Singh and Kumar.
Cross-cultural understanding for global sustainability: Messages and meanings from Asian cultural landscapes
(International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 2013) Rana P.B. Singh
Concept of 'multifunctionality' of cultural landscapes is a reflection of imbued meaning and aesthetics inherent there and also human manifestation of this spirit through existence and aliveness by human creation, love and continuance in various cultures and traditions. This sense helps envisioning landscapes that cross urban-rural divides in sustainable and an integrated way - characterised by wholeness and ecospirituality that developed in the cultural history of landscape sustainability. That is how, the idea of 'wholeness' (cosmality) is transformed into 'holiness' (sacrality) - evolved and represented with sacred ecology and visualised through the cosmic frames of sacredscapes in Asian region that survived there as part of lifeworld. Understanding, feeling, living with, practicing and passing on these inherent meanings and aesthetics provide peace, solace and deeper feelings to human mind which are the ethereal breathe of sustainability. The rethinking should be based on the foundational value - the reasoning that underlies the ethical sense of deeper understanding of Man-Nature Interrelatedness, the basic philosophy of coexistence - referred in different cultures in their own ways, like multicultural co-living ('Old-comer') in Korea, harmonious coexistence (tabunka kyosei) in Japan, harmonious society (xiaokang) in China, wahi tapu (sacred places) in Maori's New Zealand, global family (vasudhaiva kutumbakam) in Indian thought, and also African humanism (ubuntu) in South Africa. Think universally, see globally, behave regionally, act locally but insightfully; this is an appeal for shared wisdom for global sustainability in making our cultural landscapes mosaic of happy, peaceful and sustainable places crossing all the borders and transitions, especially interwoven links among Korea, Japan, China, and India.
Environment as a sacred space: Religious and spiritual tourism and environmental concerns in Hinduism
(Taylor and Francis Inc., 2021) Rana P.B. Singh; Pravin S. Rana; Daniel H. Olsen
[No abstract available]
Ethno-geography of the sun goddess festival, 'chhatha', in bhojpur region, India: From locality to universality
(2009) Rana P.B. Singh
Chhatha Puja ('worshipping sun goddess'), called Surya Shashthi, is an Indian thanksgiving festival dedicated to the Sun God in the form of mother. Similar traditions are also noticed in other old cultures. Of course there was a strong tradition of Sun worship in ancient India, the present Chhatha Puja has no direct links to it. However both the rituals record the motive of fertility and prosperity of the family. Chhatha Puja is primarily a regional festival of Bihar that has been transplanted by the migrant Biharis in different parts of India, especially the metropolitan and industrial cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. By this process the locality has been transformed into universality in terms of scale, intensity of celebration and density of devout participants, however the inherent message of awakening the man-nature integrity in strengthening ecological cosmology has not increased! During the celebrations of Chhatha Puja, people gather on the banks of the River Ganges to bathe in its sacred water, pray and make ritual offerings to the Sun God; this presents the emergence of fire element of terrestrial world, liquid element of nature and cognitive thought of man. Chhatha Puja is a highly elaborate festival noted for its impressive display of colourful costumes, music, singing and extravagant rituals, organised and celebrated with involvement of Brahminic priest. The essay throws light on various aspects in this context. © Serials Publications.
Exposing conscience and experience among hindu pilgrims in india: Interfacing sacred and profane
(Emerald Publishing, 2024) Rana P.B. Singh; Abhisht Adityam
The notion of deeper experiences of Hindu devotees inspired by divine images and sacred places has roots in the historical past, going back to the Vedic period (ca. 2500 BCE), where we find rich literature on performances, rituals and merits of pilgrimages. Considered the bridge between human beings and divinities, the experiences received are the resultant 'blissful fruit' (phala) that helps the spiritual healing of pilgrims through awakening conscience and understanding the manifested meanings, symbolism, purposes and gains. This system can be viewed concerning the 'texts' (the mythology, ancient text and related narratives) and the 'context' (contemporality and living tradition). These rules and performances have regional perspectives of distinctions, but they also carry the sense of universality, i.e. locality (sthanic) and universality (sarvavyapika) interfaces. The devout Hindus reflect their experiences in conception, perception, reception and co-sharedness - altogether making the wholistic network of belief systems, i.e. the religious wholes in Hindu society. This chapter deals with four aspects: the historical and cultural contexts, the meanings and merits received, the motives and the journey and interfacing experiences. The study is based on the experiential and questionnaire-based exposition and interviews of pilgrims at nine holy places during 2015-2019 on various festive occasions and is illustrated with ancient texts and treatises. The sacred cities included are Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gaya, Ayodhya, Vindhyachal, Ganga Sagar, Chitrakut, Mathura Vrindavana and Bodh Gaya. © 2024 The authors.
Faith and place: Hindu sacred landscapes of India
(Taylor and Francis, 2020) Rana P.B. Singh; Pravin S. Rana
The sacred landscape combines the absoluteness of space, relativeness of places and comprehensiveness of landscape thus altogether results in a ‘wholeness’ carrying the inherent and imposed spirit of ‘holiness’, which is to be called ‘sacredscapes’, and are regulated and survived by the faith involved in and the sacred rituals. We begin the sense of our-place from the local scale and here we first experience the sacred message (spirit of place, genus loci) and power of place: place speaks, place communicates! The Matsya Purāna (c.ce 400) enumerates a large number of sacred places with descriptions of associated schedules, gestures, dreams and auspicious signs and symbols. The seven sacred cities (Sapta-purīs) include Mathura, Dvaraka, Ayodhya, Haridvar, Varanasi, Ujjain and Kanchipuram. Similarly, the twelve most important Shiva abodes are scattered all over India. The four abodes of Vishnu in the four corners of India are another group of popular pilgrimages. These are the examples of pan-Indian pilgrimage places. The chapter presents such vivid examples. © 2020 selection and editorial matter, Tim Edensor, Ares Kalandides and Uma Kothari.
Gaia and Ecological A Wakening: Message of Hinduism for Deeper Understanding 1
(Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd, 2007) Rana P.B. Singh
[No abstract available]
Heritage contestation and context of religion: Political scenario from Southern Asia
(Center for Study of Religion and Religious Tolerance, 2008) Rana P.B. Singh
Heritage is a cultural identity to be reflected in the purview of individual, unique and multiple layers of pluralism, especially with respect to religion, at least in Oriental cultures that maintained their traditions and continuity together with examples of contestation, destruction and also sometimes harmonious co-existence. In the span of time the layering of various cultures put their marks, which in the sequence of time turn to be the issue of conflicts due to claims and controls by the diff erent groups. As a consequence there resulted issues of representation, belongingness, control and power, dissonance and contestation. Despite all theoretic constructs and human concerns for peace and harmony the issue of dissonance dominates, especially with reference to ethnicities and religion. The religious built environments are the pitiful suff erers in such happenings of turmoil recorded every parts of the world. In South Asia the Muslim invasion in medieval period (15th to 18th centuries) had been the major force and process for destruction and superimposing Islamic structure, like in case of major sacred cities of Hindus in north India. In the areas of old culture one finds heritagescapes that are subject to 'ill construction and jumbled space' where 'several sites appear incompatibly'. The conflicts between secularist democracy and democratic religiosity are the common phenomena in South Asian region. So on, conflicts between archaeological sites or monuments and lived cultural heritage. It may be accepted rationally that if the two communities, Hindus and Muslims, are ready not to heap defeat and humiliation with an aim to re-establish the history of the medieval times, the issues can be resolved amicably. This essay reviews the emerging literature dealing with the enduring role and context of religion in the issue of contesting heritage (mostly cultural). Emphasis is further laid on the contextual constructs of analysis, examples from diff erent parts of Southern Asia, and finally role of religion in policies, mitigation and management of contesting heritage. © 2008 Center for Study of Religion and Religious Tolerance. All rights reserved.
Hindu sacred landscapes: evolution, perspectives, contemporality, and prospects
(Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2025) Rana P.B. Singh; Pravin S. Rana
In Hindu traditions, the concept of sacred landscape has its roots in the Vedic literature (around 2500 BCE), which continued through different phases with associated mythologies, festive traditions, and, contemporarily, as part of religious journeys and pilgrimage-tourism. The reverence, location, interconnectedness, and sequences in these cultural performances are integral parts of the sacred landscapes. Different contexts like routes, places, riverbanks, sages, and natural phenomena symbolise Hindu pilgrimage. The typology of sacred places is described in ancient texts on the scale of geographical location, merit, spirit of place, and intensity of power and is further reflected in the frame of three tiers (i.e., Pan-India, regional, and local). According to ancient folklore, seven sacred places liberate the soul; that's how they attract vast masses of pilgrims. Over time, a series of purposive or divinely associated sacred places have evolved and are part of contemporary pilgrimages; most have archetypal representations and mythic stories. This chapter will broadly discuss the issues of evolution, spatial orientation, taxonomy, sacred geography, and prospects for future developments. © The Editor and Contributors Severally 2025.
Kāshī, the City of Vishvanātha and Jñānavāpī: Succession, Sustenance, and Resurrection to Sustainability
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Rana P.B. Singh; Pravin S. Rana
The Vishvanātha temple is Varanasi’s most important sacred site, which has recorded so many ups and downs in history—the history of destruction and resurrection. Varanasi is known as the cultural capital of India, and Vishvanātha is its patron deity. Only a century later, on 25th August 1777, by the patronage of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar (CE 1725–1795) of Indore, the present temple of Vishvanātha was initiated and completed and consecrated on the festive occasion of Shiva’s marriage—Maha Shivaratri in 1780! Over time, many shrines and temples have been built or reconstructed in the vicinity due to spatial transposition. Also, several old ones were revitalised under the patronage of landlords and kings. Consequently, a mass of illegal encroachments and buildings grew in the name of serving Vishvanātha, and within the houses, shrines were constructed, and folk mythologies were superimposed to raise the image under upward mobility. In the recent development under the Kāshī Vishvanātha Temple Corridor (KVTC), the sacred landscapes have noticed significant changes, where modernisation is accepted while maintaining the old traditions. Using maps and photographs, this chapter narrates the story of Succession to Sustenance, and from Resurrection to Sustainability concerning Vishvanātha Temple Kshetra (territory), Varanasi. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Manifestation of Sacredness in the Pilgrimage Sites of Uttarakhand, India: A Study of Chār Dhām
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) P. Sri Sita Rama Laxmi; Rana P.B. Singh
Uttarakhand, a state in northern India, is enriched by a serene nature that contributes to its cultural, natural, and historical significance; it is also known for its pilgrimage circuits of Chār Dhām Yātrā. It comprises four sacred sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. Pilgrims begin their journey from the west of the circuit, i.e. Yamunotri, and then proceed eastward to Gangotri, Kedarnath, and finally reach Badrinath. Each of the four pilgrimage sites is dedicated to a specific deity and distinct environmental condition in the Himalayan range, which helps pilgrims experience the spiritual magnetism that further helps them liberate themselves from this mortal world (moksha). The spirit of sacrality is possessed and manifested in the linking paths, holy water for bathing, architectural grandeur at the site, and festivities and rituals that continue the tradition of pilgrimage. By having these connotations, the merit of pilgrimage can be received. From this perspective, this chapter describes the environmental distinctiveness of the Chār Dhām territory, its sites, the contemporary condition, and finally, some conclusive remarks about the physical scenario and prospects for the maintenance of the sacred heritage. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948)
(Taylor and Francis, 2006) Rana P.B. Singh
[No abstract available]
Muslim shrines and multi-religious visitations in hindus' City of Banaras, India: Co-existential scenario
(Taylor and Francis, 2016) Rana P.B. Singh
[No abstract available]
Muslim shrines and multi-religious visitations in hindus' city of Banaras, India: Co-existential scénario
(Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2013) Rana P.B. Singh
[No abstract available]
Nature and cosmic integrity a search in Hindu geographical thought
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992) Rana P.B. Singh
The roots of Hindu geographic thought can be traced to the remote past, going back at least to c. 3500 BC. Formerly the unity of Nature and Man was expressed in the context of religious activities. The idea of nature and human integrity in Hindu thought depends upon ways in which people see and experience themselves, their sense of attachment to nature, and their ways of maintaining this. It is through symbolism, the main expression of mythological understanding, that one can gain insight into the relationships of humanity to Nature. Creation and incarnation myths describe the origin of organic life and of its five basic elements. The integrity of dwelling in space is expressed through the notion of home. Religion plays a vital role in the Hindu quest for harmony between nature and humanity. Mystics understand the roots of the Tao but not its branches; scientists understand its branches but not its roots. Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science; but man needs both (Capra 1976, p. 297). © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Pilgrimage in Hinduism: Historical context and modern perspectives
(Routledge, 2006) Rana P.B. Singh
[No abstract available]
Prelude and Acknowledgements
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Rana P.B. Singh; O. Niglio
[No abstract available]
Ravi S. Singh: Reminiscences and His Contributions on Sacred Heritage and Pilgrimage
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025) Abhisht Adityam; Rana P.B. Singh
The contributions of Ravi S. Singh (1971–2021) on the various aspects of sacred heritage and pilgrimages and their interfacing scenarios are enormous in such a short span of twenty-five years of academic life. His publications include 108 research papers, 25 book reviews, eight books and anthologies, and six review appraisal reports. Out of this academic spectrum, 31 publications directly refer to heritage studies and pilgrimages; these are appraised and reviewed here concerning their main contributions and messages. These publications deal with the backgrounds and bases, sacred heritage and pilgrimage places, Hindu goddesses, mining sites as heritage, folk cultural heritage, cultural tourism, vernacular houses, tribal sacred heritage, Islamic pilgrimages, and related aspects. His insights have been transplanted in some of his students, who will carry the traditions on the pathway of his legacy. He was an optimist about the more profound sense of geography to promote such a sustainable and resilient platform. This chapter is a remembrance and a token of homage to Ravi S. Singh. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Resurrecting India’s Struggle for Independence: Pioneering Role of Babu Jagat Singh
(ACCB Publishing, 2025) Rana P.B. Singh; Priyanka Jha
Based on a five-year project (2019-2023) that investigated colonial correspondences and records held in various archives, a research document has been prepared to re-investigate the colonial history of the Banaras estate. Pradeep Narayan Singh, the representative of the Royal Family, has patronised this project through a significant grant and infrastructure. Over time, the report has been published as a research monograph, considering the role and activities of ‘Babu’ Jagat Singh, a member of the Royal Family of Banaras, who in the 18th Century led the group of revolutionaries and also led the first exploration of the Buddhist site of Sarnath; however, erroneously he was projected as a destroyer. This research has dispelled the earlier misconceptions about him, as supplemented by authentic archival sources. © 2025 Singh & Jha. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.