Chapter 8 — How the Land Becomes Sacred

According to the chapter, sacredness means finding something of deep religious or spiritual significance that is worthy of respect and reverence — holy or divine. It is not limited to religion; it can be a special location or shrine, a pilgrimage journey, the route taken, or even the land itself. The chapter also links sacredness with geography and cultural traditions.

A tīrtha literally means a place where one can cross a river or other body of water. Symbolically, it becomes a place where one can cross from ordinary worldly life to a higher, spiritual life. A tīrthayātrā is a pilgrimage to such sacred sites. The chapter says Indians have been undertaking tīrthayātrās for at least 3,000 years.

The chapter names two key Buddhist sites. The Great Stūpa at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh is a relic stūpa. The Mahabodhi Stūpa at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is where, according to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha attained enlightenment; Bodh Gaya receives more than four million visitors every year.

Takhts are seats or centres of spiritual authority in Sikhism. The chapter names three: Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Patna, the Akal Takht (part of the Golden Temple at Amritsar), and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur. They are sacred because they are associated with important Sikh Gurus. Sikhs aspire to visit these places at least once in their lifetimes.

The Kumbh Mela originates in the legend of amṛita manthana — the churning of the cosmic ocean by devas and asuras to extract amṛita (divine nectar). Drops of amṛita fell over four places: Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik, and Ujjain. These are the sites where the Kumbh Mela is held. Prayagraj hosts it every six years. An estimated 660 million people participated in the 2025 Kumbh Mela, and UNESCO has listed the event as an 'intangible heritage of the world'.

The chār dhām yātrā is a pilgrimage that some Hindus aspire to complete. The four dhām (sacred sites) appear to have been deliberately located in the southern, northern, eastern, and western corners of India. By travelling to all four, pilgrims effectively cross the entire country, reinforcing a sense of shared culture and geography.

The 51 Shakti pīthas are sacred sites spread across the entire Indian Subcontinent, including parts of present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan. The story says that the divine mother Satī immolated herself after being insulted by her father, and Viṣhṇu used his chakra to cut up her body. The places across the Subcontinent where her body parts fell became the Shakti pīthas. The chapter says the symbol behind this story is clear: the whole land becomes the body of the divine mother.

The peepul tree (also called 'bodhi tree' or aśhvattha in Sanskrit, with the botanical name Ficus religiosa) is sacred to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Its image appears on seals from Mohenjo-daro, showing it has been part of India's cultural geography for millennia. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha attained enlightenment under a tree of this species at Bodh Gaya.

Sacred groves are natural forests that communities protect because they are seen as the abodes of deities. They are known by different names across India — kāvu in Malayalam, kovilkādu in Tamil, devare kādu in Kannada, khlaw kyntang in Khasi (Meghalaya), and sarnā in Jharkhand, among others. The chapter says sacred groves shelter great biodiversity of flora and fauna and often contain small water bodies that help in water conservation. However, their numbers have been shrinking due to encroachment for agriculture and industry.

The chapter explains that pilgrimage routes and trade routes often overlapped. Pilgrims needed supplies that traders could provide, and some traders also doubled as pilgrims. Two major ancient trade routes — the Uttarapatha (connecting northwestern and eastern India) and the Dakṣhinapātha (running from Kauśāmbī through Ujjain to Paithan) — ran through many sacred sites. Goods traded included precious stones, shells, pearls, gold, cotton, spices, and sandalwood.

The chapter says that for at least 3,000 years, pilgrims have been crisscrossing the Subcontinent, resulting in its entire geography being considered sacred. While travelling, pilgrims from different regions encountered diverse languages, customs, clothing, and foods, and also noticed commonalities. Discussions, debates, and sharing of goods and experiences led to new ideas and the adaptation of old ones. This complex process became a major factor in the cultural integration of the Indian Subcontinent. As Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in 1961, pilgrimages gave people 'the feeling of one country and one culture'.

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