SEEING SPIRITUAL INDIA

Photographs of Temples and Culture of West India

By Stephen Knapp

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            This book presents 490 photographs of various temples, ancient architecture, festivals, historical sights, old forts, elaborately carved caves dug out of rocky hillsides, detailed stone carvings and art, and more of West India. This is meant to be a companion book that provides some of the photos of the places that are more fully described in my guidebook, “Seeing Spiritual India: A Guide to Temples, Holy Sights, Festivals and Traditions: 2020 Update,” which is more than 650 pages of information on places all over India and Nepal.

            In this book, we enter West India by first visiting Jaipur, which is so unique and has so many temples and historical sites that you could do a book on Jaipur alone. There are big temples but also small temples that are nonetheless significant for the deities that they have. And many important deities from Vrindavana went to Jaipur to escape the invading Muslims who were wreaking havoc on the temples and deities. So, we will see a few of these in this book.

            In this book we will travel from Jaipur all the way down to Hampi, just north of Bengaluru. Some of the places we will see include Pushkar, Jodhpur Jaisalmer, Nathdwar, Ranakpur, Udaipur, Dwaraka, Ujjain, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Nasik, Mumbai, Pune, Bijapur, Badami, Goa, Hampi, and many places in between. We will definitely see holy places that numerous pilgrims and devotees dream of visiting, and also explore the varieties of changing architecture as we travel to different regions. Some are more historical and others are more important for spiritual reasons. This will give you a chance to see many areas that you may have wanted to see, or that you may not get the chance to personally visit. Either way, we will have an adventure traveling through a variety of towns and places through the western part of India. 

 

Contents

Introduction                                                                                                1

Starting in Jaipur                                                                                         3

Ajmer                                                                                                         34

Pushkar                                                                                                      36

Jodhpur                                                                                                       42

Osian                                                                                                          49

Jaisalmer                                                                                                     51

Bundi                                                                                                          59

Chittorgarh                                                                                                 64

Nathdwara                                                                                                  68

Ranakpur                                                                                                    70

Kumbalgarh Fort                                                                                        73

Udaipur                                                                                                       75

Mount Abu                                                                                                  82

Ahmedabad                                                                                                84

Modhera                                                                                                     90

Patan                                                                                                          94

Dakor                                                                                                          96

Dwaraka                                                                                                     98

Somnath                                                                                                     107

Palitana                                                                                                       111

Ujjain                                                                                                          118

Kumbha Mela Festival 2016 in Ujjain                                                       130

Indore                                                                                                         140

Mandu Fort                                                                                                 141

Omkeshwara                                                                                               143

Aurangabad                                                                                                146

Ajanta Caves                                                                                               148

Ellora Caves                                                                                                153

Nasik                                                                                                            163

Pandu Lena                                                                                                 169

Tryambakeshwara                                                                                       170

Mumbai                                                                                                      176

Lonavla                                                                                                      185

Pune                                                                                                           187

Pandharpur                                                                                                 191

Kolhapur                                                                                                     195

Bijapur                                                                                                        197

Badami                                                                                                       199

Pattadakal                                                                                                   203

Goa                                                                                                             204

Hampi                                                                                                          207

About Stephen Knapp                                                                                223

Ordering Information

        Paperback, $34.95, 230 pages, 8 1/2" x 11" trim size, 490 photographs, ISBN: 9798375118666.

        ORDER IT FROM AMAZON HERE for a discounted price:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BT6YJD3B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2U3NGAOGPBO0N&keywords=Seeing+Spiritual+India%3A+Photographs+of+Temples+and+Culture+of+West+India&qid=1674832708&sprefix=seeing+spiritual+india+photographs+of+temples+and+culture+of+west+india%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

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