A review of the book 'Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography' written by Aditi Banerjee.
Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography tells the story of the most sacred of all Hindu holy cities through the prism of sacred geography as is extensively documented in the Sthala Purana. The book features a summary of the Kashi Khanda from the Skanda Purana, an ancient text on the divine origin and leela surrounding the kshetra of Kashi. The history of this kshetra is enriched by the accounts of warrior sadhus, sages, kings, queens, devotees and ordinary citizens who dedicated their lives to preserving and reviving this sacred geography by doggedly building and rebuilding temples, taking up arms against invaders, meticulously documenting Kashi’s history and lore, and tenaciously sustaining pilgrimage routes and practices covering the holy sites of this pivotal city.
Order links of the book 'Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography' below:
Amazon India:
Paperback
Flipkart:
Paperback
And please don't forget to checkout Historylogy.com for latest book reviews and tidbits from the pages of history.
Please feel free to our social media ID's for latest updates. Links below:
https://www.facebook.com/historylogy/
https://twitter.com/historylogy
https://www.instagram.com/historylogy/
Affiliate Earnings Disclaimer:
This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
Coming up: A review of the book 'Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography' written by Aditi Banerjee.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Aditi Banerjee is a bestselling author based in the US. Her debut novel, The Curse of Gandhari, was published by Bloomsbury India in 2019 and her second, The Vow of Parvati, came out in 2022. Her third book, Hindu Love Stories: Dharmically Ever After, is a collection of stories from Hindu literature and history. She co-edited Invading the Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America in collaboration with Rajiv Malhotra and has authored several essays in publications such as The Columbia Documentary History of Religion in America Since 1945 and Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History. Her articles have appeared in Outlook magazine and other publications. Aditi is a devout Hindu and frequently writes about Hinduism and the Hindu-American experience.
Aditi is a practicing attorney at a Fortune 500 financial services company in the US and a member of the Indic Academy. She completed her executive MBA programme from Columbia University, New York, and earned a juris doctor from Yale Law School. She is a magna cum laude graduate in international relations from Tufts University, Massachusetts.
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography tells the story of the most sacred of all Hindu holy cities through the prism of sacred geography as is extensively documented in the Sthala Purana. The book features a summary of the Kashi Khanda from the Skanda Purana, an ancient text on the divine origin and leela surrounding the kshetra of Kashi. The history of this kshetra is enriched by the accounts of warrior sadhus, sages, kings, queens, devotees and ordinary citizens who dedicated their lives to preserving and reviving this sacred geography by doggedly building and rebuilding temples, taking up arms against invaders, meticulously documenting Kashi’s history and lore, and tenaciously sustaining pilgrimage routes and practices covering the holy sites of this pivotal city.
In particular, the lesser-known story of the warrior sadhus who defended the Kashi Vishwanath temple from marauding invaders is explored through the lens of sacred geography. Studied in this light, Kashi is both a spatial and metaphysical contestation. The current controversy and litigation over the Gyanvapi site cannot therefore be satisfactorily resolved without taking recourse to the idea of sacred geography, which has since time immemorial informed Hindus and indigenous societies worldwide about their identity and the relevance of space and place, culture and metaphysics, civilization and the development of nationhood.
UNQUOTE
First of all, I would like to thank the author ‘Aditi Banerjee’ for answering my query on Twitter/X with regards to the book. I had asked her:
“Hi Mam, first of all congratulations on the launch of your book. I have read Dr. Meenakshi Jain's 'Vishwanath Rises and Rises' and Dr. Vikram Sampath's 'Waiting for Shiva'. How is your book different from these two? Thanks in advance for the reply.”
And then she replied:
“Both of their books are important and must-reads on the history of the dispute and litigation over Gyanvapi/Vishwanath. Mine takes a step back to reframe the issue from the perspective of sacred geography and is devoted more to the Sthala Purana and metaphysical significance of the Kashi kshetra than the specific history of the dispute as a different approach to addressing such disputes, not just Kashi.”
I am glad I took her word and bought and read this amazing book.
The author has further clarified the points mentioned above in the ‘Introduction’ section of the book. I quote:
This book is written in honour of, reverence for, and in the spirit of the tradition of Sthala Purana. This book seeks to integrate the sacred geography and traditions of Kashi, stretching back to time immemorial, with modern-day documented history of the people of Kashi who have strived to preserve and protect the traditions and sanctity of this kshetra. Both aspects are needed to understand the history and significance of Kashi, and more importantly, to experience its powers for ourselves.
Visiting Kashi is different from having darshana of Kashi. The purpose of all Sthala Purana is not just to inform but also to inspire, to motivate one to undertake pilgrimages, which in earlier times were arduous, month-long, and often dangerous journeys. Today, it is easy to visit Kashi. However, it has perhaps become more difficult to have darshana of Kashi, to experience the true essence of Kashi.
When we steep ourselves in what the Sthala Purana of Kashi holds, our vision expands and becomes purified for that true darshana.
It is the humble hope of this book to make the sacred literature relating to Kashi from the Puranas more accessible. This book also aims to pay homage to all those devotees, sadhus, and kings and queens who dedicated their lives to preserving the sacred sites of Kashi, whether by physically building and rebuilding temples or meticulously documenting and sharing the sacred lore of each and every one of the thousands and thousands of holy places of Kashi.
UNQUOTE
Some of the things I really liked in this wonderful book:
The author has very wonderfully explained the true meaning of the word Mythology.
Oral history and the traditional lore associated with a sacred site are a core component of the Sthala Purana. This also connects Sthala Purana to the larger global tradition of cultural transmission and initiation that is often nowadays derisively referred to as ‘mythology’. ‘Mythology’ has come to mean falsehood. A mythological story is assumed to be fictional; myth-busters exist to show us the truth. Popular myths are mistaken notions that we are duty-bound to correct.
Yet, in the original sense of the word, in ancient Greek and then Latin, the word ‘mythos’ is something more complex:
The word ‘myth’ originates from the Greek word mythos, meaning ‘word’ or ‘tale’ or ‘true narrative’, referring not only to the means by which it was transmitted but also to its being rooted in truth. Mythos was also closely related to the word myo, meaning ‘to teach’, or ‘to initiate into the mysteries’. This is how the word was interpreted by Homer—who is generally identified to have lived in the 7th or 8th century BCE—when composing his great works, including The Iliad, in which he meant to convey a truth.
In chapter 11 titled ‘Kashi Pravesha: The Arrival of Shiva in Kashi’ the author has beautifully narrated the celebration of Shiva’s return to Kashi after being exiled by King Divodasa.
Skanda informed Agastya Muni that listening to this meritorious narrative destroys the sins from ten million births. By reading it and making others read it, one shall become one with Shiva.
This narrative is known as the Kashi Pravesha, an excellent japya or holy text to be recited.
In my opinion, this chapter in itself is worth the price of the book.
The book is sprinkled with many such beautiful narrations which are really uplifting and give you the feeling of being really blessed.
The author has dedicated two chapters to the Gyanvapi dispute and if you are really interested to know about it in detail, then I highly recommend that you pick up either the book written by Dr. Meenakshi Jain or Dr. Vikram Sampath on the same topic.
In short, this book is a must-read if you want to know about the must-visit places in Kashi seeing and taking darshana of the various temples and lingas and to learn more about the pilgrimage paths and the sacred geography of Kashi.
This wonderful book is just under 340 pages and is very easy to read and understand. One thing I thought was missing from the book is pictures of the various temples, lingas and the disputed site. Though there are quite a few maps spread across the book showing the changing ground reality of the city through the ages.
I give the book 4.5/5.
The printed price of the book is Rs. 599/- but is available for under Rs. 400/- on Amazon India and for under Rs. 500/- on Flipkart. At the time of recording this podcast episode, the book is not available on Amazon USA. And nor is it available on Kindle or Audible. I have given the respective buy links in the show notes. Please check them out for the latest prices.
I would like to end with this wonderful quote by Norman Macleod. I quote:
Benares is to the Hindoos what Mecca is to the Mohammedans, and what Jerusalem was to the Jews of old. It is the ‘holy’ city of Hindiston. I have never seen anything approaching to it as a visible embodiment of religion; nor does anything like it exist on earth.
UNQUOTE
Last but not the least, thank you for spending your valuable time listening to this book review. Really grateful. Please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and also feel free to leave a review. Also, please check historylogy.com for all previous episodes. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you. Take care and bye!