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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Hinduism in Gujarat
Introduction, findings from prehistory and ocean archaeology.
- Swaminarayan
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- From Margins of the Society: Dalit and Adivasi Religion
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- The Changing Ethos: Reform and Reinterpretation
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- Religious Nationalism and Violence in Modern Times
- Gandhi’s Hinduism: Moral Vision and Ethical Action
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Hinduism in Gujarat by Neelima Shukla-Batt LAST MODIFIED: 23 May 2024 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0291
Gujarat is currently a state of India on its western border, with the longest coastline in the country. While it became a linguistically based state with Gujarati as its official regional language only in 1960, the region’s coastline has played a key role in shaping its cultural ethos since the prehistoric times. The region had several major centers of the Indus Valley Civilization (at its peak, 2600–1700 BCE ) including a port, Lothal, with possibly the earliest dock in the world. It has since had continued contact with various parts of the world, especially through trade. Being almost at the midpoint of the north-south axis of the Indian subcontinent, it was also accessible through various land trade routes. This has resulted in a constant influx of people, material goods, ideas, and practices in the region. In ancient times, the Vedic religion that later developed into what we now know as Hinduism flourished here, along with Buddhist and Jain traditions. Sanskrit epics and Puranas from that time refer to several sacred sites in the region, which still form parts of Hindu pilgrimage circuits. By the seventh century, “Gurjardesha,” a nomenclature for a more extensive region ruled by the Gurjar Pratihara dynasty, was in use. The name Gujarat is derived from it. From the later part of the first millennium, early groups of migrants to India with diverse religious/cultural backgrounds from different parts of the world—Muslims, Zoroastrians, the Portuguese, and the British—began to arrive in Gujarat, known by then as a rich region. Many sayings in Gujarati refer to distant parts of the world, indicating that interactions with diverse cultures are a deeply ingrained component of the region’s culture. The history of migrations to and from other parts of the world has led to the composition of a society with variegated ethnic and religious groups coexisting for centuries. In modern times, Gujarat was the home to a figure like Gandhi. In the early twenty-first century, it saw one of the most tragic communal riots in India. In the study of Hinduism in Gujarat, consideration of the region’s deep historical roots and its ethnic and cultural diversity shaped by its distinct geography is crucial. Also important is a consideration of tribal cultures of Gujarat that were likely developed by the original inhabitants of the land integrating elements from various cultures.
A broad understanding of prehistoric Gujarat and its extensive maritime network within the then known world offers a helpful source to develop a deeper understanding of the continued significance of trade activities in the region, as well as its influence on religion. While extensive archeological excavations of Indus Valley Civilization sites in Gujarat are more recent than in other major sites, they have yielded remarkable data. Gaur 2000 draws attention to the maritime activity in Gujarat between 3000 and 1000 BCE , which laid the foundation of the region’s mercantile culture. Possehl 1980 is an examination of the prehistoric Harappan urban culture in Gujarat, in the context of which the significance of a port like Lothal can be understood. Wright 2010 discusses the social networks within urban and rural areas of the Harappan civilization. It also considers textual references from ancient Mesopotamia that throw light on its relations with Harappan societies. Rao 1999 offers an account of important underwater archaeology, off the city of Dwarka, believed to be Krishna’s capital as per Hindu mythology. The academic website Harappa.com , with contributions of prominent scholars from around the world, has several sections on Gujarat and is regularly updated.
Gaur, Aniruddh Singh. Harappan Maritime Legacies of Gujarat . New Delhi: Asian Publication Services, 2000.
Important source for understanding the foundations of Gujarat’s maritime culture as the source of its riches in prehistory and its continued influence in history.
Harappa.com . 1995–2022.
An academic website developed by a team of leading scholars of the Indus Valley Civilization with photos, videos, and scholarly articles. A search for “Gujarat” brings up numerous results. Offers an excellent source to understand urban life and the extensive trade network of the Harappan civilization flourishing in Gujarat.
Possehl, Gregory L. Indus Civilization in Saurashtra . Delhi: B.R. Pub. Corp, 1980.
A work on Saurashtra, the peninsular part of the present-day Gujarat, as a site of mature Harappan civilization, with an Appendix listing data. Published on behalf of Indian Archaeological Society.
Rao, S. R. The Lost City of Dvārakā . New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1999.
Even though controversial for some of its claims, this work offers an extensive account of the important underwater archeological excavations off the shore of Dwarka, in which artifacts dating back to the Harappan period have been found. The findings are discussed in relation to narratives about Krishna.
Wright, Rita P. The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society . Case Studies in Early Societies. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
This work throws light on textual evidence from Mesopotamia and discusses aspects of Harappan civilization that it shared with other ancient civilizations. These aspects were prevalent in Gujarat. The book also considers religious practices and social organization of the Harappans built on interactions between urban and rural communities.
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3 Gujarati Socio-religious Context of Swaminarayan Devotion and Doctrine
- Published: April 2016
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This chapter is a study of the predominant religious currents and religious literature that influenced the thought and practice of Sahajanand Swami when he arrived in Gujarat at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Pushtimarg and other established Krishna traditions were influential, as were other devotional groups, for instance, the Mahapanthis, Nathpantis, Satpanthis, and the Kabir movement. In spite of rather unsettled political conditions, Gujarat witnessed economic improvements leading to a relative social progress of mainly peasant lower castes and of women. Religious monuments were built or rebuilt; manuscripts became numerous as aide memoire s for the use of the ordinary person. Education and religious culture spread in the vernacular, no longer exclusively in Sanskrit, and became more accessible to the humble. Swaminarayan found in Gujarat among the peasants and craftsmen an audience ready to participate actively in his philosophical sermons. We know about this through the collection of the Vachanamrut .
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IMAGES
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મહાભારત એ ઋષિ વેદવ્યાસે લખેલું મહાકાવ્ય છે, જેની ગણના સ્મૃતિ ગ્રંથોમાં કરવામાં આવે છે. મહાભારત ભારતીય સંસ્કૃતિની સૌથી પ્રસિદ્ધ ...
હિન્દુ ધર્મ વિશે. Written By. Last Updated : ગુરુવાર, 15 સપ્ટેમ્બર 2022 (07:54 IST) Angarki Sankashti Chaturthi 2022 : સંકષ્ટી ચતુર્થીના દિવસે આ ઉપાય કરવાથી બાપ્પા થશે પ્રસન્ન, બનશે બગડેલા કામ. Somvar Na Upay: સોમવારે કરો દૂધના આ ઉપાય, નજર દોષ સાથે જ પૈસાની સમસ્યા થશે દૂર.
જાણો તેનો ઈતિહાસ અને મહત્વ. સોમવાર,ઑક્ટોબર 14, 2024. Karwa Chauth 2024: કરવા કોથનો તહેવાર હિન્દુ ધર્મમાં ખૂબ જ મહત્વપૂર્ણ માનવામાં આવે છે. આ દિવસે ...
Written By. Lord Krishna- શ્રી કૃષ્ણ વિશે ગુજરાતી નિબંધ. પૃથ્વીના ભારને ઓછો કરે છે. આમ તો ભગવાન વિષ્ણુએ અત્યાર સુધી ત્રેવીસ અવતાર ધારણ કર્યા છે. આ બધા જ અવતારોની અંદર તેમનો મહત્વનો અવતાર શ્રીકૃષ્ણનો છે. આ અવતાર તેમણે વૈવસ્ય મંવંતરના અઠ્ઠાવીસમા દ્વાપરમાં શ્રીકૃષ્ણના રૂપે દેવકીના ગર્ભમાં મથુરાની જેલમાં લીધો હતો.
The region of Gujarat in western India is widely perceived today by Hindus in other regions as a major hub of Vaiṣṇava devotion, especially to Viṣṇu’s incarnation as Kṛṣṇa. The essays in this volume examine the complex religious, social and historical processes through which such a perception has gradually emerged since the ...
In the study of Hinduism in Gujarat, consideration of the region’s deep historical roots and its ethnic and cultural diversity shaped by its distinct geography is crucial. Also important is a consideration of tribal cultures of Gujarat that were likely developed by the original inhabitants of the land integrating elements from various cultures.
Many Hindu religious traditions developed in Gujarat. Gujarat is the birthplace of Lord Shiva's Avatar Lakulisa ( Staff-God ). He established the Pasupata Shaivite tradition (one of the six major schools of Shaivism) in 2 A.D. or 3 A.D.
The historiography of nineteenth-century South Asia has often framed religious production and identity through the lens of liberal reform, rooted in colonial-era constructions of religious modernity. But from within this limited scope other motives and patterns of cultural formation remain omitted. Alternatively, this article investigates the ...
Shiva Bhujanga Stotram - Gujarati | Vaidika Vignanam. A collection of spiritual and devotional literature in various Indian languages in Sanskrit, Samskrutam, Hindia, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya, English scripts with pdf
This chapter is a study of the predominant religious currents and religious literature that influenced the thought and practice of Sahajanand Swami when he arrived in Gujarat at the beginning of the nineteenth century.