Salvific Space and Religious Pluralism

Did Hindu Pilgrimage Develop from the Vedic Tradition?

Abstract

Religious travel to sites thought to have salvific power has for many centuries been an important ritual in the Hindu traditions. In this paper I argue for a pluralistic approach for understanding the origin and development of Hindu salvific space. Researchers often analyze doctrines, texts and rituals of the Hindu traditions through postulated precursors found in Vedic texts, but this approach neglects the religious pluralism of early India.