Dynamic waterscapes and the contested historic-cultural-religious geography of Vaishnavism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24214369 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Balai Chandra Das (0000-0001-5536-6825) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 94 |
| Pages | 28-36 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Historical Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7488 • E-ISSN: 1095-8614 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jhg.2026.08.010 |
| OpenAlex | W7214808996 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
The precise birthplace of Shri Krishna Chaitanya (1486–1533 CE), founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, is disputed between two towns on the Bhagirathi River in West Bengal, India: historic Nabadwip and the later-established pilgrimage centre of Mayapur. This paper integrates textual-historical analysis, historical cartography, and published fluvial geomorphology to examine why the dispute remains unresolved. Three objectives are addressed: how the textual record came to support two competing locational claims; how far documented instability of the Bhagirathi–Jalangi confluence explains the loss of physical evidence; and what an interdisciplinary research design for testing these claims would look like. Early hagiographies consistently identify Nabadwip as Chaitanya's birthplace. The Mayapur identification appears in Narahari Chakraborty's eighteenth-century Bhaktiratnākara and was institutionalised from the 1890s onward. Recurrent channel avulsion, meander migration, and cut-off formation have repeatedly altered the Bengal delta landscape, providing a plausible mechanism for the loss of the original site. GIS-based palaeochannel mapping, sediment geochronology, and geophysical survey are identified as future research directions. Sacred geography here is best understood as the joint product of theological tradition, institutional authority, and a continually shifting deltaic landscape. • River dynamics can erase the physical evidence of globally revered sacred sites. • Sacred geography is shaped by theology, institutions, and shifting landscapes alike. • Early hagiographies favour Nabadwip; the Mayapur claim dates only to the 1890s. • Colonial maps reveal ∼15 km upstream migration of the Bhagirathi–Jalangi confluence. • GIS, sediment dating, GPR, and dendrochronology form the proposed research agenda.
contested landscapes · Hindu pilgrimage · religious geography · Vaishnavism · water landscapes · Historical Geography and Geographical Thought · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces
| Highly cited | No |
|---|