Gods on Earth : The management of religious meaning and identity in a North Indian pilgrimage centre

Abstract

This study deals with Ayodhya, a Hindu pelgrimage centre in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Its subject is, however, not pilgrimage or pilgrims. My research focusses on those who reside in Ayodhya rather then its visitors. By offering an interpretative description of the life histories of religious specialists -monks and priests- and of the institutions that tie them together, I intend to analyse the main forces that mould religious identity and experience.