Based on an empirical field work carried out at Kathmandu, Nepal, for nearly two years by a team of scholars under the directorship of Professor Jha, the present book throws light on various dimensions of religion of this Himalayan Kingdom. There are seven main chapters in this book, besides a very balanced long Introduction. The sacred centres of Kathmandu belonging to both Hinduism and Buddhism, the textual and contextual dimensions of these sacred centres, the significant cultural history of Kathmandu depicting the rise and fall of different royal dynasties as well as their royal partronage for the rise of various Temples, Maths, Vihars, etc., the various sacred performances which are performed in the different sacred centres of Kathmandu, the sacred specialists of both Hindu and Buddhist shrines, the pilgrimage and pilgrims of Kathmandu, the excellent analysis of the peaceful co-existence of both Hinduism and Buddhism in the Himalayan Kingdom, the impact of ecology on the mode of worship and on the organization of the sacred specialists etc., are some of the important themes of this book. The author has nicely explained the major historical events of Kathmandu since time immemorial, the importance of Rudraksha etc., in the appendices. This book will be highly useful for the students of religion, history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, etc., who are interested in the study of Himalayan culture in totality.
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