Temples Of India: Abode Of The Divine (PAPERBACK)  | Released: 01 May 2016

While travelling in India, one invariably comes across a numerous temples of varied antiquity, size and religious importance. No matter which city you visit, a prominent temple will always be part of your visit. In some places it is the temples that have brought the cities to prominence. The Indian subcontinent is dotted with pilgrim destinations associated with all the major religions of the world. No wonder then, that the country has always been known as dharmashetra, or the sacred land. The construction of a place of worship has been an eternal quest of the humanity. India is perhaps the only place in the world, where the evolution of the temple is physically documented in a span as wide as two thousand years. Temples of India-Abode of the Divine traces the evolution of temple-building (2BCE–16CE) with major architectural trendsetting examples. It explains the rules of iconographic geometry that applied to the imagery associated with these abodes and also dwells on the philosophy seeped into these sacred sites. The book is resplendently illustrated with photographs, illustrations, ground plans and cross-sections, and is a valuable resource for any visitor or general reader to understand the fascinating science of geometry and architecture, along with the thousands of years old philosophy which has brought the Absolute Divine to our manifested world. About the Author Tarun Chopra is passionate about travel, photography and writing books, so much so that he has converted these passions into his vocation. Tarun graduated from St Xavier’s, Jaipur, and later joined Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, where he learnt Spanish. Inspiration for photography came to him from a casual remark (‘Why don’t you start taking pictures since you travel so much?’) made by a friend. Tarun is a self-taught photographer, who later honed his writing skills. Temples of India-Abode of the Divine is a result of a decade of photographing, researching, and writing. This endeavor—to visit and photograph numerous religious places for the book—has been spiritually enriching and has made Tarun realize that the divine has no religion. Other books by Tarun: Holy Cow and Other Indian Stories, India Exotic Destination, Soul of India, Exotic Indian Interiors, Kamasutra, Majestic India, Majestic Jaipur, Jain Temples of India, India in Luxury, South India and Royal Palaces of India. Website: www.tarunchopra.com, Email: chopratarun@hotmail.com