The concept of Sacred Complex was proposed by

L. P. Vidyarthi Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi (28 February 1931 – 1 December 1985) was an Indian anthropologist. Life Vidyarthi obtained his master's degree from Lucknow University in anthropology, studying under D. N. Majumdar. He received PhD from Chicago Univ ...

under the influence of

Robert Redfield Robert Redfield (December 4, 1897 – October 16, 1958) was an American anthropologist and ethnolinguist, whose ethnographic work in Tepoztlán, Mexico, is considered a landmark of Latin American ethnography. He was associated with the University ...

. The aspects of great and little tradition as put up by Redfield were applied to an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n context. The crux of the concept was to identify the mechanism of cultural complexions in an ancient Indian setting and studying the secondary complexions based on religious centres of India. L. P. Vidyarthi defined the complex in "Sacred complex of Hindu Gaya," as "a happy synthesis of sacred geography, sacred practices and sacred specialist of a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

, reflecting a level of continuity, compromise, and a combination between the great and little tradition." Later a number of studies were taken by different Indian Scholars in different Sacred Geographies in India as well as outside India. In which, Professor Makhan Jha stands first who studied many pilgrimage center applying "Sacred Complex" as a methodology to understand the trichotomy of the elements of Sacred Complex. After five decades to the concept prouponded by Prof. Vidyarthi, A restudy was done by Dr. Karuna Shanker Pandey in Hindu Gaya for his doctoral Degree in 2015.

References

* Hindu philosophical concepts * * {{Hindu-philo-stub