From rural landscape to living pilgrimage: the sacralization of Mayapur

This research article examines the embodiment of Mayapur as a sacred space, focusing on its spatial, sensory, and social dimensions. With Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad serving as a theoretical model, the study examines the connections among conceived, perceived, and lived spaces in the creation of Mayapur’s sacred landscape. Employing ethnographic methodologies, including field observations and interviews with practitioners, the study elucidates that the sanctity of Mayapur is perpetually reconstructed through ritualistic endeavours, architectural symbolism, devotional soundscapes, and communal engagement. The insights reveal the interplay of theology, urban planning, and emotional spaces in shaping the experiences of individuals on pilgrimage. The research concludes that the sacred space of Mayapur is collaboratively generated by divine imagination, spatial design, and lived devotional practice that act as a field to build habitus in devotees, thereby establishing it as a transnational nexus of faith and identity formation.