Introduction
The Hindu religion, in contrast to the Western tradition, holds that human order was brought into being at the creation of the world. Therefore, cosmization of a territory or habitat is always a consecration and represents the paradigmatic work of the gods. The pattern of traditional and royal cities in India mostly duplicates a celestial archetype, reflecting cosmo-magical power. This means that earthly cities, temples or religious institutions have their duplicates in some transcendental sphere, often identified with the heavens
The manifestation of a transcendental element may be translated into a parallelism between the macrocosmos (cosmos/heaven) and the microcosmos (temple-human body). In between these two polarities one can also perceive a mediating spatial-sacred structure given by the (built) environment; we shall call it mesocosmos. An archetypal city such as Varanasi may be considered as a mesocosmos mediating between the microcosmos of the individual and the macrocosmos of a culturally conceived greater universe. The interlinkage among these three archetypal levels is sometimes expressed in the idea of a central axis around which the cosmos turns. This centre serves as a communication link between heaven and earth; it is the axis mundi. Historically, Hindu practices of rituals and festivities, sacred journeys, deities and their symmetrical links came to form a sacred spatial system that is still perceived by pilgrims and devotees. In fact, pilgrimage traditions are deeply rooted in local space and place, as well as in the cultural inheritance and mentality of their adherents. This structure is reflected symbolically in a spatial frame in which complexity and temporal stability meet, mediating between people and cosmos, i.e. in a mesocosm - the "climax community" of Hinduism. The cosmic layout of a "climax community" may be seen in the elaborate frame characteristic of Varanasi; it is clearly expressed in a series of sacred territorial boundaries defined by the pilgrimage routes. Within this mapping system the universe is symbolized by a circle (of course irregular), connecting a number of shrines and sacred sites. This system of spatial manifestations and pilgrimage journeys may be called pilgrimage mandala. In Varanasi, the pilgrimage mandala is fully developed; it has been eulogized in the mythological literature and is still maintained through the pilgrimage journeys and festivities. The spatial components of a world view, reflected in a conception of local values and practices such as pilgrimages, symbolizes the cosmic representation of the earth. Recognition of the cosmogonic aspect of spatial arrangement extends back to the time of the Vedas, ca. 1000 B.C.E. In the case of Varanasi, it goes back to the early period of the current era.