Tab. moderna Indiae - Vintage map, Norman B. Leventhal Collection

This map hails from a 1525 edition of Claudius Ptolemy’s "Geographia", a text originally written in the 2nd century. This atlas allows the viewer to spatially orient religious beliefs and mythologies; illustrations throughout the book depict legends and belief systems across the world. Showing part of India, this particular map features a pictorial rendering of the "Daksha yajna," an important event in Hindu scripture in which Daksha, a son of Brahma, held a "yajna," or sacrifice. Following a series of arguments, Daksha’s daughter, Sati, meditated to the point of self-immolation. Grief-stricken, her husband, the god Shiva, beheaded Daksh/a and replaced his head with that of a goat. Shiva then wandered the universe with Sati’s body, scattering her ashes in holy places. These became the Shakti Peetha, sacred places throughout modern-day India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library