A living reference atlas

Atlas of Religious and Esoteric Lineages

Five thousand religious, mystical, Indigenous and esoteric lineages from around the world — what they are, where they came from, and where to read more.

Source-linked and transparently qualified. Editorial standards and correction criteria are public.

Created and maintained by Ayara and Kyle Jonathan B@KJB_and_AYARA

Start with a topic guide Short reading paths with context and sources.

Entries: 5,000
Geographic connections: 7,326
Countries and territories: 162

Explore the index

Search five thousand distinct lineages

Geographic connections are still under review.
How to read the location information

377 lineages linked to the selected place

Page 13 of 16

Atlas 3694Institution-specific

Tiruchendur Subramania Swamy Temple institution

South Asian Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical temple or sacred-site institution; current government documentation; precise foundation chronology not asserted here
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3695Institution-specific

Swamimalai Swaminatha Swamy Temple institution

South Asian Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical temple or sacred-site institution; current government documentation; precise foundation chronology not asserted here
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3696Institution-specific

Karaikal Ammaiyar Temple institution

South Asian Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical temple or sacred-site institution; current government documentation; precise foundation chronology not asserted here
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3697Scholarly / historical only

Abhinavagupta works manuscript collection

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Works of Abhinavagupta (940–1015 CE in the cited record); the UNESCO dossier describes 248 manuscripts representing about forty-one works and records 2023 registration
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3698Scholarly / historical only

Pondicherry Śaiva Siddhānta manuscript collection

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: The cited UNESCO record describes texts spanning roughly the sixth century through the colonial period and records 2005 Memory of the World registration
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3699Institution-specific

Thiruvettakudi Thirumeniazhagarswamy Temple institution

South Asian Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical temple or sacred-site institution; current government documentation; precise foundation chronology not asserted here
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3728Community-bound / restricted

Ladakh Buddhist sacred-text chanting tradition

Buddhist Traditions Rite / ceremony

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Living monastic and village chanting tradition inscribed by UNESCO in 2012
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3730Scholarly / historical only

Gilgit Buddhist manuscript corpus

Buddhist Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Buddhist manuscript corpus dated palaeographically by the cited UNESCO record to the fifth–sixth centuries CE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3734Scholarly / historical only

Maitreyavyākaraṇa palm-leaf manuscript tradition

Buddhist Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical palm-leaf Buddhist manuscript documented by UNESCO as a Pala-period work; exact dating beyond the source is not asserted
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3737Institution-specific

Alchi Buddhist monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Twelfth-century complex according to the cited Government of India tourism record; legendary or disputed attributions are not independently resolved here
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3738Institution-specific

Lamayuru Buddhist monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical monastic complex; the cited government record distinguishes tenth-century structural history from later legends and source-attributed narratives
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3739Institution-specific

Dhankar Buddhist monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical fortress-monastery documented by the Himachal Pradesh tourism authority; no precise foundation date is asserted here
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3740Institution-specific

Key Buddhist monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Spiti monastery documented as preserving long-duration Buddhist traditions by the cited Himachal Pradesh government source; no single founding year is adopted
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3741Community-bound / restricted

Matho Nagrang oracle-festival tradition

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Rite / ceremony

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Living annual monastic festival documented by a current Government of India tourism page; no origin date is asserted
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3746Community-bound / restricted

Hemis Padmasambhava cham-festival tradition

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Rite / ceremony

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Living two-day festival held on the ninth and tenth days of the fifth Tibetan month according to the cited Government of India record; no fixed Gregorian date or origin date is inferred
Evidence status: Related-entry source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3747Institution-specific

Tabo Buddhist monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Founded in 996 CE according to the cited Himachal Pradesh tourism record; the same page documents the extant multi-temple complex
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 3748Institution-specific

Hemis Drukpa monastic complex

Bön & Himalayan Traditions Sacred site / complex

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historic Ladakhi Drukpa monastic complex documented by the cited current government page; no single founding date is adopted because current official pages present differing chronologies
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4157Varies by lineage

Firdawsiyya Kubrawi branch

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Lineage / school

Public geography: India
Period / origin: 14th century onward
Evidence status: Related-entry source

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4172Open / public

Tēvāram hymn corpus

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Tamil hymn corpus; current Project Madurai e-text documented
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4173Open / public

Tiruvācakam

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Tamil devotional work; current Project Madurai e-text documented
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4174Open / public

Nālāyira Divya Prabandham hymn corpus

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Tamil hymn corpus; current Project Madurai e-text documented
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4175Open / public

Tirumantiram

South Asian Traditions Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Historical Tamil work; current Project Madurai e-text documented
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4176Community-bound / restricted

Guru Ghasidas Satnam Panth

South Asian Traditions Religious tradition

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Early nineteenth-century origins; living community
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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Atlas 4177Open / public

Sivagiri pilgrimage cycle

South Asian Traditions Rite / ceremony

Public geography: India
Period / origin: Initiated in 1933; living annual cycle
Evidence status: Directly cited

Country links · under reviewIndia

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