“We cannot reach God without a guru in our lives. Hanuman is the ultimate sadguru,” writes media veteran Priya Gupta in her debut book Hanuman—the first in a new spiritual series, Temples of India. A sacred trail of 21 Hanuman temples plotted across the vast expanse of the Indian subcontinent, the book maps out these revered sites against the backdrop of associated myths, legends and history. Spotlighting Hanuman’s pivotal role in the epic of Ramayana, the book answers questions about his life, character and enduring cultural significance as Gupta supplements her research with rich commentary by some of the country’s esteemed spiritual gurus.

Hanuman is a cartography of pilgrimage where Hindu culture’s most cherished devotee emerges as a multifaceted being: healer, scholar and saviour.