"The pilgrimage cycles (e.g. that of the twelve Shaiva jyotirlingas) cover every corner of India.31 Talageri: “These Hindu pilgrim-centres range from Kailash and Mansarovar in the north to Rameshwaram in the south; and from Hinglaj in the west (in Sindh) to Parsuram Kund (in Arunachal Pradesh) in the east. The ‘seven holy cities’ of Hinduism include Kanchipuram in the south, Dwarka in the west and Ujjain in central India. … This concept of India as a holy land has persisted … down the ages. More than a thousand years ago, Adi Shankaracharya, who was born in Kerala, established his four mathas in Badrinath in the north (U.P.), Puri in the east (Orissa), Dwarka in the west (Gujarat), and Shringeri in the south (Karnataka).”...“Jainism originated in the north-east (in Bihar), but the majority of its followers are found in western states (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra), and the most famous statues of Gomateshawara are found in the south. Guru Nanak was born in Punjab, but throughout his writings, he speaks of Hindustan, not of Punjab. Guru Govind Singh appointed five disciples, calling them panj pyaras, and entrusting them with the task of ensuring that Hindu Dharma prevailed everywhere. These disciples were, respectively, from Punjab and Delhi in the north, Gujarat in the west, Orissa in the east, and Karnataka in the south. The four Takhts of Sikhism are at Nankana Sahib (Punjab now in Pakistan), Amritsar (Punjab), Patna (Bihar) and Nanded (Maharashtra).”"