hindu-devotionWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Sacred Crossing / Pilgrimage (Tīrtha)
A 'ford' where the worldly and the holy nearly touch — and the pilgrimage that crosses there.
A tīrtha is a 'ford' or crossing-place — literally a spot where one fords a river, and by extension any sacred site where the divine is felt to be especially near and the passage from the worldly to the holy especially easy. Pilgrimage to such places, above all to the great river-confluences and temple-cities, is one of the oldest and most widespread Hindu practices, undertaken for purification, blessing, and the merit of the journey. The word also became an honorific for great teachers, themselves living 'crossing-places.'
Key passages(0)
No passages match your filters.