Sanskrit term denoting Hindu pilgrimage sites
This article is about pilgrimage in Hinduism. For other uses, see Tirtha (disambiguation).
Tirtha (Sanskrit: तीर्थ, tīrtha) is a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford", and refers to any place, text or person that is holy.[1][2] It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.[1][2][3]
The process or journey associated with tirtha is called tirtha-yatra,[4] while alternate terms such as kshetra, gopitha and mahalaya are used in some Hindu traditions to refer to a "place of pilgrimage".[5][6]
- ^ a b James G. Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 698–699.
- ^ a b Axel Michaels & Barbara Harshav (Transl) 2004, pp. 288–289.
- ^ Knut A. Jacobsen 2013, pp. 157–158.
- ^ Bhardwaj 1983, p. 2.
- ^ Pilgrimage, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany (2012)
- ^ Monier Monier-Williams. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 800.