Tirtha

A Tirtha (Sanskrit, n, तीर्थ, Tirtha, Literally: " ford transition " ) refers in Hinduism a sacred place that is closely associated with ' water'. This is a place of pilgrimage in general. The term was, however, also extended to persons (eg Ramatirtha ), on religious texts, on certain points on the hand (eg Brahmatirtha on the thumb) and to all possible objects that are considered to be particularly pure and holy.

Originally a Tirtha was actually just a ford on a river, that is, a point at which you could certainly translate from one side to the other. This idea has been transferred to the metaphysical level. Here is a Tirtha a transition point or a junction between different worlds dar. In these places, the boundary line is very thin and permeable, so it is at a Tirtha one hand easier for people salvation ( moksha ) to obtain, on the other hand, the gods rise just here like down from above.

For these special places a sacred geography was constituted in all over India. Known are four pan-Indian tirthas, residences of the gods, the land limit ( Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Puri in the east, Ramesvaram in the south, Dwarka in the west). Other famous tirthas are the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva; the Shakta pithas the goddess. 4 places the Kumbh Mela ( Haridvar, Prayaga, Nasik, Ujjain ) or the seven cities of deliverance ( Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridvar, Varanasi, Kanci, Ujjain, Dvaraka )

In close connection with this sacred geography is the pilgrimage ( tirtha - yatra ) to the different tirthas. It is attested since the Mahabharata and the Puranas extol the resulting religious merit. You subject to any box -and gender restrictions and connects cultural elements of the old folk traditions with Brahmanism. Scientists have observed at tirthas the execution of Brahmanical rites as the Opferguß into the fire ( homa ), ancestral rites ( sraddha ), morning and evening meditation ( sandhya ) and popular folk practices such as worship ceremonies ( puja ), group singing religious songs ( kirtana ), devotional hearing mythological narratives ( Mahatmya sravana ) or religious processions ( yatra ). In today's Hinduism the pilgrimage takes as an expression of religiosity a central position.