Tirtha or pilgrimage occupies a central place in the rituals and practices of the faithfuls. The word tirtha is derived from the root tri, which means ‘to cross over' - that is, to go up or to go down. The word avatar is also derived from the same root; it means ‘to descend', ‘to come down'.
A tirtha is a place on earth where the gods descend and which facilitates the crossing over, enabling ascent of human beings from bhavasagar or the temporal and ephemeral world of naama and rupa, name and form, multiplicity and diversity, to the eternal abode of oneness, peace, tranquillity and bliss.
Tirtha really stood for knowledge as knowledge alone helps us get over ignorance and leads to liberation. It has now come to mean a sacred place which helps one to cross over from the cycle of birth and death to moksha or liberation. The Mahabharata says: “Just as certain parts of the body are called pure, so are certain parts of the earth and certain waters called holy”. These parts of the earth are called tirthas.
A tirtha is a ford, a crossing and a passageway by visiting which one could be freed of all sin. The metaphor of a ford or a bridge acts as a linking function, which among other things, brings together and links ideas, concepts, points of view and practices that are different. The bridge is not a stable habitat, you are not expected to stay or stand on it for long periods.
It is on the way from somewhere to somewhere, a transition. It connects the past with the present and future.
According to Tristhalisetu, a tirtha is a place where “whatever is sacrificed, chanted, given in charity, or suffered in penance, even in the smallest amount, yields endless fruit because of the power of that place... Whatever fruit is said to accrue from many thousands of lifetimes of asceticism, even more than that is obtainable from but three nights of fasting in this place”.
The Shiva Purana states that “the punyas earned in a tirtha destroy all sins - physical, mental and those committed through speech. At the same time evil actions done in a tirtha yield evil results of which one is not easily absolved”. It also warns not to indulge in immoral deeds in a tirtha because the evil results of an immoral action performed in a tirtha are multiplied manifold. It, therefore, advises that one should be extremely cautious about one's actions in the punyakshetra, the sacred region of a tirtha.
Tirthas have the power to cleanse the soul of its acquired sins. A tirtha is not only mokshada or bestower of liberation; it is also sukhda or bestower of happiness. It provides for both mukti or liberation and bhukti or enjoyment.
The various tirthas in India are spread out geographically, forming a mahaparikrama or mahapradakshina, the great circumambulation of the entire country.
Tirthas, therefore, yield not just spiritual gains; they help individuals familiarise themselves with the geographical vastness, cultural diversity and unity of the country. That probably was the aim of Indian sages in attaching a spiritual significance to each of the tirthas and persuading the populace to go around all of them to attain moksha. That is why Mark Twain has rightly observed that the tirthas are “older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend”.