A journey, a pilgrimage, one of the most important religious duties of a Hindu. A place of pilgrimage or tirthasthana is considered holy either because it is believed to be the abode of a god or because it is said to possess certain supernatural powers. This could be a medicinal spring or some unexplained natural phenomenon. Visiting such a place is said to please the deity to whom the tirtha is particularly dear and the pilgrim thus acquires merit, besides ridding himself of all the sins that he might have committed in his life time. This ensures a good life after death, a good re-birth and brings the person closer to moksha. Therefore pilgrimages are undertaken by many people, especially in their old age. If a man dies at one of the holy places, his soul is said to go straight to heaven. Often, old people spend the last days of their lives in one of these places, waiting for death. Apart from the old, others go on pilgrimage to ask a favour or in thanksgiving. Though Hindus believe that God is omnipresent, divine power is said to be specially active in these places.
Offerings of money, gold, silver, coconuts, flowers as well as votive tonsuring are common to all tirthas. Ancestor worship is another common feature of a pilgrimage. Most pilgrimage sites are either water bodies or have a lake or pond where the devotees take a purifying dip. Because water washes away physical dirt, Hindus give it symbolic value as a cleanser of souls. Pilgrim routes are now sanctified by tradition and going barefoot or rolling on the ground is undertaken as a mark of humility to God.
Seven rivers are considered extremely holy. They are the Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Kaveri, and Sindhu or Indus. Of these the Ganga and the Narmada are said to be the holiest. Pilgrimages to all or any of these rivers are said to ease the heart and cleanse the soul. Pradakshina of the Ganga and Narmada take about four to six years to complete from source to delta and back again, to cover both banks. These are held to be the ultimate pilgrimage and are said to lead to moksha.
Holy dips in these rivers are believed to wash away sins and their banks are favoured as cremation sites. After a funeral, the ashes are immersed in the river, for this is said to lead the dead to heaven. Pilgrims bring large pots to carry back holy water from the rivers, which are used for ceremonies at home. The source of sacred rivers, specially at Gangotri (for the Ganga), Yamunotri (for the Yamuna) and Amarkantak (for the Narmada), are specially important pilgrimage sites.
There are also seven cities considered extremely holy: Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, and Varanasi all in Uttar Pradesh, Dwaraka in Gujarat, Gaya in Bihar, and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
Ayodhya is sacred as it is believed to be the birth place of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu.
Mathura, on the banks of the Yamuna, is a holy Vaishnava site, as the birth place of Krishna. On Janmashtami and Holi, festive pilgrims from all over gather here to celebrate with song, dance and folk theatre.
Haridwar, just below the Himalayan foothills, and Gaya, sacred also to the Buddha and not far from Kashi, are both on the banks of the Ganga and are favoured places for funeral rites and ancestor-worship.
Varanasi or Kashi, on the banks of the river Ganga is considered to be the most sacred of these. The city is thronged by the old and infirm who hope to die here and go straight to heaven. Though Kashi is essentially sacred to Shiva, other deities - and their sects - are also securely lodged here. Kashi is the leading centre of Hindu studies and attracts Sanskrit scholars from all over India and abroad.
Dwaraka is believed to have been the capital of Krishna`s kingdom, and is one of the most important pilgrimages.
Of the 12 jyotirlingas, Kedarnath and Amarnath are specially venerated Shaiva shrines. The places where different parts of Sati`s dismembered body are believed to have fallen are venerated by the Shakta sect (devotees of Shakti). Of these Kamakhya in Assam and Vaishnodevi in Jammu and Kashmir are the most important.
Mountains like Kailash, Neelkantha, Parasnath, Abu and Nandadevi are specially difficult pilgrimages. Pradakshina of or just going to these places is not easy but nevertheless attracts many.
The temple of Tirupathi (sacred to Vishnu) is the richest Hindu temple in the world and attracts more devotees and offerings than any other. The temple to Vishnu as "Jagannath", lord of the world, at Puri in Orissa, is another tirtha of great antiquity. It is associated both with the development of the Oriya language and with the evolution of the dance form, Odissi.
Lake Pushkar (near Ajmer in Rajasthan), is a rare temple to Brahma and is believed to have been created by him. A camel fair and a ritual dip in the sacred pond are an annual draw for many pilgrims and tourists.
Four shrines, situated in the four corners of the country, are pilgrimages of tremendous importance, set up by Shankaracharya. They are: Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttar Pradesh, sacred to Vishnu and Shiva respectively; Rameshvara in Tamil Nadu, sacred to both Shiva and Vishnu, as the Shivalinga here is said to have been established by Rama, before his conquest of Lanka; and Jagannath in Puri (Orissa), considered a manifestation of Vishnu. It is considered a great merit to die within sight of Jagannath. Therefore pilgrims often threw themselves under the huge wheels of the Jagannath chariot during the annual rathyatra or chariot procession; and Dwaraka (Gujarat), sacred to Vishnu as Krishna`s ancient capital.