Holy waters

Thus, journey to a tirath, a place of pilgrimage, becomes an archetypal symbol. The holy scriptures postulate that man comes to this world as a pilgrim and goes to his original home after completing the allotted journey. This connotation of life as a journey gives pilgrimage its value.

The root of tirath is ‘tri’ with the suffix ‘th’ added to it. ‘Tri’ stands for ‘tir’, that is a riverbank. Therefore, it means to cross over the ‘bhavsagar’ of unrighteousness, of trials and tribulations, to swim across the river of ignorance to the realm of knowledge. The suffix ‘th’ connotes ‘pavitramabji’, that is ‘piety’ of ‘sanctity’ After a visit to a ‘tirath’, and a dip in the holy waters there, for example in the rivers Ganga or Yamuna, a pilgrim is sanctified with piety and godly grace. By implication, holy waters cleanse a man of all sins, dirt and dross. He experiences a renewal of life.

Tiraths, by and large, are situated on the banks of rivers or lakes. The Vedas propound that water is the main source of fertility. It is symbolic of spiritual awakening and existential revitalisation. Pilgrims return home with containers full of ‘water of salvation’ of the Ganga and many other rivers. Water sustains human life. And so does a tirath which sustains our faith in the omniscient, omnipotent God.

‘Tri’ also means three. According to the ancient scriptures, there are four ‘essentials’, for a man to realise in this world. They are dharam (righteousness), arth (wealth), kaam (desire) and moksha (deliverance). Of the four, arth, that is money, a pilgrim has and spends on the pilgrimage. Without money no pilgrimage can be undertaken. It is for the achievement of the remaining three — dharam, kaam and moksha — that one undertakes an arduous journey to a place of pilgrimage.