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68-540: It is a guidebook for pilgrims about the routes from Northern Europe to Rome and Jerusalem . It contains two descriptions of lands around Norway that the Abbot seems to have acquired for his book from independent sources. In the following list there are the towns in the different itineraries described in Leiðarvísir,: First variation Second variation Third variation Pilgrims A pilgrimage

136-587: A Stockholm University study in 2011, these pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith , confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation, and connect personally to the Holy Land. Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions , including the faiths of ancient Egypt , Persia in the Mithraic period , India , China , and Japan . The Greek and Roman customs of consulting

204-475: A journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith , although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into someone's own beliefs. Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with

272-550: A "crossing place" in the sense of "transition or junction". Tirtha is a spiritual concept in Hinduism , particularly as a "pilgrimage site", states Axel Michaels, that is a holy junction between "worlds that touch and do not touch each other". The word also appears in ancient and medieval Hindu texts to refer to a holy person, or a holy text with something that can be a catalyst for a transition from one state of existence to another. It is, states Knut A. Jacobsen, anything that has

340-475: A "place of pilgrimage". Tirtha: Holy Pilgrimage Tirtha are of three kinds, Jangam Tirtha is to a place movable,   of a sadhu , a rishi , a guru , Sthawar Tirtha is to a place immovable,   like Benaras, Hardwar, Mount Kailash, holy rivers, Manas Tirtha is to a place of mind,   of truth, charity, patience, compassion, soft speech, soul. — Skanda Purana Tīrtha ( Sanskrit : तीर्थ ) literally means "a ford ,

408-410: A baby, or as part of a rite of passage such as a baby's first haircut, or after healing from a sickness. It may, states Eck, also be the result of prayers answered, or consequent to a vow a person had made if his or her prayer were to come true, such as the well being of a family member, or overcoming poverty or destitution or a challenging situation. Ancient rationale for pilgrimage Flower-like

476-420: A collection of tirtha locations (temples, river banks) in a certain location, such as Varanasi, Hardwar, Somnath, Mathura-Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Puri and Kanchipuram, are referred to as a kshetra . A kshetra may denote a place where there is a temple or where there is held to have been a person or event of sacred, religious or dharmic importance. The Kurukshetra specifically is the "field" or "precinct" where

544-469: A few days at a time; within a few years appointments were extended internationally, formally designated as "pilgrims", and scheduled for twice-yearly, week-long visits at each local congregation. International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended. Prominent Bible Students A. H. Macmillan and J. F. Rutherford were both appointed pilgrims before they joined

612-543: A historic or architectural tour rather than – or as well as – a religious experience. Under communist regimes, devout secular pilgrims visited locations such as the Mausoleum of Lenin , the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the Birthplace of Karl Marx . Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored. Sites such as these continue to attract visitors. The distinction between religious, cultural or political pilgrimage and tourism

680-564: A holy precinct or temenos . Kshetra is also an etymon of the Avestan term Xšaθra "[Desirable] Dominion", which holds the semantic field "power" and is also a personal name for a divinity or immortal who comprises one of the Amesha Spentas of Zoroastrianism . Xšaθra or Shahrevar conquered that which was evil and annexed territory thus won, proffering it to the honest , peaceable and humble . A kshetra often refers to

748-502: A journey is called a pilgrim. As a common human experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift and Jean Dalby Clift . Some research has shown that people who engage in pilgrimage walks enjoy biological, psychological, social, and spiritual therapeutic benefits. The Holy Land acts as a focal point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . According to

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816-527: A journey or procession. While many pilgrims travel toward a specific location, a physical destination is not always a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ , (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs", who left their homes to wander in the world. This form of pilgrimage, akin to the concept of " hajj " in Islam, which means "procession,"

884-641: A magnet for travelers since medieval times. While Solomon's Temple stood, Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life and the site of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover , Shavuot and Sukkot , and all adult men who were able were required to visit and offer sacrifices ( korbanot ) at the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, the obligation to visit Jerusalem and to make sacrifices no longer applied. The obligation

952-452: A pilgrimage arising or whether a fast at the tīrtha is required. The mode of travel is also widely discussed, particularly when the Tirtha is undertaken as part of a penance. The most widely accepted view appears to be that the greatest austerity (prāyaścitta) comes from traveling on foot, or part of the journey is on foot, and that the use of a conveyance is only acceptable if the pilgrimage

1020-516: A salvific value to a Hindu, and includes pilgrimage sites such as mountains or forests or seashore or rivers or ponds, as well as virtues, actions, studies or state of mind. Tirtha can be an actual physical sacred location in Hindu traditions, or a metaphorical term referring to meditation where the person travels to an intellectual sacred mind state such as of "truth, forgiveness, kindness, simplicity and such". Tirtha in Hindu texts, states Bhardwaj,

1088-654: A site of pilgrimage. The designated sites for pilgrimage are currently not accessible to the majority of Bahá'ís, as they are in Iraq and Iran respectively, and thus when Bahá'ís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage which consists of visiting the holy places at the Bahá'í World Centre in northwest Israel in Haifa , Acre , and Bahjí . Places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world include those associated with

1156-524: A strict, literalist interpretation of Islam and opposition to practices they consider innovations, such as shrine visitation. Ziyarat also includes the Ziyarat al-Imam, which refers specifically to the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Shia Imams, especially revered figures like Imam Ali and Imam Hussein . The Arba'in pilgrimage is the world's largest pilgrimage and largest annual public gathering in

1224-594: A variety of sacred and historically significant locations beyond Mecca. These include mosques, tombs, battlefields, mountains, caves, and other places where important spiritual or historical events in Islamic history took place. It holds deep spiritual significance for millions of Muslims around the world. One notable example is the Grand Magal of Touba , 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Dakar , Senegal. About four million pilgrims participate annually to celebrate

1292-512: Is "one of the many ways toward self-realization and bliss". The field of our state of mind is the body, mind, intellect and ego , a quadripartite. Yoga prepares the field to understand God (God's grace). Antahkarana is the levels of mental layers and, or including mental body. The word Tirtha is found in the oldest layer, that is the Samhita of the Rigveda as well as other Vedas . In

1360-524: Is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura . It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali , the grandson of Muhammad , which falls on the 20th or 21st day of the month of Safar . Imam Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by Yazid I 's army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE ). Arba'een or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after

1428-457: Is a Sanskrit word that means "crossing place, ford", and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism . The process or journey associated with tirtha is called tirtha- yatra , while alternate terms such as kshetra , gopitha and mahalaya are used in some Hindu traditions to refer to

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1496-497: Is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus ) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. Pilgrimages frequently involve

1564-677: Is holy, including all mountains, all of Himalayas, all rivers, lakes, dwellings of Rishis (sages), temples, cowpens, great forests, and all seas. This tradition traces back to the Rigveda, where Aranyani (large forest) is referred to as a deity. The reverence for rivers and water bodies is traceable to the Nadi Stuti , or the river-hymn, in hymn 10.75 of the Rigveda. Pilgrimage sites are not prominent in Dharmasastras such as Manusmriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti , but they are found in

1632-419: Is not necessarily always clear or rigid. Pilgrimage could also refer symbolically to journeys, largely on foot, to places where the concerned person(s) expect(s) to find spiritual and/or personal salvation. In the words of adventurer-author Jon Krakauer in his book Into The Wild , Christopher McCandless was "a pilgrim perhaps" to Alaska in search of spiritual bliss. The main pilgrimage sites associated with

1700-423: Is one of the five pillars of Islam and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. The Hajj is one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world. Since 2014, two or three million people have participated in

1768-522: Is otherwise impossible. The Hindu texts assert that the man should take his wife with him, when proceeding to pilgrimage. However, some smṛtis also call attention to the fact that doing one's duty as a householder is more important than going on pilgrimages, and it is only in special cases or once one has paid his Three Debts (to his parents, his teacher, and the Vedas) that he should resort to pilgrimages. Raghunanda's Prāyaścitta-tattva asserts that

1836-586: Is the most famous sea goddess in the Chinese southeastern sea area, Hong Kong , Macau and Taiwan . Mazu Pilgrimage is more likely as an event (or temple fair), pilgrims are called as "Xiang Deng Jiao" ( pinyin : xiāng dēng jiǎo, it means "lantern feet" in Chinese), they would follow the Goddess's (Mazu) palanquin from her own temple to another Mazu temple. By tradition, when the village Mazu palanquin passes,

1904-774: The Hajj annually. The mosques in Mecca and Medina were closed in February 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the hajj was permitted for only a very limited number of Saudi nationals and foreigners living in Saudi Arabia starting on 29 July. Another important place for Muslims is the city of Medina, the second holiest site in Islam, in Saudi Arabia, the final resting place of Muhammad in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Mosque of

1972-576: The Pandavas and Kauravas fought a religious war as told in the Bhagavad Gita section of the Mahabharata . A kshetra need not be distant permanently developed travel site, and refers to any temporary space, such as a wedding area or mandala set up for a worship, that is sacred. Both yantras and mandalas are sometimes referred to as kshetras . Buddhism has two analogues to

2040-686: The Upanishads , states Diana L. Eck , the "crossing over" refers to the "spiritual transition and transformation from this world to the world of Brahman , the Supreme, the world illumined by the light of knowledge". The emphasis in the Upanishads, in Tirtha context is on spiritual knowledge, instead of rituals, and this theme appears in the Hindu epics as well. The Dharmasastras and the Puranas , states Kane, assert numerous descriptors for what

2108-708: The apostles , saints and Christian martyrs , as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary . A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral , in Galicia , Spain, where the shrine of the apostle James is located. A combined pilgrimage was held every seven years in the three nearby towns of Maastricht , Aachen and Kornelimünster where many important relics could be seen (see: Pilgrimage of

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2176-612: The five vices ." Eventually, however, Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) became the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh faith, and if a Sikh goes on pilgrimage it is usually to this place. The Panj Takht (Punjabi: ਪੰਜ ਤਖ਼ਤ) are the five revered gurdwaras in India that are considered the thrones or seats of authority of Sikhism and are traditionally considered a pilgrimage. Mazu , also spelled as Matsu,

2244-573: The gods at local oracles , such as those at Dodona or Delphi , both in Greece , are widely known. In Greece , pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored. The Eleusinian mysteries included a pilgrimage. The procession to Eleusis began at the Athenian cemetery Kerameikos and from there the participants walked to Eleusis, along the Sacred Way (Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, Hierá Hodós ). In

2312-645: The Firouzabad ruins sixty kilometres south of Shiraz in the province of Pars . Atash Behram ("Fire of victory") is the highest grade of fire temple in Zoroastrianism . It has 16 different "kinds of fire", that is, fires gathered from 16 different sources. Currently there are 9 Atash Behram, one in Yazd, Iran and the rest in Western India . They have become a pilgrimage destination. In India

2380-491: The Ganges. Tirtha has been one of the recommended means of addressing remorse and to perform penance, for unintentional errors and intentional sins, in the Hindu tradition. The effort and austerities during the Tirtha are a part of Prāyaścitta concept, which means "atonement, penance, expiation" for "something one has done, but shouldn't have" or "something one did not do, but should have". Vishnu Dharmasastra asserts that

2448-543: The Holy Land, to the places associated with the Lord's passion, death and resurrection. They go to Rome, the city of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, and also to Compostela, which, associated with the memory of Saint James, has welcomed pilgrims from throughout the world who desire to strengthen their spirit with the Apostle's witness of faith and love. Pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with

2516-607: The Prophet). The Ihram (white robe of pilgrimage) is meant to show equality of all Muslim pilgrims in the eyes of Allah. 'A white has no superiority over a black, nor a black over a white. Nor does an Arab have superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab - except through piety' - statement of the Prophet Muhammad. A different form of pilgrimage is ziyarat ( Arabic : زِيَارَة ziyārah , "visit"; Persian : زیارت , ziyārat ). Ziyarat generally refers to

2584-634: The Relics, Maastricht ). Marian pilgrimages remain very popular in Latin America . The Catholic priest Frank Fahey writes that a pilgrim is "always in danger of becoming a tourist" and vice versa, and describes pilgrimages as journeys containing "faith expectancy", a search for wholeness, that are often solitary and employing silence to create an internal sacred space . According to Karel Werner's Popular Dictionary of Hinduism , "most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with legendary events from

2652-673: The Tooth in Sri Lanka and the numerous sites associated with teachers and patriarchs of the various traditions. Hindu pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities ( Varanasi , Badrinath ); rivers (the Ganges , the Yamuna ); mountains (several Himalayan peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists); caves (such as the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia ); temples; festivals, such as

2720-445: The act of visiting holy places such as tombs or shrines, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and other revered figures like legal scholars and Sufi saints. Ziyarat is a voluntary act of pilgrimage practiced by both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Unlike Hajj, which is obligatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able, or Umrah, which is highly recommended but not mandatory, Ziyarat involves visits to

2788-787: The board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania ; the IBSA later adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses and renamed pilgrims as traveling overseers . The purpose of Christian pilgrimage was summarized by Pope Benedict XVI in this way: To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. Above all, Christians go on pilgrimage to

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2856-529: The cathedral fire temple that houses the Iranshah Atash Behram , located in the small town of Udvada in the west coast province of Gujarat , is a pilgrimage destination. A modern phenomenon is the cultural pilgrimage which, while involving a personal journey, is secular in nature. Destinations for such pilgrims can include historic sites of national or cultural importance, and can be defined as places "of cultural significance: an artist's home,

2924-471: The death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'een is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which up to 31 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq . The second largest holy city in the world, Mashhad , Iran, attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to Imam Reza (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been

2992-400: The destruction of the Temple, there is a mitzvah to make a pilgrimage on holidays. Sikhism does not consider pilgrimage as an act of spiritual merit. Guru Nanak went to places of pilgrimage to reclaim the fallen people, who had turned ritualists. He told them of the need to visit that temple of God, deep in the inner being of themselves. According to him: "He performs a pilgrimage who controls

3060-422: The divine, to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed", or any site that is seen to have special spiritual powers. Such sites may be commemorated with shrines or temples that devotees are encouraged to visit for their own spiritual benefit: to be healed or have questions answered or to achieve some other spiritual benefit. A person who makes such

3128-573: The early example of Origen in the third century, surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers including Saint Jerome , and established by Saint Helena , the mother of Constantine the Great . Beginning in 1894, Christian ministers under the direction of Charles Taze Russell were appointed to travel to and work with local Bible Students congregations for

3196-463: The early period of Hebrew history , pilgrims traveled to Shiloh , Dan , Bethel , and eventually Jerusalem (see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals , a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions ). These festivals, including Passover, Tabernacles, and Shavout, often involved journeys that reflected a physical and spiritual movement, similar to the concept of " tirtha yātrā" in Hinduism, where "tirtha" means "ford" or "crossing," and "yatra" signifies

3264-704: The epic Mahabharata and the Puranas .< Most Puranas include large sections on Tirtha Mahatmya along with tourist guides, which describe sacred sites and places to visit, particularly the Padma Purana , Skanda Purana , Vayu Purana , Kurma Purana , Bhagavata Purana , Narada Purana , Devi Bhagavata Purana , Vamana Purana , Linga Purana , Brahma Purana , Brahmanda Purana and Bhavishya Purana . In ancient texts, Varanasi (Benares, Kashi), Rameshwaram , Kanchipuram , Dwarka , Puri , and Haridwar have been mentioned as particularly holy sites, along with geographies where major rivers meet ( sangam ) or join

3332-438: The heels of the wanderer, His body groweth and is fruitful, All his sins disappear, Slain by the toil of his journeying. — Aitareya Brahmana 7.15 Rigveda , Translator: AB Keith An alternate reason for Tirtha, for some Hindus, is to respect wishes or in memory of a beloved person after his or her death. This may include dispersing their cremation ashes in a Tirtha region in a forest, mountain, river or sea to honor

3400-539: The hymns of Rigveda, such as 1.169.6 and 4.29.3, the context suggests that the word means "a way or road". In other hymns of Rigveda such as 8.47.11, states Kane, the context suggests the term means "a ford in the river". Yet, in other cases, Tirtha refers to any holy place, such as by the sea, or a place that connects a sacrificial ground ( Yajna ) to the outside. Later texts use the word Tirtha to refer to any spot, locality or expanse of water where circumstances or presence of great sages or gurus has made special. In

3468-495: The life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba , the founder of the Mouride brotherhood, who established the order in 1883. The pilgrimage begins on the 18th of Safar , the second month of the Islamic calendar. While ziyarat is viewed as permissible and spiritually enriching by most Sunni and Shia traditions, some fundamentalist movements, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, discourage or oppose it. These movements are characterized by

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3536-564: The life of the historical Buddha : his supposed birthplace and childhood home ( Lumbini and Kapilavastu in Nepal ) and place of enlightenment ( Bodh Gaya in northern India ), other places he is believed to have visited and the place of his death (or Parinirvana), Kushinagar , India. Others include the many temples and monasteries with relics of the Buddha or Buddhist saints such as the Temple of

3604-403: The lives of various gods.... Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, and mountains." Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale. The Ḥajj ( Arabic : حَـجّ , main pilgrimage to Mecca)

3672-589: The location of a pivotal event or an iconic destination". An example might be a devotee of the Beatles visiting Liverpool in England. Destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp , Gettysburg Battlefield or the Ernest Hemingway House . Cultural pilgrims may also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James , with the perspective of making it

3740-521: The most familiar ones are in the province of Yazd . In addition to the traditional Yazdi shrines, new sites may be in the process of becoming pilgrimage destinations. The ruins are the ruins of ancient fire temples . One such site is the ruin of the Sassanian era Azargoshnasp fire temple in Iran's Azarbaijan Province. Other sites are the ruins of fire temples at Rey , south of the capital Tehran , and

3808-502: The peripatetic Kumbh Mela , in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history; or the tombs and dwelling places of saints ( Alandi , Shirdi ). In India and Nepal , there are four places of pilgrimage which are tied to the life of Gautama Buddha : Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected Gautama Buddha's life are: Savatthi , Pataliputta , Nalanda , Gaya , Vesali , Sankasia , Kapilavastu , Kosambi , Rajagaha . Other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include: In

3876-424: The person seeking penance must give up 16 things when he reaches Ganges river, including behavior such as praising another tirtha, striking any one, sexual dalliance, accepting gifts, giving one's used clothing as gifts to others. A pilgrimage place or location in some Hindu texts is also referred to as Kshetra ( IAST : kṣētra , Sanskrit : क्षेत्र ), literally any "field, area, tract of land". A kshetra denotes

3944-770: The pre- Inca culture Chavín to come together, to attend and participate in rituals, consult an oracle, worship or enter a cult, and collect ideas. Bahá'u'lláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas : the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, Iraq , and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, Iran . Later, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá designated the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji, Israel as

4012-490: The residents would offer free water and food to those pilgrims along the way. There are 2 main Mazu pilgrimages in Taiwan, usually held between lunar January and April, depending on Mazu's will. Zoroastrians have as their main pilgrimage destinations the city of Yazd and the temples of Pir-e Sabz and Pir-e Naraki in Iran , as well as the cities of Navsari and Udvada in India. In Iran , there are pilgrimage destinations called pirs in several provinces, although

4080-404: The sea. The Kumbhamela , which rotates at a gap of three years, between Prayaga (renamed to Allahabad in the late medieval era), Haridwar , Ujjain and Nasik , remain popular into the modern times, with tens of millions of Hindus participating. Some pilgrimage are part of a Vrata (vow), which a Hindu may make for a number of reasons. It may mark a special occasion, such as the birth of

4148-399: The spiritual literature of Christianity , the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus . Aside from

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4216-497: The spiritual teacher Meher Baba are Meherabad , India, where Baba completed the "major portion" of his work and where his tomb is now located, and Meherazad , India, where Baba resided later in his life. The Yazidism has numerous pilgrimage sites and holy sites, with the most important being located in Sinjar such as Lalish . Some prominent literary characters who were pilgrims include: Tirtha (Hinduism) Traditional Tirtha ( Sanskrit : तीर्थ , tīrtha )

4284-475: The type of sin that may be expiated through pilgrimages is referred to as anupātakas (small sin), in contrast to mahapātakas (major sin) that require other penances. According to Kane, many texts asserted that "tirtha-yatra (journey to a holy place) was a popular way for redemption of sins in the case of all classes of men and women. The proper procedure for a pilgrimage is debated within the smṛtis , with questions such as whether one should cut his hair before

4352-491: The wishes of the dead. The journey to a Tirtha, assert some Hindu texts, helps one overcome the sorrow of the loss. Another reason for a Tirtha is the Hindu belief that journeys have rejuvenating potential, to purify the inner state of man, and there is spiritual merit in travel, a theme asserted by the Vedic texts. This journey in later Hindu texts, states Bhardwaj, has ranged from the inner journey of meditation to physically traveling to famed temples or bathe in rivers such as

4420-402: The world, where millions of Shia Muslims travel to Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during the 40-day mourning period after Ashura. Al-Arba‘īn ( Arabic : ٱلْأَرْبَـعِـيْـن , "The Forty"), Chehelom ( Persian : چهلم , Urdu : چہلم , "the fortieth [day]") or Qirkhī , Imāmīn Qirkhī ( Azerbaijani : İmamın qırxı ( Arabic : إمامین قیرخی ), "the fortieth of Imam")

4488-410: Was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, trusting completely in Divine Providence . These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and the spread of Christianity among the pagan population in Britain and in continental Europe. The ceremonial center Chavín de Huántar served as a gathering place for people of

4556-429: Was off-limits to Jews from 1948 to 1967, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. There are numerous lesser Jewish pilgrimage destinations, mainly tombs of tzadikim , throughout Israel and Palestine and all over the world, including: Hebron ; Bethlehem ; Mount Meron ; Netivot ; Uman , Ukraine ; Silistra , Bulgaria ; Damanhur , Egypt ; and many others. Many rabbis claim that even today, after

4624-434: Was restored with the rebuilding of the Temple , but following its destruction in 70 CE, the obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices again went into abeyance. The western retaining wall of the Temple Mount , known as the Western Wall or "Wailing" Wall, is the remaining part of Second Jewish Temple in the Old City of Jerusalem is the most sacred and visited site for Jews. Pilgrimage to this area

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