Tirta is water,
sacred water; kshetra is shrine, a sacred site. The word tīrta means “that
which enables a man to cross an obstacle (a river)”. The river seems to have
symbolic meaning at several levels and in all cultures. The water comes from
the sea and merges into the sea. The water of the river is not much different
from that of the ocean and indicates flow of life. Rivers contribute to
prosperity. They also cause calamity. The banks keep changing. Yet the unity of
appearance is maintained.
We all know how
much Hindus believe in bathing in sacred waters and visiting holy shrines. The
origins of these practices can be traced to several of the ancient texts. Maha
Bharata is certainly one of them. Starting with Book 3: Section 82, there are
several passages on going to sacred shrines, which are invariably associated
with sacred waters.
In one
episode, Dharma asks the priest Lomasa
why good people suffer and bad people
prosper. The essence of Lomasa’s response is: “Do not bother with that
question. Be good. Visit holy shrines. Worship the Lord. You will be OK”.
In response to a
question from Bhishma, sage Pulastya talks about the importance of visiting
holy shrines and taking bath in holy waters and says that this is equivalent to
performing yagnas and homas (fire sacrifices). In this list,
names of several homas are given.
It also appears that yatras to holy places and bathing in sacred waters were offered to
those who were not permitted to perform homas (that will be every one other the
brahmins). This was offered also for the less wealthy, who cannot afford to
perform the big yagnas. They were
expensive, what with all the priests to be employed for performing specific
functions, building of the hall, items needed for dana (giving of gifts) such as cattle, coins etc. Only monarchs,
for example, could afford to perform aswamedha
yaga.
As I pointed out
elsewhere, we learn about many things from reading our sacred texts, in
addition to the main story. We learn about geography, culture, plants, animals,
birds and even celestial events.
The Pandavas go
on tirta yatra and kshetradana during
their period of exile. The number of sacred places mentioned are just too many
to list here. Saraswati is mentioned several times. It is also mentioned that
the river disappears at some spots and reappears further down. It must mean one
of two things: 1. It ran underground in some places. 2. It dried up during
draught and whenever a tributary caught some rain, the water showed up
downstream. From what we know, this river existed in ancient times.
Other rivers
mentioned include: Sindhu, Aruna, Gandaki, Sarayu,Ganga, Yamuna, Gomati,
Godavari, Kaveri,and Tambraparni.
Kurukshetra is
mentioned as one of the holiest places to visit, bordered in the north by
Saraswati and in the south by Dhrishadwati. Pushkara is mentioned, but am not sure whether
it was a specific place or a region. Other keshtras mentioned include Prayaga
at the junction of Ganga and Yamuna, a place called Vitasta in Kashmir region,
Kedara in the land of Kapila, Naimisha forest and Dandaka forest and Gaya. There is a mention of Kanya on the list. It
is probably Kanyakumari because it is mentioned soon after the river Kaveri and
is said to be located on the sea-shore.
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