Tirtha

A tirtha is a pilgrimage site. Literally the Sanskrit term "tirtha" means a ford, a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed. A tirtha provides the inspiration to enable one to cross over from worldly engagement to the side of nirvana.

A tirtha is considered to be crossing place from this world to the above-a point of marriage between transcendence and the mundane. A tirtha provides a crossing place for the upward journey of the soul and a place for the downward crossing-for the crossing of higher entities who sometimes descend to this world for the good of mankind.