Pilgrimage to tirthas, India's sacred zones, is one of the oldest
strands of the Hindu tradition, and one of the most prominent forms of
popular piety practiced in India today. Tirthas are "crossing places"
which act as portals linking heaven and earth. There are many different
types of tirthas. There are tirthas whose sanctity is imbued in the
landscape, such as the Himalayan mountains and the Ganga river. There
are other tirthas famous as pilgrimage sites for the divine images
housed there such as the great Vishnu temple of Badrinath in North
India. Tirthas vary in importance from small shrines of local
significance to places of pan-Indian importance attracting pilgrims from
across linguistic, sectarian and regional bo
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