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PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE
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In the allegorical or spiritual sense, the dictionary meaning of the term “pilgrim' is 'one journeying through life as a stranger in this world'. It is just the ideal of a religious aspirant in Jainism. He lives his life in the world, scrupulously performs his duties and discharges his obligations, yet his attitude is that of a stranger, an onlooker or observer. He does not identify himself with the show, does not let himself be engrossed in worldly relations and objects. He is a pilgrim who journeys through the world, taking the triple path made up of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, and pursues his spiritual pilgrimage till he attains the destination, nirvāna. As a matter of fact, in Jainism, a place of pilgrimage is called a tīrtha or tirtha-kşetra.
A tīrtha (literally, a ford) is so called because it helps the aspirant in crossing the ocean of saṁsāra which is full of pain and misery, and in attaining liberation from the otherwise unending round of rebirths. The primary aim of a Jaina pilgrimage is, therefore, spiritual edification. It is, perhaps, why the Jainas have generally selected for the sites of their tirtha-kşetras mountain tops, secluded dales, or jungle clearings, far from habitations and the hubbud of materialism ridden worldly life, in the midst of captivating natural scenery and peaceful surroundings, conducive to concentrated meditation and spiritual contemplation.
The sacred associations of the place give it an added sanctity and make the atmosphere charged, as it were, with spiritualism, sublime purity and transcendental peace. The architecture of the monuments (temples, shrines, etc.), and, above all, the images of the Jina, with countenances lost in the exuberance of peace and contemplation, make the devout pilgrim feel himself face to face with the divine presence. No wonder, if he bursts out in a fit of mystic ecstasy:
