Concept

Yatra

Summary
(यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and . Visiting a sacred place is believed by the pilgrim to purify the self and bring one closer to the divine. The journey itself is as important as the destination, and the hardships of travel serve as an act of devotion in themselves. A is a to a sacred site, generally . Yatri is the term for anyone who undertakes the yatra. According to Vedic Hindu Dharma Shastras, a Yatri ought to perform Yatra on foot, called padayatra, ideally barefoot as a form of tapasya in which the pilgrim should travel without umbrellas or vehicles; however, many yatris do not follow these niyamas. In present times, yatras are highly organized affairs, with specialized tourism companies catering to yatris. State governments are sometimes involved in the organization of annual yatras, stipulating numbers, registering yatris, and regulating yatri traffic. The Hindu sacred month of Shravan is also the time of the annual Kanwar Yatra, the annual pilgrimage devotees of Shiva, known as Kanwaria, make to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to obtain water from the Ganges River. In 2003, 55 lakh (5.5 million) pilgrims visited Haridwar. Other Tirtha pilgrimages are Char Dham Yatra, which involves Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri; Amarnath yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. There are numerous and . In order of importance, in India there are 7 Sapta Puri holy cities, 4 Dhams (Char Dham) and 12 Jyotirlings devoted to Shiva, 51 Shakti Pithas devoted to the feminine manifestation of the god, and the important Rama circuit (Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Hampi and Rameswaram) and Krishna circuit (Braj, Kurukshetra and Dwarka). Holiest cities: Sapta Puri are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwarka.
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