Outlines of theory and practice of Pilgrimage in Hinduism

The paper offers an overview of the theory and practice of pilgrimage in classic India. After an introduction dedicate to Vedic, epic and puranic sources, and further sources such as the nibandha-s, the concepts of sacred fords (tīrtha), including mental ones (mānasatīrtha) and pilgrimage fields (kṣetra) are detected. Then the practice of pilgrimage to sacred places (tīrthayātrā) is illustrated including its symbolic plane, such as the so called replacement pilgrimage, and the pilgrim’s interior disposition, involving a thick net of correspondences between macrocosm and microcosm, and taking in consideration such paraphernalia as preparation and goals related to pilgrimage. Finally, the phenomenon of mass meetings (such as kumbhamelā) and circuits (parikrama) is taken in consideration.