“For the temple, so the Brahmins will tell you, is a tirtha, a crossing place, linking the profane to the sacred.”

“One should next proceed to the tirtha known as gayatri celebrated over the three worlds.”

“The Sanskrit and Hindi word for pilgrimage centre is tirtha, literally a river ford or crossing place.”

“These tirthas are spiritual crossings where the river of this earthly life may be safely forded to the far shore of immortality.”

“Sojourns in tirthas, which are meritorious and which constitute one of the high mysteries of the rishis, are even superior to sacrifices.”

“There are six other tirthas in India, but none as powerful and auspicious as this.”