History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.7

v5.c74.7

The word tīrtha occurs frequently in the Ṛgveda and other Vedic saṁhitās. In several passages of the Ṛgveda tīrtha appears to mean a road or a way (e. g. in Ṛg. I. 169 6 'tīrthe nāryaḥ paumsyāni tasthuḥ', Ṛg I. 173 11 'tīrthe nācchā tātsānām-oko', Ṛg IV. 29. 3 'karan-na Indraḥ sutīrthābhayam ca.' In some places tīrtha may be taken to mean a ford in a river, as in Ṛg VIII. 47. 11 ' 'sutīrtham-arvato yathānu no neṣathā sugam &c.', Ṛg. I. 46. 8 'aritram vām divas-pṛthu tīrthe sindhūnām rathaḥ'. In Ṛg. X 31 3 'tīrthe na dasmam-upa yantyūmāḥ', tīrtha probably means 'a holy place'. On Ṛg VIII. 19. 37 'Suvāstvā adhi tugvani' the Nirukta IV. 15 explains that Suvāstu is a river and tugvan means 'tīrtha' (either a ford or a holy spot) In the Tai. S. VI 1. 1. 1-2¹²⁴¹ it is said that the sacrificer is to bathe at a tīrtha (probably a holy river). The Rudras are said to prowl about tīrthas (ye tīrthāni pracaranto sṛkāvanto niṣaṅgiṇaḥ) in Tai S IV.5.11.1-2 and Vāj S. 16. 61 (reads 'sṛkāhastā'). In the Śāṅkhāyana Br.¹²⁴² it is said that Day and Night are the sea that absorbs everything and the twilights are the unfathomable tīrthas (of the sea). Tīrtha also means the way between the 'utkara' and 'cātvāla' pit for going to or coming from the sacrificial ground (the *vihāra*).1242a Vide H of Dh vol II. p. 984.